EdeniQ Grows Improved Energy Crops in California’s Central Valley

DENVER--(BUSINESS WIRE)--EdeniQ, a California-based technology company serving the global biofuels industry, today announced that it has begun a multi-year, field-to-fuel trial to evaluate low-carbon, non-food energy crops, like switchgrass, in California’s Central Valley. The announcement was made at the 25th Annual Fuel Ethanol Workshop tradeshow in Denver, Colorado.

“That means understanding all the processes from ‘field-to-fuel.’ How an energy crop is grown, harvested, stored and transported has profound implications on the downstream processes that ultimately convert it into fuel.”

The company’s pilot-scale field trial of switchgrass was planted this spring near Visalia, California with new, high-yielding seed varieties from Ceres, Inc., a leading developer and marketer of dedicated energy crops. Biomass from the site will be processed into biofuel at EdeniQ’s Visalia test plant, beginning later this year. Over the course of the trial, EdeniQ will evaluate the impact of different inputs like water, and even renewable compost, on biomass yields from two commercial switchgrass varieties, EG 1101 and EG 1102. The company has previously tested high-biomass sweet sorghum in the Central Valley and has ongoing trials of energycane in California’s Imperial Valley.

EdeniQ CEO Larry Gross said that the trial results will provide the company with real-world data about the economic and environmental benefits of producing advanced biofuels with its proprietary technology. “EdeniQ is focusing on process technologies that enable the cost-effective production of advanced biofuels,” he explained. “That means understanding all the processes from ‘field-to-fuel.’ How an energy crop is grown, harvested, stored and transported has profound implications on the downstream processes that ultimately convert it into fuel.”

Gross noted that switchgrass and sorghum, in particular, have performed well in California, often exceeding national yield averages, and should perform well with EdeniQ’s cellulosic technology. He said the hearty plants are expected to thrive even on marginal land, such as areas of the Central Valley that have been aggressively irrigated for years and, due to salinity, may not be ideal for other crops.

Anna Rath, Ceres’ vice president of commercial development, said that working with a process technology company like EdeniQ will give the feedstock developer greater insight into what an advanced biofuels industry could look like in California’s Central Valley and elsewhere.

“We have the opportunity here to see the value chain from multiple perspectives, with the goal of optimizing the overall process via improvements we can make in crop management and post-harvest recommendations. Longer term, the data generated will also inform the development of improved seed products and traits,” said Rath.

“We’re thrilled to be working with Ceres,” noted Gross. “Together we’ll gain the end-to-end understanding of producing biofuels from energy crops needed to maximize the new industry’s financial and environmental performance. And, along the way, we might just discover another cash crop for California.”

About EdeniQ

EdeniQ develops and delivers proprietary, cutting-edge solutions for the global biofuels industry. Our solutions help biofuel producers reduce operating costs, increase profits, and improve environmental results. Our first suite of technologies, Corn³, increases ethanol yields from corn by over 10%. Soon EdeniQ will enable biofuels producers to economically convert a wide range of non-food biomasses into affordable, clean fuel. EdeniQ is Changing Energy™. Learn more at www.EdeniQ.com.

About Ceres

Ceres, Inc. is a leading developer and marketer of high-yielding energy crops that can be planted as raw materials for advanced biofuels and biopower. Its development efforts cover switchgrass, sorghum, miscanthus, energycane and short-rotation woody crops. The plant breeding and biotechnology company markets its switchgrass seed and sorghum seed under its Blade Energy Crops brand.