Sweetwater Energy Inc., a US biotechnology company and Estonia-based AS Graanul Invest, Europe’s largest wood pellet producer, have announced that they will build a commercial-scale integrated biorefinery that will produce clean cellulosic sugars and highly pure lignin from 50 000 tonnes of hardwood annually. In addition, the plant will allow the two companies to work with corporate partners to create and optimize innovative new products from sugar and lignin.
The agreement grants Graanul, which owns 11 large-scale wood-pellet production plants in the Baltic States, an exclusive territorial license to incorporate the Sunburst technology into its existing plants, as well as into future plants throughout the Baltic States.
Graanul has a long history of innovation in the wood pellet industry, and we’re demonstrating that again with our partnership with Sweetwater. Our real-world expertise coupled with Sweetwater’s technological advancements will introduce biofuels, biochemicals and other green products at competitive prices into the global markets. The long-awaited cellulosic revolution has just taken a major step forward, said Raul Kirjanen, CEO of Graanul Invest.
According to a joint statement, the success of this project will have a tremendous impact on the biomaterials marketplace. The plant will be the first to incorporate Sweetwater’s Sunburst pretreatment technology, which splits biomass into its constituent parts “faster and more effectively” than any commercial process available today. The result is lower greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, lower usage of water and chemicals while for the first time deriving significant value from all components of wood.
Sweetwater is excited to be part of this extraordinary program with Graanul. The entrepreneurial talent and experienced resources of their team make them an ideal partner in bringing our breakthrough sustainable technology to the world at commercial scale, said Arunas Chesonis, Chairman and CEO of Sweetwater.
The fully funded plant is made possible through significant investment and collaboration between the two companies by utilizing Sweetwater’s patented technology and Graanul’s existing infrastructure as one of the largest producers of wood pellets in the world.
As a global leader in biomass processing, Graanul has been focused on green objectives. With Sweetwater and our partners in Europe, this large-scale innovation will allow us to convert virtually 100 percent of the sustainable and renewable wood processed using this technology into high-value carbon products that people use every day, said Peep Pitk, R&D Manager for Graanul.
Sweetwater’s patented technology is based on modified twin-screw extrusion systems that operate today around the world in many industries, ranging from plastics to aluminum to food processing. The new Sweetwater-Graanul partnership says that it will compete economically with fossil-derived fuel, plastics, and chemicals counterparts.
