Biofuel developer Cobalt launches plant in California

13 January 2010

Biobutanol developer Cobalt Technologies has launched its first facility in California.

‘It is great companies like Cobalt that will help California meet our greenhouse gas reduction targets under AB 32 and our Low Carbon Fuel Standard,’ said California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger at the launch.

‘Cobalt shows us that what is good for the environment can also be good for the economy. In fact, within the next few years, Cobalt has plans to build an even larger plant that will create 1,300 permanent jobs. I want that plant and those jobs right here in California,’ he added.

At the launch, Governor Schwarzenegger also announced a Jobs Initiative to create 100,000 jobs with one piece of the proposal exempting the purchase of green-tech manufacturing equipment from the sales tax. The Governor said the proposal was intended to help California attract and retain green businesses and create the jobs of the future.

Cobalt biobutano uses non-food feedstock, such as forest waste and mill residues, and the company said its technology reduces greenhouse gas emissions by 85 per cent compared to gasoline. A 12 per cent blend of Cobalt biobutanol with gasoline, already permissible under US EPA guidelines, complies with the requirements of California’s low carbon fuel standard.

Cobalt said its form of biobutanol, n-butanol, can be used as a standalone fuel, blended with gasoline, diesel and ethanol, converted into jet fuel or plastics, or sold as is for use in paints and coatings. The company said the fuel is a drop-in fuel, fully compatible with automobile engines and pipeline infrastructure.

‘Cobalt is leading the race to bring economic next generation biofuels to market,’ said Rick Wilson, CEO of Cobalt Biofuels. ‘Based on the technology breakthroughs we have achieved, and the successful operation of our plant, we are on track to build a commercial facility within two years, and we are currently building a network of strategic partners in the fuels, chemicals, forest products, and construction industry to deploy our technology at the next scale.

‘The Governor’s leadership in clean technology policy, like the proposed sales tax exemption for green manufacturing equipment will help accelerate commercialisation and make California an attractive place to site a plant,’ Wilson added.

One commercial-scale Cobalt plant adds more than $250m annually to the state’s GDP, according to a market study commissioned by Cobalt. The company, which is based in Mountain View, California, is backed by investors in the cleantech sector, including Pinnacle Ventures, Vantage Point Venture Partners, Burrill and Company, Malaysian Life Sciences Capital Fund, Life Science Partners, @Ventures, and Harris & Harris.

Copyright © 2010 NewNet

Tags: biofuel

This story was published on Wednesday, January 13th, 2010 at 5:17 pm and is filed under North America, biomass/biofuel, companies. You can follow any responses to article entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

Leave a Reply