BlueFire Renewables’ low-cost sugars subsidiary, SucreSource, announces a major project in Korea backed by oil refiner GS Caltex.
Who else is gaining traction in the race to provide low-cost sugars? A generation of magic bugs - who turn sugars into renewable fuels, chemicals, flavors, fragrances and more - await them.
In California, SucreSource, a wholly owned subsidiary of BlueFire Renewables, has signed agreements with GS Caltex, a Korean petroleum company and oil refiner jointly owned by Korean conglomerate GS Group, and Chevron, to build a cellulosic sugar plant in Korea. GS Caltex provides over 50 percent of Korea’s oil needs.
“This agreement validates SucreSource’s business model of selling its cellulosic sugars and, as in this case, sugar producing process to synergistic back end proprietary chemical companies to produce high value products,” said Arnold Klann President & CEO. “As a major petroleum producer, GS Caltex is a perfect partner with which to initiate the business build out. Korea, like the U.S., China, and several other nations, is moving away from food-based sugars to produce high-end products such as biobutanol, ethanol, ethyl levulinate and various other chemicals. SucreSource is a first mover in this space and has the proven technology to meet this increasing cellulosic sugar demand head-on. This facility will be the first of many to be built.”
The facility will process 2 tons of construction and demolition debris per day into cellulosic sugar, which will be converted into a high value chemical by GS Caltex’s proprietary technology. The facility will be owned and operated by GS Caltex with SucreSource providing the process design package, equipment procurement and technical and engineering support. Once the initial facility is validated, SucreSource will work with GS Caltex to develop and build larger commercial scale facilities in Korea and throughout the world.
“Both parties agree that this is the first step towards commercial deployment of cellulosic chemicals in South Korea and, potentially, their trading partners,” said John Cuzens, CTO for BlueFire Renewables.
SucreSource and GS Caltex have already commenced work on the project. SucreSource is actively pursuing other partnership opportunities and hopes to announce more relationships soon.
