US based Coskata Inc today (14th January) launched its proprietary ethanol production process and announced a strategic partnership with General Motors. The Coskata process, claims the company, can produce ethanol almost anywhere in the world, using a wide range of feedstock, for less than US $1.00 per gallon.

Coskata’s process is feedstock flexible, and enables the use of cost-effective, locally abundant materials to achieve the lowest ethanol production cost targets in the industry. This groundbreaking approach addresses many of the constraints lodged against current renewable energy options, including environmental, transportation and land use concerns.

Using patented microorganisms and transformative bioreactor designs, Coskata ethanol  is produced via a unique three-step conversion process that, says the company, turns virtually any carbon-based feedstock, including biomass, municipal solid waste, bagasse and other agricultural waste into ethanol, making production a possibility in almost any geography.  Coskata’s process technology is ethanol-specific and enzyme independent, requiring no additional chemicals or pre-treatments; environmentally superior, reducing carbon dioxide emissions by as much as 84% compared to conventional gasoline; and has the ability to generate 7.7 times as much energy as is required to produce the ethanol, compared to corn ethanol which generates approximately 1.3 times as much energy according to Argonne National Labs.

“Our technology and proprietary process have been validated by some of the world’s most renowned research labs, universities and energy companies,” said Bill Roe, CEO of Coskata. “Coskata is poised to revolutionize the ethanol industry with the backing of GM and our partners.  Together, we can make ethanol a viable transportation fuel with production costs of under $1 per gallon.”

Coskata is working closely with leading research institutions focused on renewable energy to bring this compelling syngas-to-ethanol process technology to market, including Oklahoma State University, The University of Oklahoma, Brigham Young University and Argonne National Laboratory.  Founded in 2006 by Todd Kimmel and Dr. Rathin Datta, the company has compiled a strong IP portfolio of patents, trade secrets, know-how and assembled a first-class management team.

"Coskata's announcement is a perfect example of the evolutionary state of the ethanol industry," said Bob Dinneen, president of the Renewable Fuels Association, the national trade association for the U.S. ethanol industry.  “Building on the solid foundation grain-based ethanol production has provided, and partnering with companies like General Motors that have demonstrated a commitment to renewable fuels, Coskata demonstrates what is possible when financial and intellectual capital are applied to solving the growing energy crisis in the United States."

The company also announced major industry support through a strategic partnership with General Motors.  Rick Wagoner, the Chairman and CEO of General Motors, announced the partnership and that GM had taken an undisclosed equity stake in Coskata at the 2008 North American International Auto Show.   Coskata was initially formed with funding from Advanced Technology Ventures (ATV), GreatPoint Ventures and Khosla Ventures.

“As a nation, we’ve been dependent on oil for so long, we continue to think we will be dependent on oil to meet our future energy needs,” said Vinod Khosla of Khosla Ventures.  “Scientists, technologists and entrepreneurs like Coskata are here to prove it doesn’t have to be this way.  With the development of an economically-viable ethanol solution, Coskata has the propensity to change the types of fuel consumers find at the pump – providing fuel derived from widely-available national resources, rather than foreign imports.”