Beyond Ethanol: How 3 International Companies Are Finding Success in Iowa

by Mark Laurenzo (Iowa Economic Development Authority/Biofuels Digest) Iowa has a well-documented history in the ethanol business. We’re the United States’ leader in renewable fuel production with 41 ethanol refineries (capable of producing more than 4.5 billion gallons per year) and 11 biodiesel facilities (with annual production capacities of 410 million gallons). You’ve likely seen ethanol recently claim national headlines as higher oil prices have driven up demand for ethanol to ease fossil-based energy costs – an increase in demand that undoubtedly will be a boon for our farmers and our bioeconomy.

Ethanol may get the headlines, but the capabilities of Iowa’s bioeconomy extend well beyond our expertise in ethanol. Companies such as Spiber Inc., VERBIO and Qore® (a joint venture between Cargill and HELM) have discovered innovative applications for Iowa’s abundant corn biomass and made the state an integral part of their respective business models. Using proprietary fermentation processes, each are transforming corn biomass into sustainable products and fossil fuel alternatives for consumer and industrial use.

Qore: Next generation, biobased BDO

Through the Qore joint venture, Cargill and HELM are investing a combined $300 million to build the first U.S.-based commercial-scale, renewable 1,4-butanediol (BDO) facility in Eddyville, Iowa (home of Cargill’s biotechnology campus and corn refining plant).

The new facility will produce QIRA, a next-generation, biobased BDO made through fermentation of corn-based sugars.
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Spiber: Wearable bio-innovation

Founded in 2007, Japanese biotechnology company Spiber Inc. uses a proprietary fermentation process that transforms plant-derived biomass into biodegradable protein polymers used across a wide variety of industrial and consumer needs. Spiber’s process offers a sustainability advantage by producing fibers created using sugars and microbes instead of fossil fuels.

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VERBIO: Closing the gap in renewable natural gas

Germany-based VERBIO found a unique opportunity in Iowa to launch its North American expansion plan. As Europe’s only industrial-scale producer of biodiesel, bioethanol and renewable natural gas (RNG), the company’s expansion strategy seeks to close gaps identified with the United States’ Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS) program.

“While the RFS has been a great success, the portion from the Advanced Biofuels category related to cellulosic biofuels has greatly underperformed,” said Claus Sauter, founder and CEO, VERBIO. “By 2022, the RFS envisioned 16 billion gallons of biofuels being produced from this category. However, production to date has not exceeded 0.6 billion gallons. With the right policies, there is a tremendous untapped source of agricultural residue feedstock available for renewable fuels.”

After an extensive site search across the Midwest, VERBIO selected Nevada, Iowa as home base for its North American operations. Building on the grounds of a cellulosic ethanol plant formerly owned by DuPont gave the company several operational advantages – chief among them, a natural gas pipeline owned and operated by Alliant Energy. Phase one of this facility has the capacity to process more than 100,000 tons of corn stover, equating to an output of seven million gallons of renewable natural gas per year. Upon completion of phase two in the first quarter of 2023, VERBIO estimates it will produce 19 million gallons of RNG annually.

“Each of these projects exemplify our economic development strategy in Iowa, which is about innovation and attracting highly skilled jobs that will raise the standard of living and create wealth for our state,” said Debi Durham, executive director, Iowa Economic Development Authority and Iowa Finance Authority.

As different as these companies are, their futures are intertwined thanks to a reliance on Iowa’s abundant biomass and pro-business environment that incentivizes innovation, collaboration and growth. For more information about Iowa’s bioscience industry, visit IowaEDA.com/bioscience. READ MORE

News arrives from Qore headquarters in Eddyville, Iowa that Qore will produce QIRA bio-based 1,4-butanediol (BDO) at Cargill’s biotechnology campus and corn refining operation in Eddyville under a big offtake contract with BASF. Via its new QIRA supply deal, BASF will expand its existing offer of BDO derivatives with bio-based variants, with the first commercial quantities are expected to be available in Q1 2025.

The BDO story

It’s a partnerfest, as all good bioeconomy projects are. First of all, the BASF and Qore customer partnership. Beneath that, the JV between Cargill and HELM AG that carries the Qore name. Beneath that, the underlying BDO process technology from Genomatica upon which the global bio-based BDO revolution is based. Finally, a shot-out to the deep expertise of the operators at Eddyville, the corn growers of southeastern Iowa, and the state of Iowa for developing a renewable chemicals incentives program. Whew.

The low carbon gambit

Using QIRA enables BASF to produce BDO derivatives with a PCF lower than the corresponding fossil-based chemicals. BDO derivatives based on QIRA have the same physical and technical properties compared to those based on fossil-based BDO.

The BDO market

Yep, a world without BDO is tough to imagine. It’s a precursor for PolyTHF, the starting material for elastic spandex and elastane fibers that are used for a wide range of textiles, for example swimsuits, sportswear and underwear, but also outerwear such as shirts and stretch jeans. There’s THF, too, widely used in pharma.

And, PolyTHF is a starting point for thermoplastic polyurethanes (TPU) — think elastic hoses, films, cable sheathing, and think automotive industry.

In fact, BASF has five different production plants for PolyTHF in Europe, North America and Asia Pacific — so, one day, who knows how much bio-BDO might be demanded. READ MORE