From Food to Fuel – White Dog Labs Converts Ethanol Plant to Alternative Protein Production

by Helena Tavares Kennedy (Biofuels Digest) ... White Dog Labs is starting to address the problem by bringing new markets to ethanol plants and corn farmers – starting with an ethanol plant in Minnesota and repurposing it for mass-production of alternative protein, especially crucial in a time when ethanol is hurting so badly.

In Delaware, White Dog Labs, a microbiome-based biotechnology company is bringing much-needed opportunity to U.S. ethanol plants and corn farmers during this time of Covid-19 crisis.

White Dog Labs, which produces microbiome-derived, animal-like, alternative-protein has recently won a coveted offtake from Cargill’s Aqua Nutrition business. As reported in The Digest in February, White Dog Labs purchased the Central Minnesota Renewables (CMR) ethanol plant in Little Falls, Minnesota, and plans to repurpose it for the mass-production of its alternative protein. The Minnesota plant, originally a 20mgy ethanol plant, was upgraded in 2016 to produce butanol and has several of the unique production capabilities required to produce ProTyton.

“This initiative, besides bringing back jobs and corn consumption, will bring a glimmer of hope to ethanol plant owners and corn farmers,” said Sass Somekh, Chairman, White Dog Labs in an exclusive Digest interview. “The large alternative-protein market can complement the ethanol business, increasing profitability, and corn consumption.”

The company is in discussions with other ethanol plants, as its technology is well-suited for human consumption and for a series of alternative protein consumer products.

Alternative protein – are we talking Impossible Foods and Beyond Burger?

Sort of. Right now, White Dog Labs is creating the alternative protein for fishmeal in aquaculture and animals/pets and a second product in the works for human consumption so eventually it could reach the likes of popular companies like Impossible Foods and Beyond Burger.

The alternative protein isn’t exactly “vegetarian” though, said Somekh. “Our alternative protein, because it is generated by living microorganisms, is more animal-like than vegetable protein.

“We purchased a shuttered ethanol plant in Little Falls, Minnesota, to mass produce ProTyon,” Somekh told The Digest. “We plan to work with local producers in the area to source the corn needed for the aquafeed protein alternative.”

“It is a process very much like ethanol,” said Somekh. “Corn is the feedstock and like ethanol we use anaerobic fermentation (no Oxygen involved), except that instead of yeast we use our proprietary microorganism.”

“It is a straightforward process,” said Somekh. “We do not use some of the equipment (distillation) and need to add some equipment (mash filtration), but the rest of the equipment is used as is.”

Possible the best part? It only takes about 9 months from start to finish to convert an ethanol plant from ethanol to alternative protein production.

How feasible is it really?

We asked Somekh, is this something really feasible or realistic for ethanol plants during this pandemic to convert idle or closed ethanol plants into alternative protein production facilities?

“It has always been our strategy to repurpose, reutilize dry grind ethanol assets to help that industry move forward toward new opportunities to support the broader agriculture industry,” said Somekh.“I think the value for ethanol plant owners and corn farmers is a strategy to explore.”

“Considering the current crisis and the fact that ethanol and corn farming has not been a great business for several years before the virus, our technology offers a complementary product to ethanol, which is more profitable and has different cycles than oil price (when oil price is low ethanol prices go down, but people spend more money on food, so having such a complementary product dampens the Boom and Bust cycles,” Somekh told The Digest.

“In 5 years, we see the company running several repurposed-ethanol JV-plants for animal and human nutrition, while providing enabling human and animal health products (one example is a vaccine like product, which WDL has developed to enhance hatching yield and reduce chick mortality).” READ MORE