Genera Repositions Itself, Gets $118M Investment – Movin’ on up to Get a Piece of the Pie

by Helena Tavares Kennedy (Biofuels Digest) ... A $118 million pie in new investment money for this Tennessee-based biomass company. The financing was anchored by an equity investment from WindSail Capital Group, which partnered with investors Coppermine Capital and Stairway Capital in the Genera financing.

The money will be used for Genera’s first manufacturing facility to produce its Earthable line of sustainable agricultural fiber products. Construction has begun already and the facility will be operational in the latter half of 2020.

According to The Digest’s exclusive interview with Dr. Kelly Tiller, President and CEO of Genera, the facility will process more than 50,000 tons of feedstock to produce more than 36,000 tons of products annually. But keep on readin’ because those numbers might be going up before you know it…

Genera will use locally grown grasses and other agricultural crops to make compostable food service packaging products like plates, bowls, and takeout containers at its new manufacturing facility in Vonore, Tennessee. In addition to making products that are a sustainable alternative to plastics and polystyrene (Styrofoam-type products), Genera’s Earthable fibers are also used to produce a wide array of towel, tissue, cupstock and other paper products.

The fibers are derived from locally grown high-yield, conservation crops like switchgrass and biomass sorghum. Genera has already begun to work with local East Tennessee farmers to produce the feedstock it will use in its new manufacturing facility and is actively seeking additional farm partners in the region. Hint, hint: They need more farm partners, they need more feedstock, the demand is there folks!!!

A wide range of feedstocks can be used, but the optimal feedstock is pretty location specific.”

This means that if, or should we say when, Genera expands beyond East Tennessee, they can utilize whatever biomass feedstocks are abundant and most suitable to the new location. Now that’s being adaptable while integrating local culture and feedstocks into your business, AND making it even more attractive for consumers who are increasingly looking for locally made, sustainable products.

“Additionally, the technology we are utilizing to create fiber from the feedstocks is much more sustainable than traditional wood pulping processes,” said Jackson. “We use dramatically less water and energy throughout the process. In fact, Genera recycles the process water and does not discharge any wastewater. The process does produce a coproduct stream in the form of a high-solids syrup that contains lignin and other materials. Genera is developing markets for that material as it has specific properties that make it attractive in a wide variety of animal feed, industrial chemical, and other markets.”

In 2015, Genera launched its first mobile agriculture app, Biomass, developed to serve as a tool for planning, selecting and calculating biofuel crop needs, for use with Android and Apple smart devices. Their focus on lignocellulosic crops and technology and research tools has served them well as they have been able to transition quickly into a company that is ready to meet market demand for biobased sustainable disposable products.