Transcript Proterro - Ascension Publishing

Making Sugar from CO2
ABLC
Washington, DC
Kef Kasdin, CEO
April 22, 2014
We Make Sugar…
Proterro makes low cost sucrose that unlocks
economical production of biofuels and chemicals
Not Crop-Based / Not Cellulosic
 Avoids pricing volatility
 Predictable, reliable
source of production
 Much less land vs crops
 1/10 water of algae
systems
Fermentation-Ready
 Drop-in sugar feedstock
 No further processing
required for fermentation
to biofuels/biochemicals
 Easily scalable
Benefits to Partners
 Complements 1st and 2nd
generation ethanol
 Clean sucrose (no other
sugars or inhibitors for
biochem)
 Monetizes CO2
To supplement sugars extracted from crops or
deconstructed from cellulosic materials
2
The Feedstock Challenge
Access to a reliable, low-cost feedstock remains a critical barrier to scale
for the production of bio-based fuels and chemicals.
Feedstock
Corn and Sugar
Challenges
Price Volatility: Seasonally- and market-driven price
volatility
Food v. Fuel: Land competition
Biomass Availability: Access to amount of biomass
required to obtain economies of scale is limited
Cellulosics
Biomass Recalcitrance and Non-Homogeneity:
Fractionation and deconstruction of biomass into usable
intermediates require complicated and expensive multistep processes
Proterro addresses these challenges by making affordable,
fermentation-ready sucrose
3
Converting Sunlight to Fuels & Chemicals
CO
CO22++ HH2200
+
+ Nutrients
Nutrients
Sugarcane, Corn, Cellulose
Growth
$
Harvest
$
Logistics
$
Process
$
Refine
Fuels &
Chemicals
• Complex; labor, capital & energy intensive
CO2 + H20
+ Nutrients
Proterro Patented Process
H2O,
Nutrients
Photons
Oils
Air
Photobioreactor
Air and CO2
Alcohols
Hydrocarbons
Sucrose, Water
• Lower cost than sugarcane, corn, cellulose
Organic Acids
4
Path to Commercialization
✔ 1. Lab scale development and proof of concept
✔ 2. Greenhouse Testing
– 1/3rd m2 photobioreactor; 3 months
 3. Pilot Program – Orlando, Florida
– Outdoor testing in natural light; 50 m2 growth surface per bioreactor
– 4 months continuous operation
– Consistent and controllable sugar production
– No contamination effect on sucrose productivity
– Results verify process is scalable
4. Demonstration Program
–
Outdoor testing adjacent to mill or other CO2 source
–
~100 photobioreactors working as a system
5. First Commercial Plant
5
Commercial Scale Photobioreactor
Developed with ILC Dover
ILC Dover
 Engineered solutions
employing highperformance flexible
materials since 1947
 Specializes in advanced
fabrics and engineered
inflatables
PBR is very robust: able to withstand
Category 1 hurricane winds
 NASA spacesuits
 Containment solutions for
pharma
6
Robust, Modular Photobioreactor
Made from Off the Shelf Materials
Key Features
W
N
S
E
 Collapsible low-cost
polyethylene cylinder
 Naturally sheds rain and
snow
 Favorable aerodynamic
shape for wind loading
 Patented cyanobacteria
grow on vertical fabric
panels
 Water and nutrients drain
by gravity on panels
 CO2-augmented air, flue
gas inflates cylinder
 Natural low point for
condensate drain
 Can be UV stabilized
 Validated low fabrication
costs
7
Preliminary Demonstration Plant Design
8
Strong Value Proposition for Partners
First Generation Ethanol
 Utilize excess
Renewable Fuels &
Chemicals
 Stable, reliable low-
production capacity
cost source of sucrose
 Gain access to low-
-Commodity hedging
not core competency
cost sugar supply
 Utilize emitted CO2 to
produce more
sucrose
 Attractive return on
investment
 High purity feedstock
stream
-Bioengineered
organisms highly
susceptible to any
byproduct inhibitors
CO2 Emitters
 Utilize and monetize
CO2
 Response to regulatory
pressure to mitigate
CO2 footprint
 Attractive return on
investment
-Attractive return on
investment
Proterro provides a compelling partner opportunity across markets
9
Robust Intellectual Property Position
Bioreactor
Engineered
Organism
Process
Aggressive
Patent Filings

Notice of allowance on photobioreactor claims

US Patent 8,367,379 issued Feb 2013

US Patent 8,597,914 issued Dec 2013

Developing comprehensive patent estate with 70+ global
applications pending or planned to file
10
Kef Kasdin, CEO
[email protected]
Proterro, Inc.
100 Princeton South Corporate Center
Suite 150
Ewing, NJ 08628
www.proterro.com