Bioenergy plays a key role in increasing our state’s energy independence and provides value added opportunities for existing Michigan businesses.
Michigan’s bioenergy sector development has focused on:
- Actively developing the bioenergy value chain
- Enabling and accelerating production of second-generation non-food based biofuels
- Improving efficiencies of thermochemical and biomass supply technologies
- Developing value-added bioenergy waste-to-energy solutions for existing Michigan businesses
Development efforts are promoting the sustainable production of bioenergy from renewable sources that will reduce our dependence on and consumption of oil and coal.
Michigan Advantage
Our State’s biomass assets are the foundation for the sustainable development of Michigan’s bioenergy sector.
Michigan is fast becoming the center of North America’s alternative energy industry. The MEDC can connect your company to a comprehensive network of programs, resources, and incentives that make Michigan the perfect location for your bioenergy company to locate and grow. Michigan has the industrial capacity to manufacture, innovate, and deploy bioenergy technology, including supply chain integration and access to an abundance of biomass feedstock.
Biomass assets include agricultural residues, municipal waste streams, and sustainable unutilized forest growth and logging residues, with forest growth-to-removal ratios exceeding other regions in the country including the U.S. South. Supply chain infrastructure associated with Michigan’s robust forest and agricultural economy provides a strong foundation for new bioenergy ventures. Michigan’s bioenergy development is also supported by our State’s world class universities, an urgency to diversify our economy, and opportunities to implement bioenergy technologies that add value to existing Michigan businesses.
Michigan’s Bioenergy Cluster
- American Process Incorporated: Center of Energy Excellence award of $4 million was leveraged to secure a Department of Energy grant for $17.9 million to establish a biorefinery at the Decorative Panels International hardboard plant in Alpena, MI. The biorefinery will convert the process waste effluent from DPI’s plant into cellulosic ethanol (900,000 gallons/year), potassium acetate, and clean warm water. Michigan Technological University is a partner in the project. The technology has significant potential for replication across this state in four industrial sectors: green field biorefineries; pulp and paper mills; food and agricultural processing plants; and biopower plants.
- Frontier Renewable Resources (Mascoma Corporation): A Center of Energy Excellence award of $20 million was leveraged to secure a Department of Energy grant for $26 million to establish a commercial scale cellulosic ethanol facility in Kinross, MI. Frontier Renewable Resources, LLC is an entity owned by Mascoma Corporation and J.M. Longyear. Mascoma Corporation is a renewable fuels research and development company that has developed a sustainable process to produce commercial quantities of lignocellulosic ethanol from woody biomass. J.M. Longyear is a natural resource management and industrial project development company. Michigan State University and Michigan Technological University are partners on the project, specifically on research and development supporting the forest feedstock supply chain. This project is a leader to become among the first woody biomass based commercial scale cellulosic ethanol facilities in the world.
- Swedish Biogas International (SBI): SBI’s Center of Energy Excellence award of $4 million was leveraged to secure $3 million of funding from the Swedish government to establish a waste-to-bio-methane production plant at the City of Flint’s wastewater treatment facility. SBI has years of experience operating three waste-to-energy facilities in Sweden. Kettering University is a partner in the project and is collaborating with Linköping University in Sweden. This technology has significant potential for replication as a waste-to-energy solution, especially in our state’s food processing industry, where growth is limited by waste disposal barriers.
- Working Bugs, LLC: A Center of Energy Excellence award of $2 million was leveraged to secure a $1.2 million Department of Defense grant to support production of high-value specialty and fine chemicals from natural feedstock in East Lansing, Michigan. The initial target bioproducts to be produced are fusel alcohols, biobutanol, succinic acid, and amino acids. Michigan Technological University is a partner in the project. Bioproducts are being produced today. This technology has significant value-added opportunity to existing corn ethanol producers and other biomass using industries.
- Heat Transfer International (HTI): Awarded a $2.75 million State of Michigan Clean Energy Manufacturing Grant, a $2,292,100 Michigan Public Services Grant, a $100,000 diversification grant and a renewable energy renaissance zone. This funding and support will aid HTI in the manufacture of their novel gasification systems. These gasification systems are fundamental to HTI’s turnkey biomass waste-to-energy projects.
- Renewafuel: Was awarded a renaissance zone extension and a $500,000 Community Development Block Grant to locate a biofuel production facility at the Sawyer International Airport in Gwinn, MI. Biofuel cubes have substantial emission reduction characteristics and will be produced from renewable sources such as corn stalks, switch grass, grains, soybean and oat hulls as well as wood and wood byproducts.
- Verso Paper: Awarded Michigan’s first forest products processing Renaissance Zone and plans a $43 million investment in renewable energy improvements at its Quinnesec mill to more than double the mill’s capability to produce electricity from woody biomass, reducing its demand for electricity generated from coal.
