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Welcome to the Bioenergy Deployment Consortium (BDC)
Our Mission is to promote deployment of commercially viable advanced biofuels and biochemicals technologies that do not require any subsidy and to optimize total system energy efficiency.
I. The 2013 Spring Symposium was held in Greensboro, NC on April 22-24. Tours were taken of TRI in Durham and of Piedmont BioProducts in Gretna, VA. Symposium presentations and discussions were held all day on April 23. Presentations and photos can be accessed in the Library under the Symposium Presentations Tab or under the Past Events Tab above on this page.
If you need information about our symposiums or about BDC, please contact Eric Horn at
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or any of the BDC officers. Contact information can be found on the "Contact" tab on the menu above or by clicking on Contacts.
II. The Validated Lists of Bio-Product Facilities in the U.S. and selected Foreign Facilities has been updated on May 6 and can be accessed by members in the Library, at the right in the "News" column, or by clicking the link below.
Validated Bioproduct Facilities 6 May 2013
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A very successful Spring Symposium and tours were held in Greensboro, NC on April 22-24.
The symposium presentations can be viewed by either clicking on the past events tab above, or by going to the Library tab and scrolling down to the Symposium section in the left hand column.
Symposiums are held biannually in the Spring and in the Fall in locations designed for tours of biofacilities. Meetings are held one day, with presentations given and involved discussion by all participants in an environment suited for good participation. The aim of all meetings is to help resolve issues relative to the deployment of viable bio-processes.
Normally, a tour of a bio-facility is taken on the morning following the day of presentations for the education of all attendees. This Spring, we had two tours and came in early for an afternoon tour of the ThermoChemical Recovery Inc. (TRI) Cellulosic Biomass Gasification and Fischer Tropsch pilot plant in Durham.
On our normal Wednesday tour, members and guests viewed the pilot plant of Piedmont BioProducts providing us an opportunity to see a low capital cost approach to producing bio-oil from various biomass feedstocks.
Membership is made up of industry and technical suppliers (technology, feedstock, financial services, and academics). Government agencies are always in attendance and provide updates on government policy.
The purpose of BDC is to accelerate the deployment of viable bio-processes through education and brokering partnerships.
For more detail about BDC, Tours, Educational and Partnership Opportunities, continue to scroll down this home page. You can also find contact information for BDC officers by clicking on the Contact Tab. You can also email Eric Horn at
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or Harry Seamans at
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.
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Bioenergy Deployment Consortium (BDC)
Our goal is simple. We want to get efficient and economical bioenergy facilities deployed to help industry and the nation. We work to keep members informed and to help them broker partnerships that will achieve the deployment goal.
As you review our website, note the significant archive of articles and information about bioenergy deployment and policy. Let us explain how to become a member to take advantage of the educational and partnering opportunities.
Noteworthy is the description of BDC as you scroll down this page. Included are our mission, who we are, how we assist our members, some of our accomplishments, the principles that drive us, services we provide, and comments from some of our members.
We have two member meetings each year where presentations are given and biofacility tours are provided. Members can access presentations on the library page.
Join the other companies who are using the organization to stay abreast of the latest and working together to discover avenues to accelerate deployment.
The cost is minimal and the value is tremendous.
For information on BDC, contact Harry Seamans at (870) 501-1836 (
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) or Ben Thorp at (804) 873-6561 (
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)
OUR MISSION:
Promote deployment of commercially viable advanced biofuels and biochemicals technologies that do not require any subsidy and to optimize total system energy efficiency.
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Who are we?
BDC, www.bioenergydc.org, is a non-profit, fact-based, trustworthy, and results oriented national organization that is dedicated to educating and keeping industry leaders abreast of the pertinent technology, processes, and policies with focus on deployment of developed technologies.
BDC has been in existence since 2006, when it was a regional project of CleanTech Partners, www.cleantechpartners.org. BDC became a 501(c)3 non-profit in 2010 when it grew nationally and achieved national recognition.
BDC has a base membership of major pulp and paper companies and is a solid and diverse group of companies and organizations which include forest products, corn ethanol, bioenergy technology, construction, financial institutions, and universities. See BDC Members to see full list. The variety of members provides for synergistic partnering opportunities.
BDC accomplishes its goal of achieving deployment of successful bioenergy and energy reduction projects by providing information and education, identifying asset utilization opportunities, brokering partnerships, and capitalizing on available financial resources, all with relatively small annual membership fees. For more information about the benefits of membership, click on Member Benefits.
If you are interested in joining BDC or learning more about the organization, please contact any of the officers of BDC. Contact information can be found at the link, BDC Officers, or by going to the contact tab at the top of the page. There is also a membership tab at the top of this page that has the information you will need to be able to join BDC. The cost to join BDC can be found by clicking on Membership Fee and scrolling down. An on-line application is also available.
Statements from Members
"I do believe (BDC) really is the best fact-based clearinghouse of technologies, particularly in light of (key personnel) coming from the business world." (member Dick Carmical, CEO - Price Companies)
"We have been a member since October, 2011 and find the interaction quite useful." (member Joel Stone, Green Biologics; formerly butylfuels)
“Our participation in BDC gives us a wider view of the bioenergy field, allows us to add detail to our strategic energy plan and helps us make sure we include all critical elements in our implementation strategy.” (member Mark Daniel - Verso Energy and Technology Vice President)
"BDC provides access to up-to-date information on bioenergy technology developments as well as excellent networking opportunities. BDC symposiums are definitely in the CAN'T MISS category." (Dr. Harry Cullinan – Alabama Center for Paper and Bioresource Engineering, Auburn University)
Industry Assistance
Pulp and Paper Industry
BDC sees the following opportunities for the Pulp and Paper Industry:
- to continue reducing energy usage and total cost of energy in the production of the main pulp and paper products, while, long term, strategically deploying cost efficient technologies, which generate additional revenues through the production of advanced biofuels, bio-products, and green power.
BDC has over 75 years of management leadership on its staff and recognize the needs and constraints of the industry. See BDC Officers
By utilizing our knowledge of the industry and its needs, by working with individual members companies, by brokering partnerships, by working with government agencies and technology providers, and by working with financial institutions, BDC will seek to find opportunities to deploy initial bioenergy projects that will prove the technologies and economics of the processes at the commercial level without the need of long term government subsidy. By doing so, the industry can learn from these initial installations and rapidly replicate them throughout the industry, across the nation.
Corn Ethanol Industry
BDC sees the following opportunities for the corn ethanol industry:
- to reduce production cost to a level that is competitive with petroleum on a BTU basis without long term government subsidy.
By helping the industry become more efficient through integration of additional processes, mainly cellulosic bioproducts and through reduction of energy usage, costs can be lowered in the plant. Through education and brokering partnerships with technology providers, value added products other than corn ethanol can be produced that supplement and complement the corn ethanol process to generate increased revenues, all to make the plants economical without long term subsidy.
Technology Developers
BDC sees the following opportunities for Technology Providers:
- to prove and establish their processes through deployment at the demonstration or commercial level and to team with end users and service providers to respond to any funding opportunities.
By studying the processes and seeking synergies with other member companies or outside companies, and by educating both industry and government agencies, BDC can help Technology Providers team with end users and service providers to deploy projects and to respond to funding opportunities, helping Technology Providers to potentially progress at a faster pace than otherwise.
Service Providers
BDC sees the following opportunities for Service Providers:
- to find opportunities for their services through networking with the diverse group of BDC members, through being part of brokered partnerships, and by becoming part of a team to respond to funding opportunities.
By being part of the biannual meetings, presenting, and being considered by BDC as we seek partnerships to broker, Service Providers will increase their chances of finding opportunities to provide their services. BDC actively seeks to bring companies together to form successful business partners in the bioproduct and CHP areas.
Accomplishments
I. Federal Funding
- BDC seeks to help accelerate the progress of the bio-industry in a number of ways. A key way is to assist members in finding funding for initial projects. Following are three BDC members who have received funding for their energy projects with the assistance of BDC
- Flambeau River Biofuels (FRB): Received a DOE grant for up to $80 million for an integrated forest biorefinery at their pulp and paper mill in Wisconsin. Ben Thorp from BDC is serving on the FRB project committee to help them respond to the $510 million RFP (NAVY/DOE/USDA) expected to be announced in 2012 for the production of drop-in fuels. ThermoRecovery International (TRI), a technology provider to FRB, is also a member of BDC.
- NewPage Project “Independence”: Received a DOE grant for up to $50 million for an integrated forest biorefinery at their pulp and paper mill in Wisconsin. This project has been dropped by NewPage since. TRI was a technology provider to NewPage.
- Verso Paper Corporation: Received a $9.6 million DOE Recovery grant (DOE 44) to deploy “shovel ready” industrial energy saving technologies. Of over 350 applications submitted for requests of over $4 billion for the available DOE award of only $155 million, DOE selected only 9 applications of which Verso was one. CleanTech Partners (CTP) which started BDC as one of its regional projects, also received $14.6 million DOE grant to deploy “shovel ready” industrial energy saving technologies. In total, Verso and CTP received nearly $25 million out of $150 million grant (20% of the total DOE money – a remarkable success story).
II. Tours of Pilot or Demonstration Plants
- BDC generally sets up two tours of relevant biofacilities per year for members and, additionally, visits are made by BDC officers and summarized for members such as the tour summaries of KiOR in Pasadena, TX and Sun Pine Oil in Sweden.
- March 2009 | Golden, CO: Tour National Renewable nergy Laboratory (NREL) Facility, Golden, CO; NREL Facility
- October 2012 | Alpena, MI: Tour of American Process Inc.'s Cellulosic Ethanol plant located adjacent to hardboard mill and utilizing their effluent for feedstock; API BDC Sep 2012; API Tour Group Picture
III. Brokering Partnerships
BDC brokers partnerships for members in order to achieve the best chances for deploying energy reduction, CHP, and bioproduct projects. Brokered partnerships are developed based on recognized opportunities. The partnerships may include any or all of the types of members in BDC, industry members, technical developers, service providers, government agencies, and the military.
- Partnerships that BDC has brokered or are in the works include:
MOU with USDA. Like DOE, USDA through its five-year Farm Bill provides funding for biorefineries and energy saving technologies. Both BDC pulp and paper companies and USDA during a joint BDC-USDA panel discussion in Washington DC in 2010 showed interest in working together. A draft MOU has been submitted to USDA by BDC for their review and subsequent discussions and signing.
BDC/USDA Industrial panel in Washington, DC on April 6, 2011 to discuss barriers and solutions to biorefineries deployment (USDA attendees: Bill Hagy, Todd Atkinson, Nivin Elgohary, Chris Tuttle, David Gaffaney, Harry Baumes, Ingrid Arjosoediro, Gerard Ostheimer, Marina Denicoff, Daniel Cassidy, Tony Crooks, Margaret Bolin, and Sarah Bittleman; BDC attendees: BDC staff and member companies, including presenters from New Page, Verso Papers, Parsons & Whittemore, and MWV)
Wisconsin-DOE MOU. Masood Akhtar, president and founder, CleanTech Partners (CTP), and also president and co-founder BDC was the lead in getting an MOU signed in 2007 between DOE and the State of Wisconsin (first of its kind in the nation) to promote greater energy efficiency throughout Wisconsin’s industrial sectors. This MOU was signed based on CTP’s successful model to deploy energy saving emerging technologies and Focus on Energy’s successful Industrial Program to deploy energy saving best practices. BDC is in conversations with other states where pulp and paper industry is located to adopt the Wisconsin successful deployment model to deploy industrial energy efficiency projects in those states.
Affiliations with like minded organizations to assist each other in accomplishing our goals:
IV. Educational Symposia
- Along with tours of biofacilities, symposia are held twice per year at a city near the facility tours. These symposia are designed to educate members about bioenergy, biochemical, and bioproduct technology and activities. Through 2011, BDC has held ten such symposia. The agendas and presentations for these past symposia can be viewed on the “Events” tab at the top of the home page, or by clicking on Library and scrolling down to “Symposium Presentation”.
Past Cities where Symposia have been held include:
Atlanta, GA
Little Rock, AR
Madison, WI
Benson, MN
Golden, CO
Durham, NC
Pittsburgh, PA
Cedar Rapids, IA
Washington, DC
Columbus, OH
Knoxville, TN
V. Rapid Response to Member Needs
- BDC officers stand ready to respond to individual member needs. Requests are treated with urgency, and BDC prides itself on providing trustworthy results. Some examples of responses include:
Within days, provided responses to:
- request for the cost of production for pyrolysis oil.
- request about the technology and economics of torrefaction
- request for the cost and environmental impact of petroleum refining compared to corn ethanol production.
- Response to request for more information for value added chemicals. In this case, lined up a world class keynote speaker for a BDC symposium.
- Request for perspective on why certain bio-projects were failing and what the future held was responded to within two days and was followed by a white paper written by BDC staff on the Critical Success Factors for bioenergy projects.
VI. Articles, Presentations, Summaries and White Papers
- To aid in education about success factors in the bioenergy industry and to assure members are kept up to date regarding the latest news and technology relative to deployment activity, BDC officers have written articles, white papers, and summaries of seminars and conferences as well as providing presentations to these educations venues. Below is a sampling of what BDC has provided for its members and for public education.
BDC article published in Biofuels Digest November, 2011 "Bioenergy Critical Success Factors"
BDC article published in Paper360, Nov/Dec Issue "Efficient and Sustainable Use of Biomass for Heat and Power"
BDC perspective on the bioenergy industry based on events in the US and Europe
Cellulosic Biofuel Pathways 2010 Thorpe
BDC perspective on the bioenergy industry based on events in the US and Europe
Validated Biofuel Facilities, Aug 2011
Summaries from IBR peer review held Feb 1-3
Principles that will drive the organization
1. Significant value will be added to industry through education, promotion and deployment of energy reduction and efficient, integrated bioprocesses, including biochemicals, biopower, and biofuels.
2. Sustainability of wood supply is a far better criterion for policy making than renewability, and all parties should be educated about the reasons.
3. Achieving or maintaining fair markets for raw material supplies and feedstocks is good for the country and the industry.
4. Achieving or maintaining fair markets for the sale of products including biochemicals, biopower, and biofuel is good for the country.
5. Only projects and processes that will be financially viable, long term without any government subsidy will be supported, and
6. Focus of all activity will be member-driven and to provide value to the members.
Services
1. Information Gathering, Screening, and Summation
- Daily screening of deployment related activities and policies for dissemination of the pertinent, valid, and accurate information to members in a timely manner,
- Attending conferences and webinars of importance to members and summarizing the key information, saving time and money for our members,
- Visiting bio facilities and providing summaries of the processes, and
- Arranging webinars to provide timely information on certain timely key issues.
2. Providing general perspective on the bio industry and how it relates to the competitiveness of the industry BDC represents,
3. Providing perspective and information for specific requests from members,
4. Building a strong positive relationship with the government agencies such as DOE, USDA, EPA , and states through education and partnering, and
5. Meeting biannually to provide education and updates on deployment activities related to advanced biofuels, bioproducts and bio power and related policies, including tours of pilot scale bio facilities in operation for attending members.
6. Helping to broker partnerships that will accelerate the implementation of worthy projects by:
- Working with members to determine worthy projects to pursue,
- Conducting preliminary due diligence on selected projects
- Educating members and government agencies on soundness of partnering to accomplish shared goals through these projects, including technology, industry, State and Federal agency, and financial groups as potential participants in the brokered partnerships in order to accomplish the agreed upon projects in a cost effective and timely manner. This includes developing relationships with potential partners including investors, the petroleum industry, and potentially others.
- Developing models and white papers regarding direction for more effective projects and policies
- Identifying technologies of mutual interest that are ready for demonstration, including DOE ITP-Agenda 2010-funded projects.
- Partnering with affiliates such as the Forest Resources Association (FRA) and the Pulp and Paperworkers' Resource Council (PPRC) on timber sustainability to keep wood costs competitive, especially focusing on the efficient use of wood resources.
7. Specific to shorter term energy reduction efforts for members, BDC will:
- Work with members to determine their general technology needs.
- Arrange webinars or otherwise publicize regarding success stories.
- Add panels during each BDC semi-annual meeting focusing on topics of mutual interest.
- Keep members informed about federal funding opportunities and current energy efficiency policies.
- In states where industry plants have significant presence, work to establish successful programs similar to Wisconsin's “Focus on Energy” program.
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BDC has developed a track record of brokering partnerships. The knowledge within BDC is suited for this activity, and the network of potential partners is large. BDC operatives understand funding opportunities and understand the industry’s barriers to deployment of energy saving and renewable energy technologies. BDC strongly believes that identifying good business opportunities and brokering partnerships between the technology provider, service providers, investors, and federal/state agencies will be a key to effectively overcoming these barriers in an effort to make our industry globally competitive.
Bioenergy Deployment Consortium (BDC) is a non-profit organization dedicated to improving the environment for the deployment of bioenergy facilities while educating and keeping company members abreast of the pertinent technology, processes, and policies. For more information visit: www.bioenergydc.org or contact:
Ben Thorp at
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or (804) 873-6561
Masood Akhtar at
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or (608) 332-0189
Harry Seamans at
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or (870) 501-1836, or
Eric Horn at
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or (608) 332-0191
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