Front row (l-r): Sean Mam, ChemTex; Li Yonghua, Guozhen; Markus Rarbach second row (l-r): Liu Yujian, vice mayor of Fuyang City; Sun Zhengdong, mayor of Fuyang City; Li Wei, chairman of Guozhen Group; Qu Xiujie, deputy director of Fuyang Economic Development Zone
Clariant; Anhui Guozhen Group, a Chinese green energy company; and Chemtex Chemical Engineering sign a license agreement on sunliquid cellulosic ethanol technology. Anhui Guozhen Group and Chemtex agree to form a joint venture to develop a full-scale commercial plant for the production of cellulosic ethanol from agricultural residues. Clariant grants a license for its sunliquid cellulosic ethanol technology to the joint venture.
The joint venture will execute the project development and plant operation at a greenfield site in Fuyang city in the Anhui province, in the Yangtze-Huai River region in East China, utilizing available land owned by the Anhui Guozhen Group and an existing infrastructure network. The annual plant production capacity is planned to be 50.000 tons of cellulosic ethanol with an option to double the capacity in a second phase (50.000 tons in each phase), reportedly making it one of the largest in China. Detailed project evaluations and preparations for the engineering phase are well underway, according to Clariant. The project execution is reportedly pending a final agreement of certain government contracts.
“For Clariant, China represents a core growth market where we want to further strengthen our position. The country is aiming to achieve a 10% bioethanol content in transportation fuels nationwide in the next few years. These regulatory commitments offer substantial growth potential for our sunliquid technology by spurring demand for advanced biofuels,” says Hans Bohnen, Clariant’s chief operating officer. “Hence, the signing of a sunliquid technology license with two renowned Chinese players is an important strategic milestone to seize those promising business opportunities.”
For the Anhui region this signifies a noteworthy investment in green, sustainable technologies, according to Clariant. The area is characterized by agriculture, which reportedly guarantees the abundance of feedstock for the cellulosic ethanol plant. With locally sourced feedstock, greenhouse gas savings can be maximized and additional business opportunities along the entire value and supply chain will arise, according to the company. The produced cellulosic ethanol will be utilized in the Chinese regional fuels market as blend into gasoline to fulfill the national blending mandate. Cellulosic ethanol produced with sunliquid saves around 95% of greenhouse gases compared to gasoline, according Clariant.
For more information, visit: www.clariant.com
