Ethanol production in the US reached 10.0 billion gallons in 2008 and required $14.5 billion in edible corn-grain as its feedstock. SweetWater has developed a viable, scalable and compelling business that produces a cellulose-based and/or starch-based fermentable concentrate liquid feedstock sweetwater as an alterative to corn-grain as the feedstock for ethanol biorefineries.
SweetWater Ethanol, a Rush, NY based company, describes its corporate missions as: Making Ethanol Make Sense. Rather than abandoning the only alternative liquid transportation fuel currently produced on a commercial scale, SweetWater Ethanol wants to reinvent it by retooling the way ethanol is made. SweetWater can “make ethanol make sense” by reorganizing the refining process around the company’s signature concentrated liquid feedstock called sweetwater that lower production cost, water usage and carbon footprint of producing ethanol.
Company Position
We would like to start by repeating the following two statements from a "Special Advertising Section" paid for by Chevron on 2/13/2008 in the Wall Street Journal:
"The Biofuels resource is limited by the amount of land that must remain under cultivation for food, animal feed, and fiber production. Therefore, a Biofuels "footprint" matters. In the future, the most successful Biofuels feedstocks will be crops that do not compete with food and maximize the volume of liquid that can be converted from a unit of land."
"Finally, the role of advanced technology will be critical to Biofuels. The industry needs better molecules, better feedstocks and better conversion technologies. Game changing advances such as the conversion of Biofuels from cellulosic plant material will be neccesary to expand the resource base."
This second quote really is a perfect example of what is wrong with the current cellulosic approach. It is focused totally on the conversion part of the business and has turned a blind eye to the fundamentals and sustainability of the business. Inherent in this approach is also the blind faith that technology will solve everything.
Therefore, SweetWater's counter attacking question is "How will technology ECONOMICALLY solve the transportation, storage, material handling and construction cost problems associated with a centralized cellulosic based biorefinery?
This is where SweetWater comes into the picture Making Cellulose Based Ethanol Cost Competitive and Sustainable.
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Opportunity Drivers
Our business opportunity is being driven by the following:
Ethanol feedstock market is $15 billion a year
2009 Ethanol demand is 11 Billion gallons
Ethanol is an octane boosting additive - 112 octane rating
Ethanol replaces MTBE (ground water pollutant)
Current projection shows 36 Billion gallon demand in 2022
Our process is a catalyst to cellulosic ethanol
Grow it here, Refine it here, Use it here
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Five Introduction Quesions and Answers:
What does SweetWater make? – Novel & Unique Liquid Feedstock
Who Is It For? – Ethanol Biorefineries
Why Do They Need It? – Ethanol from Corn is Limited
Why is SweetWater Better? – Lower costs, Net Zero Water
Why Should Investors Care? –IP Protected, Quick to Market, Highly Profitable, Scaleable and Sustainable