Qteros - Raises $25 million, Changes Company Name

SunEthanol, a company that is developing microbes to produce cellulosic ethanol, announced on Nov. 18 that has raised $25 million in Series B financing and that it is changing its name to Qteros Inc. The funding will allow the company to scale up its process from the pilot plant to commercial operations, and hire additional engineers and scientists, company officials said. Plans call for a demonstration plant by 2010 and commercial production in 2011.

The two year old Hadley, MA company is developing the Q Microbe™ (Clostridium phytofermentans), a lollipop-shaped microscopic organism that the company claims has unique properties that make it ideally suited to the production of cellulosic ethanol from a variety of non-food plant materials. Dr. Susan Leschine, Qteros’ Chief Scientist and co-founder, is the University of Massachusetts, Amherst microbiology professor who, nearly 10 years ago, first collected a sample of the Q Microbe™ near the Quabbin Reservoir in Massachusetts. The Q Microbe, was nearly perfect for the job, as found in nature, with an unusual ability to dynamically adjusts to the type of organic matter it’s processing; the company is only engaged in “classical genetic engineering”, which basically means selective breeding.

Currently, throughout the industry, the largest cost components are the feedstock and the enzymes used for the bioconversion. The Complete Cellulose Conversion (C3) process (formerly the Q process) can use very low cost feedstocks and does not use any enzymes. With only one-step of bioconversion, the C3 process is much more efficient—and less costly—than other conversions now in use.  Its Q Microbe™ simplifies the process, eliminating the need for a separate enzymatic breakdown step. Instead of the conventional enzyme and yeast process, C3 technology consolidates multiple steps into a single bioconversion step, resulting in a lower cost of production. This process is less costly than conventional corn starch–production technology and allows for the use of many types of plant material.

In the C3 process, the Q Microbe™ simultaneously decomposes and ferments both cellulose and hemicellulosic plant material to ethanol in a single-step. This microbe not only eliminates the need for costly enzymes, it simplifies the entire ethanol production process, allowing for pre-treatments that are easier on the environment.

The C3 process is expected to be competitive with gasoline once the licensed plants are in full production sometime in 2011. As Qteros gains scale-up knowledge from the successful operation of pilot and demonstration plants, they expect to further reduce costs.

Qteros plans on licensing its technology, rather than being involved in design and construction.

In August the company announced it was collaborating with MBI International, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Michigan State University Foundation, to scale-up a fermentation method for producing ethanol from non-food agricultural feedstocks. MBI is a Lansing, Michigan biotechnology firm specializing in fermentation process development and scale-up. MBI also develops biomass processing technologies.

Currently, MBI is actively scaling-up AFEX (ammonia fiber expansion), a promising biomass pretreatment technology developed at Michigan State University.

"We believe that AFEX-treated biomass could be an effective feedstock for our Q-microbe in producing cellulosic ethanol. AFEX opens up biomass cell-wall structures, thereby increasing the effectiveness of digestion."

--Dr. Parekh, VP of Research and Development, Qteros

Qteros seems to have discovered a microbe similar to the one that Mascoma has been developing, theirs found in nature vs a genetically engineered one by Mascoma. Qteros has used much less capital, $30 million in equity and several 10's of million dollars in government grants and contracts while Mascoma has received a combined total of about $250 million. Qteros has been in existance only two years vs three years for Mascoma.

Between these two companies and others in the cellulosic ethanol business, it seems that we will have demonstated one or more cost competitive, viable cellulosic ethanol process that will produce ethanol from non-food materials by 2012, if not sooner. This should finally permit droping subsidies on ethanol and dropping the tarrif on imported ethanol.

Between renewable fuels, electric cars, wind power, solar power and higher milage vehicles we will have the technologies to eliminate our dependence on oil imports. When these technologies will have an effect on imports of oil is not possible to predict, but I would venture our imports should noticably decrease by 2020 and could be eliminated in the 2030-2050 time period. Many factors other than technolgy, such as the price of oil and governmental actions, will, of course, be a major influence on the timing. I would also venture that we will have severe supply constraints on oil by 2015 and that all possible efforts should be made to speed the implimentation of these technologies, especially renewable fuels and electric vehicles.

Comments

[Cyril R.]

Hi Jim from the energy blog, do you think you could list the comments in one long row rather than having to click to the next page? Just like in the old days...

It's better overview to have all the comments on one page. Can you change that, or is it a typepad default?

[Derek D]

"The C3 process is expected to be competitive with gasoline..." With the price of gas now below $1.70/gal locally this has got to be a much harder sell than it was a couple months ago. For people to invest in this technology the government is going to have to set a floor for the price of imported oil so people have some assurance of a market. If investors knew that the price of imported oil would not go below say $60/barrel there would be a lot more private money in these types of projects. And with government ownership of private companies suddenly all the rage we could let the oil industry invest the difference between market price and the gavernment set floor price in any renewables they like with government getting a 50% stake.

[LBM]

Qteros? What, were all the other company names taken?

[StephenB]

I wonder if they thought that having "ethanol" in the name was a downside.

StephenB

[MC]

"droping subsidies on ethanol"?? Hardly likely. To get elected POTUS, one MUST wave the ethanol flag and this is why Iowa is usually the first stop for a presidential candidate. Grain ethanol's subsidy may decrease, but it will never be eliminated. I also predict the government (viz., lobbyists) will ask for a bigger subsidy for cellulosic ethanol to speed up commercialization, probably $1-1.50 per gallon, which is in the same ball-park as the biodiesel subsidy.

[Bob Wallace]

Historically cheap gas? Enjoy it while you can.

When oil got up over $120 per barrel don't you think every marginal well was brought back into service? Every rust bucket of a tanker that could hold more fuel than it burned on a delivery was set to sea?

Supply got cranked to max and then demand crashed. Lots of surplus product was ordered and now is being delivered. No place to store it, so sell some quick.

We're in a anti-bubble. Watch for the pop in a couple of months or so....

[bigTom]

Bob Wallace: I'm in complete agreement with your logic. But, I think the timescale for the popping of the anti-bubble is a bit longer. I would guess 6months to two years. Remember the old saying, "the market can stay irrational longer than you can stay solvent". I think it applies here. The anti-bubble price dip will likely last long enough to do real damage to production, alternatives, and conservation.

[Organic Grog]

If the Chileans can switch yuo ethanol so can the US.

[John]

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[Rick L.]

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[Carney]

I don't understand why people are spending millions and moving mountains to try to achieve cellulosic ethanol.

After all, methanol can already be produced from any organic material, including switchgrass or anything else, including sewage or coal, TODAY, with NO FURTHER RESEARCH needed.

Unfortunately, other than a fleet of Ford metanol cars, and then methanol-compatible flex fuel vehicles in the 80s, most alcohol fuel cars are ethanol only.

This needs to stop. Any alcohol car than can run methanol can run ethanol too, and all other alcohol fuels to boot (propanol, butanol, etc.) So we need to demand, through law, that all flex fuel cars include methanol.

[Jeff Paul Scam]

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[drilling rig]

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[alisha]

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[oilfield equipment]

i am not sure if ethanol is going anywhere.

[Tom]

I've read about how some biofuels, such those derived from jathropa, though renewable, can put out some pretty large quantities of co2. Anyone know of some good sources for reference, and any ideas on Qteros' numbers?

Tom

[drilling rigs]

these companies are so full of money..they can buy anything.

[energie solaire]

Qteros - sounds awfull in french !

[Roommates]

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[john s.]

ethanol is nice because it allows you to have something other than fossil fuels to burn, saving you money in a possible long term outlook. the problem is, ethanol is not that much cleaner, and it basically rapes the farming community unless you are huge. we already have too much corn: it's used in just about everything these days. i like the idea of alternative fuels, but the focus should be broadened to other, cleaner energies.

Fine Time Pieces

[Domestic Wind Turbine]

Hopefully all of the money these companies have gets spent in the right places and helps towards funding renewable energy experiments and resources.

Ben from the
wind turbine electricity for the home hub.