Cobalt Technologies is First to Create Renewable Biobutanol Fuel From Beetle-Killed Pine

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., April 7 /PRNewswire/ -- Cobalt Technologies, the leader in commercializing biobutanol as a renewable chemical and fuel, today announced a breakthrough in producing biobutanol from beetle-killed lodgepole pine feedstock. Cobalt is the first company to produce a drop-in replacement for petroleum and petrochemicals from beetle-affected lodgepole pine. To evaluate the fuel's viability for commercial vehicles, the company has signed a fuel testing partnership with Colorado State University.

"With this breakthrough, we've been able to turn a problem into an opportunity," said Rick Wilson, Ph.D., chief executive officer of Cobalt Technologies. "Harvesting beetle-killed trees could produce low-carbon fuels and chemicals, establish a foundation for a sustainable biorefinery industry and create jobs, particularly in rural areas. If we use only half of the 2.3 million acres currently affected in Colorado alone, we could produce over two billion gallons of biobutanol -- enough to blend into all the gasoline used in Colorado for six years."  

Cobalt Technologies converts non-food feedstock, such as forest waste and mill residues into n-butanol, a versatile product that can be used as a drop-in biofuel to be blended with gasoline, diesel and ethanol; converted into jet fuel or plastics, or sold as is for use in paints, cleaners, adhesives and flavorings. The company's innovative technology offers the potential for converting beetle-killed pine into a low-carbon, sustainable biofuel and chemical.  

Beetle-Killed Forests

Colorado's pine forests have been devastated by the mountain pine beetle, which has infested nearly half of the state's five million acres of pine forest. Additionally, millions of acres of lodgepole and ponderosa pines across the Western United States and Canada have been infested, with 40 million acres in British Columbia alone. From Canada to the Mexican border, the destructive path of the pine beetle has left brown, dead trees, which have little use, pose a significant fire hazard and threaten communities.

"Clearly, this is a significant achievement and a major step forward toward the production of cellulosic biofuels. Converting beetle-killed pine for biofuels is an extremely difficult process," said Ken Reardon, professor of Chemical and Biological Engineering at Colorado State University.  "If Cobalt can convert beetle-killed wood, it's likely that the company can make biofuel from almost any cellulosic feedstock."

Cobalt Technologies has partnered with Colorado State University to perform engine testing with a gasoline-butanol blend made with the biobutanol from beetle-killed wood. The fuel testing will be performed at Colorado State University's renowned Engines and Energy Conversion Laboratory under the auspices of the University's Sustainable Bioenergy Development Center.

Cobalt is backed by leading investors in the cleantech sector, including Pinnacle Ventures, Vantage Point Venture Partners, Burrill and Company, Malaysian Life Sciences Capital Fund, Life Science Partners (LSP), @Ventures, and Harris & Harris. To learn more, please visit www.cobalttech.com.

About Cobalt Technologies

Cobalt Technologies replaces petrochemicals and petroleum with a highly profitable and renewable alternative – biobutanol. The company's technology and engineering platform offers a continuous process to efficiently convert diverse non-food feedstocks – beginning with waste wood – into biobutanol. Cobalt biobutanol is versatile and can be used as a drop-in biofuel; blended with gasoline, diesel and ethanol; converted into jet fuel or plastics, or sold as is for use in paints and coatings. Engineered to achieve the lowest cost of operations through energy efficiency, low water use and low-cost feedstock, Cobalt is making biobutanol and its derivatives a cost effective substitute to petroleum-based materials.  Cobalt is based in Mountain View, CA and is a sponsor of the Colorado Center for Biorefining and Biofuels.

For further information, please visit www.cobalttech.com.  

About Colorado State University

Colorado State University is one of the nation's leading research universities. It was founded in 1870 and today has an enrollment of more than 25,000 undergraduate and graduate students. Colorado State is a land-grant institution, with a Carnegie Doctoral/Research University-Extensive classification and research expenditures exceeding $300 million annually. Colorado State University is a leader in the field of renewable energy through the activities of its Sustainable Bioenergy Development Center (sbdc.colostate.edu/) and Clean Energy Supercluster (www.energy.colostate.edu/), and is a partner institution in the Colorado Center for Biorefining and Biofuels (c2b2web.org/). For more information, visit www.colostate.edu.

SOURCE Cobalt Technologies

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