Business
SunOpta Announces System Sale to Celunol
SunOpta Announces System Sale to Celunol.
About this update from Sunopta Inc.
[{"type":"text","content":"\n\n\n\n\nTORONTO, August 3 /CNW/ - SunOpta Inc. (SunOpta or the Company)\n(Nasdaq:STKL) (TSX:SOY) today announced that the company has sold a continuous\nprocess system, including SunOpta's patented and proprietary biomass\nconversion technology, to Celunol (formerly BC International) for Celunol's\ncellulosic ethanol commercial demonstration facility in Jennings, Louisiana.\nTerms of the sale were not disclosed.\nThe SunOpta Bioprocess Group has been designing, building, and optimizing\nbiomass conversion plants for over thirty years. End products include\ncellulosic ethanol, cellulosic butanol, xylitol, and dietary fibre for human\nconsumption. Raw materials include wheat straw, corn stover, grasses, oat\nhulls, wood chips, and sugarcane bagasse.\nCelunol Corp. (www.celunol.com) is a privately held company headquartered\nin Dedham, Massachusetts moving rapidly to commercialize its proprietary\ntechnology for producing ethanol from a wide array of cellulosic biomass\nfeedstocks--including bagasse, agricultural waste, wood products and dedicated\nenergy crops. The company is currently completing an expansion of its existing\npilot facility and is moving forward to construct a demonstration plant based\non its technology later this year. Celunol aspires to develop and build a\nportfolio of ethanol facilities in the U.S. and abroad. Shareholders in the\ncompany include Braemar Energy Ventures, Charles River Ventures, Khosla\nVentures, and Rho Capital Partners.\nMurray Burke, Vice President and General Manager of SunOpta's BioProcess\nGroup, commented, \"The combination of SunOpta and Celunol process technologies\nwill lead to a very competitive solution for producing cellulosic ethanol from\nvarious biomass substrates. We are excited to be working with Celunol on the\nfirst commercial cellulosic ethanol plant in the United States and look\nforward to the massive grow out in this market.\"\nCarlos Riva, President and Chief Executive Officer of Celunol, noted the\nadvantages of acquiring the SunOpta technology, \"Incorporating SunOpta's\nbiomass pretreatment system into our proprietary process will further enhance\nthe operating efficiencies of our Jennings facility, and will advance the\nrapid commercialization of Celunol's cellulosic ethanol technology.\"\n\nAbout SunOpta Inc.\n\nSunOpta Inc. is an operator of high-growth ethical...