GM and Marathon Oil both invest in same cellulosic ethanol company

[HoosierRon]

Mascoma Corporation Raises $61 Million in Third Round of Funding

BOSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Mascoma Corporation and Marathon Oil Corporation (NYSE: MRO), today announced a $10 million equity investment by Marathon in Mascoma. The investment, which is part of $61 million raised in Mascoma’s third round of funding, reflects Marathon’s commitment to collaboration on the development, adoption and deployment of efficient, environmentally friendly and cost-effective next generation ethanol production.

Marathon’s investment will go towards the funding of research and development activities at Mascoma, as well as the construction of operating facilities. As part of this new investment, Cliff Cook, Senior Vice President of Supply, Distribution and Planning at Marathon, has joined the Mascoma Board of Directors.

With the completion of this round of financing, Mascoma has raised approximately $100 million in equity investment. Mascoma has also received commitments for over $100 million in state and federal grants, including the recent awarding of a $26 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy.

Marathon is the fourth largest United States-based integrated oil and gas company and the nation's fifth largest refiner. The company is a leading ethanol blender, and by mid-2008, Marathon will have the capacity to blend ethanol at the E-10 level throughout its entire distribution system. Marathon also holds an equity interest in two Midwest ethanol manufacturing plants with a combined capacity of 220 million gross gallons per year.

GM and Mascoma Enter into Biofuels Relationship

WASHINGTON, May 1 – General Motors Corp. and Mascoma Corp. today announced a strategic relationship to develop cellulosic ethanol focused on Mascoma’s single-step biochemical conversion of non-grain biomass into low-carbon alternative fuels to help address increasing energy demand.

The relationship, which includes an undisclosed equity investment by GM, complements an earlier investment in a cellulosic ethanol startup that uses a thermo-chemical process to make ethanol from non-grain sources.

Mascoma has announced three seperate cellulosic ethanol facilities in New York, Tennessee and Michigan:

The company's New York pilot facility, which will be capable of churning out 500,000 gallons of fuel a year, will likely start producing fuel in the first quarter of 2008 and become fully operational in the second quarter. It will rely on wood chips.

The company is also building a facility in Tennessee that will be capable of producing 5 million gallons a year. While this plant will ultimately make ethanol out of switchgrass, a fast-growing grass that needs little irrigation, there isn't a lot of switchgrass in Tennessee at the moment. The state has created an $8 million program to encourage farmers to grow the stuff, but it will take two to three years to get the first crops. Since Mascoma wants to open the plant in late 2008, it will have to start with wood chips.
...
Solid-material recycling is one of the issues the company is working on while planning its Michigan facility.

[Clownzilla]

Good news! Unfortunately, there will still be those that will be against ethanol to the bitter end. Listen, people can go on and on about opportunity costs for food, people starving, excessive expense and other BS scare tactics like this but ethanol IS going to be the flagship for the push of alternative fuels in the USA. Ethanol is going to get more mainstream year after year. There will ALWAYS be standard gasoline, but more sooner than later the USA won't have to worry about it as their only fuel source. I am behind news like this 100%!

[ARCHER3]

Ditto; Clownzilla

[solman98]

Originally Posted by ARCHER3

Ditto; Clownzilla

I'll 3rd that.

[Joevette]

im glad to see GM pushing the ethanol, somebody has to do it. But what i dont like is when stations now use e10 in place of regular gasoline but charge the same amount and make you get worse mileage out of your car... they should have to tell you very obviously what u are using.

[DemonKnightDK]

[quote:joevette]But what i dont like is when stations now use e10 in place of regular gasoline but charge the same amount and make you get worse mileage out of your car... they should have to tell you very obviously what u are using.[/quote]

They used too.. at least in my town. They had strait 87, then E10 for 89 and the premium for 91. I think the government was proposing that all gasoline would soon be required to have a 10% blend.. basicly taking away our choice.

[JBsZ06]

This is a great thread.

I didn't realize the first plant will be operational so soon..

Once these plants start popping up...the bubble will burst for speculators and the price of oil will stablize and come down.

If the cost to wholesale this new product is 1.50 it'll surely depress the price of oil.

Just in time for the new president to claim the success...

I don't care who lays claim to the success..this new technology being available alone will depress the price of oil significantly..IMO

[TheGeneral]

Mascoma looks interesting but it's a private company.