Cereal growers near Prince Albert, Sask., will wait longer than anticipated for construction of a cellulosic ethanol plant that will use their straw.Shell Canada and Iogen Corp. are exploring the idea of building a facility at the former Domtar pulp mill in Prince Albert.The companies have been working on a feasibility study since the project was announced last June, when an Iogen spokesperson said a final investment decision was expected in eight to 12 months.A year later, it appears the timeline was overly optimistic.“We realistically don’t expect that we’re going to reach a decision before 2012,” said Shell spokesperson Larry Lalonde.He said the company remains committed and the focus continues to be the Domtar site. However, detailed technical and commercial feasibility work is needed before making an investment decision.“Basically, it’s really about us doing our due diligence,” Lalonde said.Meanwhile, Shell announced June 3 a “significant incremental commitment” to Iogen Energy, the company jointly owned by Shell and Iogen Corp.Lalonde said he could not disclose the amount of the investment, but it will be used to accelerate commercial deployment of Iogen Energy’s process for making ethanol from cereal straw.Iogen Energy produced more than 643,000 litres of ethanol from wheat straw over the last 12 months at its Ottawa demonstration plant using its R7 technology.Shell’s latest investment will help develop and demonstrate the R8 and R9 technologies, which will significantly reduce the capital and operating costs of making cellulosic ethanol.“We are extremely pleased with this additional investment from Shell,” said Iogen Corp. chief executive officer Brian Foody.“Iogen Energy is positioned for successful commercialization of its world class technology as we work toward meeting the demand for a low carbon transportation fuel.”Lalonde said Shell will continue to advance the Prince Albert project, but it is taking a back seat to a new development in Brazil.The company said in February that it was working with Cosan S.A. to form a $12 billion joint venture to produce ethanol, sugar and power from Brazilian sugar cane. It would be one of the world’s largest ethanol producers.“Iogen kind of falls under that,” Lalonde said.He said the Prince Albert project would be a 180 million litre facility. Iogen has previously stated the project would be built in two phases, with the first being a 70 million litre plant.
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