U.S. Department of Agriculture Awards Range Fuels an $80 Million Loan Guarantee - Loan Guarantee for Company's Soperton, Georgia, Commercial Cellulosic Ethanol Plant
On January 19, 2009 Range Fuels, Inc. announced that the U.S. Department of Agriculture has awarded the company a conditional commitment for an $80 million loan guarantee to assist construction of Range Fuels' commercial cellulosic ethanol plant near Soperton, Georgia, the first phase of which is under construction and on track to begin production in 2010.
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Range Fuels Raises over $100 Million in Series B Financing - World’s First Commercial Scale Cellulosic Ethanol Plant Underway
On April 1, 2008 Range Fuels Inc. announced that it had completed an oversubscribed Series B round of private financing greater than $100 million. Range Fuels will focus the new funds on completing the construction of the first phase of its commercial cellulosic ethanol plant located near the town of Soperton, Georgia. The first phase of construction for the Soperton Plant is scheduled for completion in 2009.
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Historic Energy Bill Signed by President - Calls for 36 billion gallons of renewable fuels, including 16 billion gallons of cellulosic biofuels by 2022
On December 19, 2007 President Bush signed "The Energy Independence and Security Act," which, among other actions to reduce our nation’s reliance on oil imports and improve our energy security and environment, includes an aggressive Renewable Fuels Standard that calls for the use of 36 billion gallons of renewable fuels, 16 billion gallons of which are to come from cellulosic biofuels such as ethanol made from renewable biomass. This level of use of renewable fuels would be enough to offset about one-third of the nation's oil imports.
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Range Fuels Breaks Ground on the Nation's First Commercial Cellulosic Ethanol Plant - U.S. Secretary of Energy and Georgia Governor Attend Groundbreaking Celebration
On November 6, 2007 Range Fuels, Inc. broke ground on the nation's first commercial cellulosic ethanol plant located in Treutlen County, Georgia, near the town of Soperton. Range Fuels, one of six companies selected by the Department of Energy for financial support in building a commercial cellulosic ethanol plant, will be the first to break ground.
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Range Fuels Signs $76 Million Technology Investment Agreement with the U.S. Department of Energy - $50 Million Appropriated and Obligated For First Phase of Commercial Cellulosic Ethanol Plant
Range Fuels, Inc. announced November 6, 2007 that it signed a $76 million Technology Investment Agreement with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). Range Fuels' selection for negotiation of this grant was initially announced in February, 2007 and the organizations have agreed on contract terms to allow project funding. Range Fuels was one of six companies selected by the DOE for financial support in building a commercial cellulosic ethanol plant, and will be the first to break ground with a celebratory event November 6, 2007 at the future site of its Soperton, Georgia plant.
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Range Fuels and the World’s First Cellulosic Ethanol Plant Featured on NPR’s All Things Considered
In this All Things Considered segment from November 5, 2007, Andy Karsner of the Department of Energy explains that mass use of cellulosic ethanol could result in an 87 percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions from the transportation sector. The segment features Range Fuels’ revolutionary cellulosic ethanol conversion process and the company’s imminent plans to break ground on the world’s first cellulosic ethanol plant.
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Range Fuels awarded permit to construct the nation’s first commercial cellulosic ethanol plant – groundbreaking to happen this summer
Range Fuels announced July 2, 2007 that the company was awarded a construction permit from the state of Georgia to build the first commercial-scale cellulosic ethanol plant in the United States. Ground breaking will take place this summer in Treutlen County, Georgia for Range Fuels' commercial cellulosic ethanol plant that will convert wood and wood waste from nearby timber harvesting operations into fuel-grade ethanol.
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Range Fuels to Build First Wood-Based Ethanol Plant in Georgia
Range Fuels announced plans on February 7, 2007 to build the first commercial cellulosic ethanol plant in the U.S. at a site near Soperton, Georgia. This plant will have an ethanol production capacity similar to that of current starch-based ethanol plants, and will use wood and wood waste from nearby timber harvesting operations. The plant will create over 70 new jobs for the area.
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Range Fuels Awarded $76 Million Federal Grant
Range Fuels announced February 28, 2007 that the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) awarded the company up to $76 million to build the first commercial cellulosic ethanol plant in the U.S. at a site near Soperton, Georgia. The DOE awarded Range Fuels the grant after a rigorous competitive process that included a detailed technology review, an assessment of the availability of nearby renewable and sustainable non-food biomass feedstock supplies, and an evaluation of the company's ability to successfully commercialize and replicate the project at other locations.
The company's system, K2, uses a two-step, thermo-chemical process to convert biomass that cannot be used for food into a synthesis gas (or syngas) using heat, pressure, and steam. The syngas is passed over a proprietary catalyst that transforms it into mixed alcohols, which are then separated and processed to maximize the yield of ethanol of a quality suitable for use in blending with gasoline to fuel vehicles.
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Range Fuels' CEO Discusses the Viability of Biofuels as
an Alternative to Gasoline
Advocates of biofuels technology, which includes ethanol, butanol and biodiesel, say energy derived from biomass is cleaner than gasoline. Could biomass-derived fuels serve as a major component of the U.S. energy economy? National Public Radio's Talk of the Nation Science Friday's host Ira Flato addresses this question and other issues facing the ethanol industry with a panel, including Range Fuels' CEO, Mitch Mandich.
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