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Joule Unlimited Technologies Inc. has won two U.S. patents for its ethanol production process that the Cambridge company said is more efficient and handles higher volumes than biomass processes.
The patents relate to Joule’s method of continuous conversion of carbon dioxide to ethanol, which relies on sunlight, waste carbon dioxide and some microorganisms, bypassing a need for biomass fuel, the company said in a news release.
The company is aiming to produce 25,000 gallons per acre of ethanol in a year, at a price of 60 cents per gallon.
“Rather than focus on incremental improvements along the supply chain, we have proven that a direct, continuous process from photons to fuel is the answer to highly-efficient, cost-competitive production that can scale without today’s feedstock constraints,” Joule president and CEO Bill Sims said in a statement.
Founded in 2007 by Flagship VentureLabs, an arm of Flagship Ventures, Joule has its ethanol production process operating at a pilot scale. It holds six patents in the U.S. and has another 70 patent applications pending.
Joule announced in May that it signed a lease agreement for access to 1,200 acres of land in New Mexico to produce renewable diesel and ethanol. Sims has said previously that one acre of solar converter systems could produce 15,000 gallons of diesel per year or 25,000 gallons of ethanol per year.
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