November 8, 2016 – Paul Morden, The Observer – There isn’t a better place in the world than Sarnia-Lambton for Comet Biorefining’s first commercial plant to extract cellulosic sugars from corn stalks and leaves, and wheat stalks, says the company’s founder.
Andrew Richard, founder of the London-based company, spoke Tuesday during a demonstration day held by a new farm co-op established to supply corn stover and wheat straw to Comet’s proposed new Sarnia manufacturing plant.
Farmland in Lambton and surrounding areas is “some of the most productive acres you’ll find in North America,” Richard said.
And it’s near Sarnia where so much of the infrastructure a new industry requires can be found, and where Comet already has industrial customers for its sugar, he said.
“It’s a phenomenal place to start from.”
Comet Biorefining plans to have a manufacturing plant built and operating on the TransAlta site in Sarnia by 2018.
Richard said Comet is also likely to move its offices from London to Sarnia, “as we get ready to roll out this first facility.”
The project was the result of work by Sarnia-based Bioindustrial Innovation Canada, and its partners in agriculture and industry, who went looking for opportunities to turn crop residue into sugar for industrial uses.
That led the partners to London-based Comet, a company that later received $10.9 million from the federal government to help it build a Sarnia manufacturing site.
Comet has a demonstration plant in Italy but Sarnia will be the location of its first commercial-scale manufacturing operation.
Tuesday’s demonstration at the Forest-area farm of Brad Goodhill marks the beginning of efforts to attract members to the co-op that will supply the Comet plant in Sarnia, and also own a piece of the facility.
“We consider the co-op our most important partner,” Richard said.
“This will be a key driver for us as we develop this first plant.”
A second demonstration is set for Thursday, 1 p.m. to 3 p.m., at 1677 Johnston Rd., near Bothwell.
The field demonstrations are an opportunity for farmers to see machinery the co-op will use to collect and bale a portion of the corn stover and wheat straw from fields after harvest, so it can be trucked to the Comet plant.
“The co-op will be 100 per cent farmer owned,” said co-op secretary Jim Campbell.
“And the farmers who own the co-op will also be the suppliers of the bio-mass that the plant we’re going to own shares in, requires.”
Campbell said that ownership stake came about because farmers involved in creating the co-op didn’t want to be just a commodity supplier
“When the plant is built, the co-op will own something around 30 per cent of the plant,” he said.
Farmers are being asked to invest $200 per acre in the co-op, which is looking to arrange to have 55,000 acres of supply in place to grow 75,000 tonnes of bio-mass expected to be needed by the plant.
As well as being paid for the corn stover and wheat straw supplied to the plant, co-op members would receive a share of proceeds from the manufacturing site.
“I see it as a value-added opportunity, and a way to vertically integrate ourselves into the marketplace,” said co-op president Dave Park.
The co-op is planning to host town hall meetings in December to answer questions from farmers interested in becoming members, he said.
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