Iogen ships cellulosic ethanol to Shell

Ottawa-based Iogen has made the first shipment of cellulosic ethanol under a deal with Netherlands' oil giant Royal Dutch Shell (NYSE: RDS.A), sending 100,000 liters of an initial 180,000 liter order from Shell.

Produced from wheat straw at Iogen's Ottawa demonstration facility, the cellulosic ethanol is being purchased by Shell for use in upcoming fuel applications.

"The sale of this fuel reinforces the new commercial alliance between Shell and Iogen announced this summer," said Jeff Passmore, exec. VP of Iogen. "It is part of our focus on accelerating the deployment of next generation biofuels."

Earlier this year, Shell increased its stake in Iogen Energy, a cellulosic ethanol venture owned by Shell and Iogen (see Second generation biofuels get a leg up).

The oil company did not disclose the amount of funding, but called it a "significant investment," boosting its stake in Iogen Energy to 50 percent from 26.3 percent. At the time, Shell also said it would consider investing in a full-scale commercial facility using Iogen's technology.

Shell, which first took an equity stake in Iogen Energy in 2002, also has a hand in other forms of biofuel, teaming up with Hawaii's HR BioPetroleum last year on an algae biofuel project (see Shell to grow algae for biofuel).

Shell and HR BioPetroleum formed a joint venture, called Cellana, to build a pilot facility to grow marine algae and produce vegetable oil for conversion into biofuel.

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