POET Research

POET's research and technology efforts have advanced biorefining for the good of our stakeholders, the industry and the country as a whole. Our scientific expertise is one of the major reasons each new Poet plant quickly meets and exceeds its guaranteed nameplate production output.

But pure volume is only one part of the story. The real reward of POET Research and Technology is efficiency: not just doing more with the same components, but doing more with fewer of them.

Cellulosic Ethanol

You'll find one of the best examples of how POET technology is reshaping the biorefining industry in the humble town of Emmetsburg, Iowa. It's home to POET's ambitious Project LIBERTY, in which we will upgrade our 50 MGPY ethanol plant to America's first full-scale, commercially viable cellulose-to-ethanol plant with a stunning capacity of 125 MGPY.

The facility will use POET's advanced corn fractionation and lignocellulosic conversion technologies to make ethanol from corn fiber and stalks (known as "stover") and other plant materials. Project LIBERTY will improve POET's industry-leading production efficiency by:

• Delivering 11 percent more ethanol from a bushel of corn
• Reaping 27 percent more ethanol per acre of corn
• Reducing energy consumption in the plant by 83 percent

It's the crowning moment in POET's intense quest to deliver commercially viable ethanol from feed stocks that until now couldn't be converted to fuel at a reasonable cost. In fall 2006, POET announced a partnership with DuPont and Novozymes to develop the technologies that would unlock the massive energy potential of cellulose. The union combines some of the finest minds and most advanced technology for the undertaking. It represents technology leadership that has defined how we operate from day one.

BPX™

BPX™ is the cornerstone of POET's proprietary, patent-pending technologies. It's a breakthrough process that converts starch to ethanol without heat, or "cooking." It means POET achieves higher ethanol yield with lower energy input. And that gives POET a significant production and economic advantage over others.

Put simply, BPX makes more starch accessible for conversion to ethanol, which means we squeeze more fuel, more value, from each kernel of corn than anyone: close to 3 gallons of ethanol per bushel compared to an industry standard 2.8 per bushel. Multiply these savings by POET's 1.6 billion-gallon-per-year production output, and you get an idea of the significance that efficiency represents. That creativity comes from a common-sense fixation on research and development.

The result of years of research and collaboration with the top minds in biotechnology, the BPX process in a complex system of biotechnologies that delivers an efficient conversion of starch to glucose directly to fermentation. The process, known as raw starch hydrolysis, yields an unprecedented 20 percent ethanol in fermentation. This simply means we can do more with our feedstock without heat, reduce fermentation by-products, reduce VOC emissions and increase nutrient and flowability qualities in our Dakota Gold® distillers grains.

BFRAC™

BFRAC™ is a leap forward in biorefining efficiency and proof that Poet can do more with a kernel of corn than was ever thought possible. It's a process that lets us separate corn into its three major components, or fractions: fiber, germ and endosperm.

The endosperm is then fermented to create ethanol, while the remaining fractions are converted into new value-added products, including Dakota Gold HP™, Dakota Bran™ Cake, corn germ meal and corn oil. Even better, BFRAC reduces overall energy consumption to produce ethanol.