Velocys picks IHI E&C for biomass-to-liquids plant

Smaller scale gas-to-liquids company Velocys announced on Monday that it selected IHI E&C International to carry out the pre-FEED engineering for its first biomass-to-liquids (BTL) plant.

The AIM-traded firm said IHI E&C was working with Velocys and its technology partners to support the rapid deployment of the BTL plant offer to the renewable fuels sector.

It said that aligned with both Velocys' and IHI E&C's strategic intent to enter the US renewable transportation fuels market, with the engineering study set to be completed in the second half of 2017.

IHI E&C is part of IHI Corporation's global network of companies and joint ventures, the Velocys board explained, and specialises in engineering, procurement and construction services with the expertise, experience and capability to take a project from conception through completion, including commissioning, start-up and ongoing support.

It had experience with solid feedstocks through its work on numerous BTL, gasification, alternative energy and waste-to-power facilities around the world throughout the last several decades, the board claimed.

IHI E&C also had “extensive” experience in engineering and construction of projects employing gasification processes and Fischer-Tropsch technology.

The selection of IHI E&C for the FEL-2 engineering stage for the BTL route to market was described as an “important step forward” in identifying the right collection of strategic partners that were “best positioned” to deliver the Velocys offer to customers.

“We believe IHI has the right experience and capabilities to advance the pre-FEED engineering of our integrated BTL offering,” said Velocys CEO David Pummell.

“IHI is a world class EPC and they have an excellent track record across the entire BTL value chain that will drive further reductions in costs for our customers and accelerate the timeline to renewable fuels produced on a scalable and repeatable basis.”

Chris Celano, president of IHI E&C, said his company was “pleased” to have been awarded the pre-FEED for Velocys' first biomass-to-liquids plant, and welcomed the opportunity to work with Velocys and its strategic partners on the project.

“The award supports IHI E&C's strategy within the renewables market and aligns with IHI Corporation's mission to provide engineering solutions for social problems.”