November 2009:We have moved! Plenty of space to grow our process and our team. We are now at 720 NE Granger Ave, Bldg B, Corvallis, OR, 97330
October 2009:Welcome to Joshua Kitner, our newest employee! Joshua, formerly an Analytical Chemist at AVI BioPharma, brings his Microbiology and Biochemistry experience to the team - a great asset as we move the company forward.
August 2009: Trillium FiberFuels Awarded $750,000
Grant to Develop Cellulosic Ethanol Technology
The United States Department of Energy (DOE) has just announced the 2009
awardees of the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Program. This
award is a Phase II continuation that follows Trillium’s successful
completion of Phase I during 2008 and early 2009. The SBIR process is highly
competitive, and Trillium received the only Phase II DOE award in the State
of Oregon this year. Trillium’s technology improves the ethanol yield
from biomass by up to 40% by utilizing xylose, a common sugar that is not
fermentable by brewing yeast. The two-year project will transition the process
from laboratory scale to a pilot plant.
Xylose constitutes roughly one third of the available sugar in biomass,
so efficient utilization is essential to good process economics. While most
companies are hoping to exploit genetically engineered microorganisms to
ferment xylose, Trillium’s unique approach uses an existing industrial
enzyme to convert xylose into a sugar that is fermentable by brewing yeast.
This makes Trillium’s solution ready to scale and robust in the industrial
environment.
“We are extremely excited to have the opportunity to take this technology
to the pilot plant scale,” commented company president Chris Beatty.
“We are very appreciative of the DOE and those that have helped us
along the way – including companies like C.H.
Murphy/Clark-Ullman and West Salem
Machinery and organizations like OSU,
ONAMI, and Lane
County Economic Development. We look forward to building stronger alliances
with these organizations and others as we move toward production processing.”
April 2009: Trillium is highlighted in an "In Business" article on the challenges of a sustainability business in a tough economy. Read the article here.
Trillium president Chris Beatty is a featured speaker at the World Biomass Conference in Portland on April 28-30 and the "Business of Renewable Energy" Conference also in Portland on April 16.
March 2009: Trillium was a finalist in the Angel Oregon competition. Chris gave a 1 minute pitch to the crowd. We met some good folks at the event. A special thanks to Rob Stewart for his help in the process.
February 2009: Trillium competes in the finals of the "Seed Oregon" competition. We didn't win, but the process was great for honing the story around why our isomerization technology has huge potential.
November 2008: Trillium wins Round #2 of the "Seed Oregon" Competition and will be in the Finals on Feb. 11.
October 2008: Trillium received an incredible equipment donation from CH Murphy / Clark-Ullman. CHMCU is metal and refractory fabricator specializing in pressure vessels, heat exchangers and many other types of production equipment. After learning that we were unable to locate a suitable receiver tank for our pretreatment process, the team from CH Murphy went to work and built us one from scratch. It is perfect for the job and we will have it operational very soon. The receiver tank is the last major piece needed for our prototype continuous pretreatment system. A HUGE thank you to CH Murphy/Clark-Ullman!
August 2008: Trillium and Oregon State University team up to get a $250,000 award from the Oregon Nanoscience and Micortechnologies Institute (ONAMI) to develop a microfiber based isomerization reactor as part of a prototype isomerization system. The principal investigator is our own Dr. Vince Remcho and we are happy to have Dr. Ganti Murthy to lead the fermentation section of the project. Trillium will integrate and test the system. We will also create the cost/yield models for scaling up the process.
July 2008: Trillium hires its first non-founder employee. Welcome to Cassie Khavari, formerly a process engineer with HP. Her keen observation skills and enthusiasm are quickly making a positive impression!
June 2008: The SBIR grant has resulted in quite a bit of positive press for Trillium. A television station from Eugene, Oregon (KVAL) interviewed us for a two minute segment. Remember that when they refer to "wheat," it is wheat straw (or grass straw), NOT the grain or seed:
KVAL Interview Video: 3.7MB WMV file
May 2008: Trillium FiberFuels is awarded a Phase I Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) award from the United States Department of Energy (DOE) to pursue our work on xylose utilization via isomerization. We are extremely excited about this not only for the funding (which we definitely need), but also for the validation of the idea from the reviewers at the DOE. Trillium was selected from a pool of nearly 1500 applicants. Isomerization technology has developed into a principal focus for Trillium and this funding will help develop a prototype system.
Trillium also filed its second patent application this month.
January 2008: Trillium FiberFuels is part of a team awarded a $250,000 grant from the State of Oregon to evaluate alternatives to the burning of grass straw. Lead by Lane County's Mike McKenzie-Bahr, the team will evaluate availability, logistics and multiple process alternatives. Trillium will continue work on cellulosic ethanol and other team members will assess anaerobic digestion and other paths.
September 2007: Trillium files its first patent on proprietary process technology for cellulosic conversion.
March 2007: Trillium FiberFuels leases an office suite in the Eastgate Business Park.
December 2006: Trillium FiberFuels becomes a founding member of the Northwest Biofuels Association.
September 2006: After extended formulation and study, Trillium FiberFuels is formed.