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On Tuesday, June 16, BioFuels Journal spoke with Andreas Vietor, chief financial officer with ZeaChem Inc., Lakewood, CO on ZeaChem's cellulosic ethanol plants process and business plans to deploy it in the future.

Highlight of the Podcast

• The bacteria from gut of a termite consumes sugar and produces acetic acid. It consumes the sugar and preserves all the carbon.

• Sugar from the biomass goes to the bacteria. Lignin goes to the gasifier to power the biofuels plant and allows cellulosic ethanol production at less than $1 per gallon.

• This system uses proven processes such as chemical fractionation, fermentation, liquid extraction and biomass gasification.

• Dedicated energy feedstock (poplar trees) will be utilized, for conversion into biofuels and chemicals. The feedstock is "stored on the stump."

• Demonstration plant ground-breaking is slated for later this year. The company plants to ramp up in stages. To start engineering commercial plants in 2011.

Andreas Vietor's Biography

Andy Vietor has nearly 20 years of experience in corporate and project financial analysis and fundraising in the energy industry.

He worked most recently as vice president of corporate planning and analysis at Evergreen Energy, a publicly-traded company, after holding a variety of roles there in business development and finance.

Prior to Evergreen, he was vice president and the senior oilfield services equity analyst at Stifel, Nicolaus, and Co.

Vietor has been recognized twice in the Wall Street Journal's All-Star Analyst Survey for earnings estimate accuracy in the oilfield services industry: No. 1 in 1998 and No. 2 in 2001.

He graduated with honors in economics from Connecticut College, earning a B.A. in history and economics.

He also earned an MBA from the Columbia University School of Business.

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