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Mendel Biotechnology, Inc. 1
….seeding a sustainable future Developing Miscanthus as a Bioenergy Crop:
From Concept to Commercial Product
Rasto Ivanic Director of Business Development
Mendel Biotechnology, Inc
7th Annual Bioenergy Feedstocks Symposium January 12, 2010
Mendel’s story
Founded in 1997; located in Hayward, CA~ Operations in Illinois, Indiana, Alabama, Texas; also in
China, Germany
~ 100 FTE’s (40 in bioenergy)
~ Well capitalized
Validated technology platform~ Leading trait technology provider in food crop industry
~ Strong intellectual property position in plant gene regulation
~ Strong long-term partners (Monsanto, Bayer)
Strategic entry into bioenergy in 2006~ Develop high yield, low input genetically diverse dedicated
energy crops~ Sustainable feedstock systems with favorable GHG profiles
~ Differentiated perennial grasses
~ BP strategic partnership in liquid biofuels2Mendel Biotechnology.
Perenniality and high yields are critical attributes of successful energy crops
Energy Cane Sorghum Switch-
grassM. Giganteus
Improved Miscanthus
Efficient photosynthesis √ √ √ √ √
Low inputs √ √ √
Adopted to marginal lands √ √ √ √
soil C sequestration √ √ √ √
Polyculture √ √
Yield > 10 dt per acre √ √ √ √
Low establishment costs √ √ √
First year harvest √ √
Low production costs √ √ √
Sust
aina
bilit
yEc
onom
ics
3Mendel Biotechnology.
Commercialization of Miscanthus: are we there yet?
4Mendel Biotechnology.
Challenges with development of new perennial grass cropsCrop development
Long breeding cycle and miscanthus self- infertilityQuarantine issues for new parent linesSeed production
AgronomyEstablishment protocolsCrop protection (e.g., herbicide registration)Safeguards against invasiveness
Crop economicsEconomics of early commercial (clonal) varietiesSeeds are the futureNeed for genetic diversity
Government supportR&D prioritiesScale up financing
Miscanthus rust? Photo from Hunan Miscanthus germplasm nursery
Miscanthus borer? Photo from Hunan Miscanthus germplasm nursery
5Mendel Biotechnology.
Miscanthus collection -
EuropeMiscanthus collection -
China
Field trial -
US
Crop Development
Miscanthus spp. Centers of distribution in China
M. sacchariflorus
M. sinensisM. lutarioriparius
M. floridulus
7Mendel Biotechnology.
M. floridulus M. sinensis
M. sacchariflorus M. lutarioriparius
Miscanthus spp. collected
8Mendel Biotechnology.
Advanced breeding strategies offer significant potential for crop improvement
Near-term breeding objectives:~ Yield improvement~ Target market adaptation of
leading varieties~ Flowering time and
senescence ~ Support features allowing
economic scale-up
Future goals~ High BTU and low ash content~ Enzyme digestibility (cell wall
structure)~ Other, industry-specific
applications
Miscanthus Germplasm Nursery
Miscanthus Crossing Block for Variety Development9Mendel Biotechnology.
Mendel’s China collection
M. lutarioriparius accessions at HUA-
Mendel nursery, Changsha, Hunan province, China, photo taken in July and December, 2009
10Mendel Biotechnology.
Miscanthus Crossing Block Tinplant - Germany
Crossing tubes Flowering induction dark room11Mendel Biotechnology.
Mendel has developed enabling technology platforms to advance Miscanthus
Molecular Markers~ Assess the genetic diversity of Mendel’s unique
Miscanthus germplasm collection to identify heterotic groups and enable effective parental selection for breeding program
~ Identify marker panels associated with high-priority traits
Tissue culture~ Clonal Propagation~ Develop Miscanthus transformation platform to
introduce key Mendel yield traits~ Manage Miscanthus ploidy levels for targeted
breeding12Mendel Biotechnology.
DNA plate 1 56 primer pairs
Sorghum
Corn
Miscane
SugarcaneM. sinensis Europe/Tinplant
M. sacch/sinM. lut/sin hybrids
M. sacch/sin Giganteus group
M. sacchariflorusrobustus+ China
M. sacchariflorus China
M. sacchariflorus Tinplant
M. sinensis China
M. floridulusChinaM. lutarioriparius
China + TP M. sacch/lutarioriparius(and hybrids)
M. floridulus
M. sinensis
13Mendel Biotechnology.
Mendel has produced transgenic Miscanthus containing a reporter gene
Transgenic traits~ Lignin modification~ Biomass yield~ Stress tolerance and others
Several independent events recovered from M. sinensis line transformed with a vector containing the GUS reporter gene regulated by a constitutive monocot promoterBlue stain reveals the presence of high-levels of the GUS reporter enzyme
14Mendel Biotechnology.
Agronomy
15Mendel Biotechnology.
Establishment challenges
Propagation method
Rhizomes
Tissue culture
Seeded
Advantages Disadvantages•
Commercially available•
Establishment success rate can be high
•
Expensive with limited improvement potential
•
Slow ramp-up to commercial scale•
Only one variety available commercially
•
Plants are exact copies of each other –
virus, disease threat
•
Fast bulk-up of new varieties•
Year-round operation•
Better control over the health of plants
•
Currently expensive, but potential for cost reduction
•
Plants need additional care to establish well in the field
•
Inexpensive•
Use of existing equipment•
Small footprint of planting material production
•
Current seeded varieties not commercially tested (mostly ornamentals)
•
Technical challenges with seed harvesting
•
Planting protocol, weed competition
16Mendel Biotechnology.
Miscanthus field ready transplants
17Mendel Biotechnology.
Transplanting Miscanthus
18Mendel Biotechnology.
Strategy to ensure we launch only non-invasive varieties
Accessing external expertise on invasivenessInternal evaluation of invasive characteristics of potential varieties in breeding & product development pipeline~ Genotype x Environment interaction~ Seed production~ Competitive ability outside of Miscanthus fields
Validating invasive potential with 3rd parties before launchDeveloping stewardship program
19Mendel Biotechnology.
Economics of energy crops will be dictated by alternatives
•
At the ~350M DT level of demand, supply of “free”
biomass (ag
and wood residues) will need to be supplemented by large volumes of dedicated energy crops
•
We expect the equilibrium price of biomass delivered to end user
to range between $50 and $60
Delivered cost of biomass*$/dry ton
*Source: US Forest Service, DOE, Mendel ag-economic model
High yielding perennialsAgricultural residues
Forest residues
High yielding annuals
Marginal Soy MW
56
63
Marginal Corn MW
81
Great Plains perennials (Pasture land)
0 100 150 200
Logging residue
2837
Plains perennials (Wheat land)
48
Primary mill residue
5238
SE perennials (Hay land)
41
Ag residue (corn)Perennials (Cotton land)
400 45050 250 300 350 500 550 600
2020 demand (300M -450M DTs at $50-$60/DT)
Wood waste and ag residues will be likely the cheapest source of biomass
Improved perennials very competitive
with “free” stock in some area
20Mendel Biotechnology.
Expected delivered biomass cost from Miscanthus in 2015 Representative Lower Midwest example
67
16
6
6310
52
18
Total cost at power
plant’s gate
Transport to power plant
Farm gate price
Farmer margin
HarvestOperating costs
Land rentEstablish- ment cost
•
Southern Ohio data•
Average quality hay land•
Annualized cost over 10 years•
10 dry tons/acre peak yield
$ per dry ton [$ per MMBTU]
[1.16]
[1.02]
[0.42][0.35]
[0.38][2.75]
[0.65][4.00]
•
Clonal products•
Average cost $1,500/acre includes:
•
Planting material•
Planting equip & labor•
Initial fertilizer & chemicals•
Establishment financing
•
Mow •
Wind-row•
Bale (sq)•
Stage & load
•
Fertilizer•
Equipment•
Technology license fee
•
Lime•
Chemicals•
Miscellaneous •
Overhead
•Opportunity cost of farmer•Includes switching premium
•12 mile radius from power plant
21Mendel Biotechnology.
Seeds are the future…...
Seeded genotypes can compete on biomass yield
Christian et al (2005) Industrial Crops and Products 21:109
M. x giganteus Switchgrass Seeded Miscanthus
Seeded Miscanthus M. x giganteus2nd
year -
Central Illinois
2nd
year -
Southern Illinois
England
22Mendel Biotechnology.
Seeds are the future…... but how to produce & establish?
Seed harvest & cleaningSeed treatments & pelletizingPlanters & densityWeed controlYield & composition
Mendel Biotechnology 2009 23Mendel Biotechnology 2009
Mendel’s first clonal product
Testing at our Energy Farm in KY
Mendel Demo Farm –
10/20/2009Planted -
5/24/2009
M. x giganteus M. x giganteus (cv. Illinois)(cv. Illinois)
MBS MBS MiscanthusMiscanthus
24Mendel Biotechnology.
High biomass in 1st year
Genotype MBS Illinois MBS Illinois MBS Illinois Illinois
Planting date May 13 May 21 May 23 June 25 June 25 July 27 Aug 10
Nov 12th
2009
•
May 2009 planting produces harvestable 1st
year biomass in South-Central KY
•
MBS variety larger/more vigorous throughout propagation and 1st
year growth in field
25Mendel Biotechnology.
CONFIDENTIAL –
Mendel Biotechnology, Inc. 26
THANK YOU!
