Shell Oil Products, a division of Royal Dutch/Shell Group has purchased a $29 million equity stake in the Canadian company Iogen Energy Corporation, a world leading bioethanol technology company. Shell’s participation will enable Iogen to accelerate development on the world’s first commercial scale biomass to ethanol plant. Iogen is looking at potential sites in the U.S., Canada and the United Kingdom for the location of the $60 million 225 million liter per year commercial scale plant that could be operational by as early as 2004. Bioethanol, when blended with gasoline, is one of a range of environmentally friendly fuels, which Shell is exploring. Bioethanol has the potential to significantly reduce the greenhouse gas emissions of vehicles. Work on the project using Iogen’s globally recognized technology will be channeled through Shell Global Solutions.
