BFB: Tell us more about Qteros and why the company decided to get involved in the cellulose ethanol industry?
SHARP: Qteros was started with the ultimate cellulosic ethanol technology, a microbe that is naturally capable of consolidated bioprocessing (CBP). The Q Microbe™ digests cellulosic plant matter and produces mostly ethanol as a by-product.

BFB: Explain the Qteros conversion process and what makes it different from other cellulose ethanol companies. What are the benefits of this process vs. traditional ethanol?
SHARP: Qteros’s conversion process involves the pre-treatment of feedstock and the addition of the Q Microbe cocktail to both break down and ferment C5 and C6 sugars to ethanol.

BFB: Where does the Qteros process stand right now, and what is the timeline for producing cellulose on a commercial scale?
SHARP: Qteros has a process that works very well at lab scale. It is in the process of optimizing the performance of the Q Microbe and reducing the cost to produce industrial amounts of ethanol at a price competitive in the marketplace. We are in various stages of negotiation with several of the largest fuel producers in the world. Our time to market will, in part, depend on the partnership activity that we have underway.

BFB: What types of feedstocks would the process be able to use? Is any one better than the next?
SHARP: From all of our experimental data, it appears that the Q Microbe technology is feedstock agnostic; therefore, the most cost effective feedstocks that are the focus of our partnerships will be the ones we go to market with first.

BFB: How would you describe the current funding market for cellulose ethanol projects? How is that impacting the industry?
SHARP: Funding is difficult for large projects right now. This will make it more challenging to meet or exceed the demand for cellulosic ethanol as set forth by the RFS2. We remain committed, however, to work with all available resources to commercialize the Q Microbe process in the near future.

BFB: What are some of the key hurdles standing in the way of commercialization for cellulose ethanol in general? Is it cost, feedstock handling, logistics, etc?
SHARP: For the early stage projects, the biggest obstacle is the lack of capital. Feedstock growing and handling and downstream distribution will all be hurdles down the road once the easy feedstocks have been converted and the E10 or E15 blend wall has been satisfied.

BFB: What do you believe is the overall potential for cellulose ethanol?
SHARP: I believe cellulosic ethanol can replace a meaningful share of imported petroleum used for gasoline.

BFB: How long do you think it will really take for commercial production of cellulose? The longer it takes, what kind of impact does that have on the industry as a whole?
SHARP: As we’ve seen by the EPA’s recent reduction to 6.5 million gallons from 100 million gallons of required production of cellulosic ethanol in 2010, the industry is not yet predictable or solidly on its feet. It is, however, producing ethanol and it will continue to gain momentum as long as there is political will to continue the search for cheap energy. The faster the industry ramps up production, the sooner all Americans will benefit from clean, sustainable, domestically produced fuel.