Biofuels can positively impact nearly all of the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

Recognizing that achieving this outcome requires intent and is not assured, Terragia is committed to working with partners to deploy our technology in ways that maximize benefits to people, planet and profit.

PEOPLE

Lifting communities and households by creating jobs and economic opportunity.

Biofuels are important contributors to rural economic and human resource development today, with much larger benefits anticipated from successful development of Terragia’s technology.

PLANET

Unlocking a key contributor to climate stabilization.

Plant biomass provides an average of 20% of primary energy supply and over half of CO₂ removal in prominent climate stabilization scenarios, with cellulosic biomass by far the largest contributor.* Biofuels have the potential to reduce atmospheric CO₂ by  more than 5 GT per year via avoided fossil fuel emissions and carbon capture. Biofuels are a leading climate responsive option for difficult-to-electrify transport modes, including aviation, ocean shipping, and long-haul trucking.

Gracefully integrating large-scale feedstock supply into human and natural systems.

Crop residues are produced from land already devoted to agriculture, and are an order of magnitude larger in scale than current global biofuel feedstocks. There is potential to use such residues for biofuel production while not sacrificing soil carbon and enhancing the economics and sustainability of food and feed production.

Perennial cellulosic energy crops can be incorporated into agricultural landscapes with well-documented benefits with respect to water and soil quality as well as biodiversity.

PROFIT

Competing with fossil fuels, with the right technology.

Cellulosic biomass is widely available at a purchase cost about half that of petroleum on a $/GJ basis. The historical challenge has been the high cost of processing this biomass into fuel, which Terragia aims to address. Realizing the potential of Terragia’s consolidated bioprocessing technology to be competitive with fossil fuels would enable transformative access to:

  • the ~$1 trillion market for fueling difficult-to-electrify transport modes at lower cost and with greater infrastructure compatibility compared to alternatives such as e-fuels, hydrogen, and ammonia. 

  • a lynchpin resource for the emergent bioeconomy, enabling new and expanded opportunities for rural employment, manufacturing, and poverty alleviation

*Data from scenarios of the International Energy Agency, International Panel on Climate Change, International Renewable Energy Agency, the Global Energy and Climate Outlook, European Energy Commission, and World Energy Council.

  • For sustainable aviation fuels from lignocellulose, biological production of ethanol followed by upgrading to hydrocarbons is among the most promising routes and low-cost, scalable, cellulosic ethanol is the key missing piece. Low carbon intensity biofuels like cellulosic ethanol have the unique potential to be carbon-negative and revenue positive. 

    James Bielenberg
    Direct Air Capture Program Lead, Exxon

  • For the substantial fraction of transportation energy demand that involves difficult-to-electrify planes and heavy-duty vehicles, there are few options and cellulosic biofuels are desperately needed to realize low-carbon goals.

    Daniel Sperling
    Founding Director of the Institute for Transportation Studies, UC Davis; former member of the California Air Resources Board

  • The technology Terragia seeks to develop is decisively different from that in demonstration cellulosic ethanol plants built over the last decade. If Terragia can achieve its goals, the climate benefits would be transformational. 

    Jose Goldemberg
    Former Secretary of State for Science and Technology and Secretary of the Environment, Brazil; Lead author UNDP World Energy Assessment

Terragia Origins

In addition to being a biofuel technology expert, Terragia co-founder and Chief Scientific Officer Lee Lynd is a visionary thought leader on sustainable bioenergy futures with activities including:

  • Serving as the biofuels industry representative on the Policy Dialogue to the Executive Office of President Clinton on Reducing Greenhouse Gas Emissions From Personal Vehicles (1994-1995)

  • Co-leader of the Role of Biomass in America’s Energy Future project (2004-2009)

  • Scientific Advisory Committee, Rapid Assessment Process on Biofuels and Sustainability (2013-2015)

  • Executive Committee Chair, Global Sustainable Bioenergy Initiative (2010 to 2020)

  • Multiple literature contributions aimed at gracefully integrating large-scale bioenergy into human and natural systems.