San Francisco, Calif.-SynGest Inc. says a $2.5 million award by the Iowa Power Fund and Iowa Office of Energy Independence will provide the spark to get going on its plant west of Des Moines in the Menlo area to produce ammonia from corn biomass. According to Syngest CEO Jack Oswald, the award contract is for the design and engineering stage, and one requirement is evidence that SynGest has raised an additional $3.5 million in new cash equity. “The Iowa Power Fund board’s intent to support the SynGest project will greatly help to accelerate our efforts to bring this critical technology to market,” Oswald remarked. “This is a major milestone and an important step forward for SynGest.” The plant under design would use 130,000 tons per year of mainly corn cobs to manufacture 50,000 tons of bioammonia annually, enough to fertilize 500,000 acres of nearby Iowa farmland under corn. At last report, the plant would cost $80 million.
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