Strata-G Puts Expertise to Work on Green Issues
Monday November 17, 2008
By Larisa Brass
The Knoxville News Sentinel, Tenn.
Plenty of researchers are probing the depths of molecular biology to uncover the secret to brewing cellulosic ethanol. But biofuel production isn't only about the science.
When building a plant for producing gas from grass, a pretty basic question arises: Where should it go?
The University of Tennessee and partner DuPont Danisco have begun building a demonstration plant for making cellulosic ethanol at an industrial park in Vonore, a site chosen for its proximity to a variety of transportation routes and the rural swaths of land where switchgrass will be grown.
Studying the logistics of biofuels -- how to store feedstock, the equipment required to handle it, how to transport both the grass and the final product -- proved to be a business opportunity for Knoxville-based Strata-G, which carried out the study that guided the siting of the UT plant.
"We really started off with a bang with a very large client who is really successful nationwide," said Leah Berry, Strata-G division manager of business services. She was referring to UT's initial partner Mascoma Corp., the company the contracted Strata-G to do the work.
Strata-G, which serves primarily as a government services contractor in waste management, transportation and logistics, training and compliance, got into the green business after hiring Jack Britt, a retired vice president at the University of Tennessee who helped Strata-G land the Mascoma work.
Strata-G, with 120 employees, is using its expertise in logistics and experience with Oak Ridge National Laboratory and UT to carve out a niche in the growing green sector. (In addition to working with biofuels, the company is also focused on expanding work in improving energy efficiency for clients, primarily in the government sector.)
The idea to pursue green business was born in a staff meeting a couple of years ago, during which employees were challenged to "consider some big, hairy audacious goals we could put into play," said Strata-G president Dan Hurst. "One of our staff suggested we build a biodiesel plant."
That notion didn't pan out, but the exercise set the company on a path to carve out a niche in what Hurst said is an up and coming industry.
"We believe that one way we grow as a company is to create profit centers around technologies that can impact energy and the environment in a positive way," he said.
For Mascoma, Strata-G studied potential sites across East Tennessee, looking at their proximity to rail, road and river as well as throwing other potential feedstocks, such as wood chips, for biofuel into the mix.
