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Innovative technology solutions for sustainability

Abengoa celebrates grand opening of its first 

commercial-scale next generation biofuels 

plant 

Global leader in the development of new industrial biotechnologies debuts 

advanced biorefinery for cellulosic ethanol in Southwest Kansas.

 U.S. Secretary of Energy Dr. Ernest Moniz, Kansas Governor Sam Brownback

and Kansas Senator Pat Roberts offer remarks during on-site event 

commemorating landmark occasion for advanced biofuels industry.

 Abengoa’s proprietary enzymatic hydrolysis technology turns crop residue 

(stalks, stems and leaves) into a sustainable fuel source – cellulosic ethanol.

Hugoton, Kan. – October 17, 2014 – Abengoa (MCE: ABG.B/P SM /NASDAQ: 

ABGB), the international company that applies innovative technology solutions for 

sustainability in the energy and environment sectors, today announced the official 

grand opening of its second generation cellulosic ethanol plant in Hugoton, Kansas, 

located about 90 miles southwest of Dodge City. The opening was attended by U.S.

Secretary of Energy Dr. Ernest Moniz, Kansas Governor Sam Brownback, Former 

U.S. Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar, Kansas Senator Pat Roberts, Mayor of 

Hugoton Jack E. Rowden and CEO of Abengoa Manuel Sánchez Ortega.

Abengoa’s new industry-leading biorefinery finished construction in mid-August

and began producing cellulosic ethanol at the end of September with the capacity 

to produce up to 25 million gallons per year. The plant utilizes only “second 

generation” (2G) biomass feedstocks for ethanol production, meaning non-edible 

agricultural crop residues (such as stalks and leaves) that do not compete with food 

or feed grain. The state-of-the-art facility also features an electricity cogeneration 

component allowing it to operate as a self-sufficient renewable energy producer. By 

utilizing residual biomass solids from the ethanol conversion process, the plant 

generates 21 megawatts (MW) of electricity – enough to power itself and provide 

excess clean renewable power to the local Stevens County community.

The Hugoton plant opening also marks the first-ever commercial deployment of 

Abengoa’s proprietary enzymatic hydrolysis technology, which turns biomass into 
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Innovative technology solutions for sustainability

fermentable sugars that are then converted to ethanol. Among the first wave of

commercial-scale ethanol plants in the country, Hugoton builds on recent industry 

momentum showcasing cellulosic ethanol as a sustainable alternative fuel source 

that significantly reduces greenhouse gas emissions and increases energy 

independence.

In addition to the plant’s crucial role in proving the commercial viability of cellulosic 

ethanol, its success provides a platform for the company’s future development of 

other bioproducts that reduce petroleum use, such as bioplastics, biochemicals and 

drop-in jet fuel.

“The Hugoton plant opening is the result of 10 years of technical development, 

roughly 40,000 hours of pilot and demonstration plant operation, and the support 

of the DOE,” said Manuel Sánchez Ortega, CEO of Abengoa. “This is a proud and 

pivotal moment for Abengoa and for the larger advanced bioenergy industry – and 

further demonstrates our longstanding commitment to providing sustainable energy 

alternatives in the United States. This would have been simply impossible without 

the establishment of the Renewable Fuel Standard.”

Abengoa received a $132.4 million loan guarantee and a $97 million grant through 

the Department of Energy to support construction of the Hugoton facility. 

Industrial Biotechnology Renewed

 

At full capacity, the Hugoton facility will process 1,000 tons per day of biomass,

most of which is harvested within a 50-mile radius each year – providing $17 million 

per year of extra income for local farmers whose agricultural waste would otherwise 

have little or no value. Of that biomass, more than 80 percent is expected to consist

of irrigated corn stover, with the remainder comprised of wheat straw, milo stubble 

and switchgrass.

Abengoa plans to offer licenses and contracts to interested parties covering every 

aspect of this new industry – from process design, to engineering, procurement and 

construction (EPC), supply of exclusive enzymes, as well as operations and 

marketing of the completed products from the facility.

The proprietary enzymatic hydrolysis technology utilized commercially at Hugoton is

also a focal point in Abengoa’s efforts to diversify the range of raw material
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Innovative technology solutions for sustainability

feedstocks from which biofuels and bioproducts can be produced. For example, for 

more than a year the company has been operating a demonstration-scale facility 

that is capitalizing on the same technology and enzyme cocktail used at Hugoton to 

extract cellulosic sugars from municipal solid waste (trash), thereby allowing

expansion of the renewable fuels industry from rural to urban areas.

Legacy of Innovation

With a biofuels presence on three continents, Abengoa is an international 

biotechnology company – one of the largest ethanol producers in the United States

and Brazil, and the largest producer in Europe with a total of 867 million gallons of 

annual installed production capacity distributed among 15 commercial-scale plants 

in five countries. 

Abengoa’s overall presence in the United States – including its solar, water 

desalination, biofuels and engineering and construction businesses – has grown 

exponentially since the company expanded its business more than a decade ago. 

Some 26 percent of the company’s assets are currently in the United States, which 

is Abengoa’s largest market in terms of sales.

For more information and materials, including images, video/b-roll and a fact sheet, 

please visit: www.abengoabiotech.com/pressroom or connect with the company on 

Twitter @Abengoa and follow the conversation with #BiotechRenewed and 

#WhyKansas. 

 

About Abengoa

Abengoa (MCE: ABG.B/P SM /NASDAQ: ABGB) applies innovative technology 

solutions for sustainability in the energy and environment sectors, generating 

electricity from renewable resources, converting biomass into biofuels and 

producing drinking water from seawater. (www.abengoa.com)

For further information, please contact:

Communications Department:

Patricia Malo de Molina Meléndez.

Tel: +1 6365322111

Celular: +1703.585.0707

E-mail: communication@abengoa.com

Investor relations:

Bárbara Zubiría Furest.

Tel: +1 6365322111

E-mail: ir@abengoa.com
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You can also follow us on:

@Abengoa

And on our blog: http://theenergyofchange.com/