After harvesting corn grain, crop residues, commonly called corn straw, remain on the surface of the field. This material is a mixture of stems, leaves, cover leaves and cob cores, differing in physical and chemical properties.

Corn cob cores are characterized by the widest of all corn straw fractions, the C:N (carbon to nitrogen) ratio of 100:1 on average. Cob cores are also characterized by a structural structure consisting of three types of hard tissue. All this means that they take a very long time to decompose in the soil. Corn cob cores contain little nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium and magnesium (N, P, K, Mg) as well as sulfur and chlorine compared to cereal straw.

Harvesting corn cob cores as an energy material using Power Maize® technology fits into the strategy of two-way use of the field, i.e. production of grain for feed or for the food industry and energy biomass. This approach does not raise ethical concerns and, above all, fits into the strategy of producing so-called second-generation fuels.