Nashville, Tennessee
July 23, 2008
DuPont Danisco Cellulosic
Ethanol LLC (DDCE) and the
University of Tennessee (UT) Research Foundation, through
its Genera Energy LLC, today announced a partnership to
construct an innovative pilot-scale biorefinery and
state-of-the-art research and development facility for
cellulosic ethanol in Vonore, Tennessee.
The pilot-scale biorefinery will develop the commercial package
for DDCE’s leading cellulosic ethanol technology. The project
will utilize UT’s world-class expertise in cellulosic feedstock
production and co-product research, as well as its work with
Tennessee farmers to develop the first dedicated cellulosic
energy crop supply chain for cellulosic biorefineries utilizing
switchgrass. The facility design will incorporate the
flexibility to operate on two different non-food biomass
feedstocks – corn stover, cobs and fiber; and switchgrass.
“We are extremely pleased to collaborate with DDCE,” UT
President John Petersen said. “The technical breadth and
execution capabilities of DuPont Danisco, along with the backing
of their parent companies, raise the national and international
profile of the Tennessee Biofuels Initiative and confirm the
State of Tennessee as a leader in the development of cellulosic
ethanol.”
The pilot plant and process development unit (PDU) will be
located at the Niles Ferry Industrial Park. A PDU is a research
facility that enables both experimentation at larger than
laboratory scale and more rapid adjustments to process
components. The plant capacity will be 250,000 gallons of
cellulosic ethanol annually. Site preparations are scheduled to
begin this fall, and ethanol should be available from the pilot
plant by December 2009.
“Our technology is ready to pilot and we are eager to get the
steel in the ground,” said DuPont Danisco Technology Leader John
Pierce.
“The high cellulosic content of switchgrass makes it an optimal
feedstock for ethanol production. Its yields today make it more
than competitive with other biomass sources, and it has the
potential to produce over 1,000 gallons of ethanol per acre in
the future. The joint venture is now targeting the two optimal
biomass feedstocks in the United States and we are ready to take
our technology to the next level of commercial viability.”
In 2007 Gov. Phil Bredesen proposed and the legislature set
aside $40.7 million toward the construction of a pilot
biorefinery. Those funds will be combined with a substantial
investment from DuPont Danisco Cellulosic Ethanol to construct
the high-tech research facility.
“I'm extremely pleased to see UT partner with a company like
DuPont Danisco,” Bredesen said. “This announcement marks an
important step forward in our goal to leverage the best of
Tennessee's agricultural and
academic resources in a way that will maximize our potential as
a farm-based fuels leader. Biomass ethanol research and
production is fundamental to positioning Tennessee to take
advantage of the economic opportunities of the future.” The
university has invested state research dollars toward the
development of switchgrass as a potential energy crop for the
state and the United States. The first switchgrass plots that
will supply the pilot biorefinery were planted by area farmers
in spring 2008. These crops will fully mature in three years,
and demonstration of switchgrass-to-ethanol conversion could
begin as early as 2010. The pilot plant will initially process
western Tennessee corn cobs to ethanol and then will optimize
its technology for switchgrass to ethanol conversion.
The Tennessee Biofuels Initiative is a farm-to-fuel business
plan developed by UT Institute of Agriculture researchers that
models a biofuels industry capable of supplementing 30 percent
of Tennessee’s current petroleum consumption.
DuPont Danisco Cellulosic Ethanol LLC is dedicated to the
development and commercialization of cellulosic ethanol.
Bringing together two leaders in the field -- DuPont and
Genencor, a division of Danisco -- DDCE leverages more than $140
million of investment and over 10 years of research and
development to bring to market global, integrated cellulosic
ethanol technology packages that utilize various non-food
feedstocks. The
company’s mission includes accelerating the development of
commercial scale biorefineries, creating value for the renewable
fuels and agricultural industries and leading the way toward a
low-carbon economy.
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