DuPont Danisco starts work on Tennessee biorefinery

DuPont Danisco Cellulosic Ethanol and and the University of Tennessee have broken ground on their planned pilot scale biorefinery in Vonore, Tenn.

DuPont Danisco Cellulosic Ethanol was formed earlier this year as a 50-50 joint venture between Wilmington, Del.-based DuPont (NYSE: DD), the No. 3 chemical maker in the U.S., and Copenhagen, Denmark's Danisco, one of the world's largest producers of food ingredients (see Another cellulosic powerhouse formed).

The two copmanies have put an initial $140 million into the venture, which will have its headquarters in Itasca, Ill.

"DuPont Danisco has the technology package that will lead the way in the market," said Joseph Skurla, president of DuPont Danisco.

"We are ready to scale-up, we have economics that can't be beat and, with the University of Tennessee and the farmers of this great state, we have a winning team that is going to help deliver sustainable, non-food biofuels to the market on an accelerated schedule."

The 250,000 gallon per year pilot scale plant is expected to produce cellulosic ethanol from corn stover and switchgrass. The facility is scheduled to be operational by the end of 2009.

DuPont Danisco, which is working with the university's for-profit Genera Energy group on the project, said the school has invested state research dollars to develop switchgrass as a dedicated cellulosic energy crop, with sixteen east Tennessee farmers participating in the first round of sponsored switchgrass production.

The company said the farmers worked a combined 723 acres this year as part of the university's research into supply chain logistics for cellulosic biorefineries.

DuPont Danisco said the corn stover, which is the plant material left in the field after the grain is harvested, will come from farms in western Tennessee.

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