DuPont, Greencor JV to build cellulosic ethanol plant

Wilmington, Delware - DuPont and Genencor are to form DuPont Danisco Cellulosic Ethanol LLC (DDCE), a 50/50 global joint venture to develop production technology for cellulosic ethanol-- a next generation biofuel produced from non-food sources. The partners plan an initial three-year investment of $140 million, which will initially target corn stover and sugar cane bagasse. Future targets include multiple ligno-cellulosic feedstocks including wheat straw, energy crops and other biomass sources.

Combining the capabilities of DuPont and Danisco, the JV "will offer the technology standard for cellulosic ethanol production," claimsDanisco CEO Tom Knutzen. "This joint venture will be a powerhouse of discovery, development and engineering. It represents a major step forward in Danisco¹s new strategic intent to be a leading force in the field of industrial biotechnology."

DDCE aims to integrate the unique cellulosic processing capabilities of both companies to economically produce ethanol from non-food sources. The parent companies will license their combined existing intellectual property and patents related to cellulosic ethanol. Their goal is to maximise efficiency and lower the overall system cost to produce a gallon of ethanol from cellulosic materials by optimising the process steps into a single integrated technology.

In the US, the new venture will scale up a technology package for corn cobs from integrating the proprietary DuPont pretreatment and ethanologen technologies with enzyme technology of Genencor, while DuPont continues to analyse the collection and storage of cellulosic feedstocks. The JV expects its first pilot plant to be operational in the US in 2009, and its first commercial-scale demonstration facility to start up within the next three years.

Accordign to the partners, the joint venture¹s technology package can be used both as a bolt-on to an existing ethanol plant -- expanding its capacity to accept cellulosic feedstocks -- or as the design basis for a stand-alone cellulosic ethanol facility. The joint venture expects to enable production of commercial volumes of cellulosic ethanol by 2012.

The integration of the partners¹ technology platforms will combine:

- A differentiated pretreatment process developed by DuPont through its collaboration with the US Department of Energy National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) that allows for reduced capital costs

- Enzyme technologies and production platforms enabling high biomass-to-sugars conversion rates developed by Genencor, which has capabilities in the discovery, optimisation and production of enzymes for cellulose conversion

- A proprietary ethanologen, also developed through the DuPont-NREL collaboration, based on Zymomonas mobilis. This ethanologen has the ability to convert sugars contained in the feedstock into high yields of ethanol with fewer byproducts