BIO Congratulates Member Companies Who Received DOE Grants for Construction of Ethanol from Cellulose Biorefineries
WASHINGTON, D.C. (February 28, 2007) – The Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO) today congratulated Abengoa Bioenergy R&D, Inc., Broin Companies, Inc., Iogen Corporation and their partners – members of BIO’s Industrial & Environmental Section – for receiving Department of Energy cost-share grants for construction of new commercial biorefineries.
Brent Erickson, executive vice president of BIO’s Industrial & Environmental Section, said, “The grants announced today by Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman will help bring more ethanol motor fuel to the pump within the next few years, reducing both our reliance on imported oil and our emissions of greenhouse gases. Further, these grants will bring thousands of new jobs to rural economies in Idaho, Iowa, and Kansas, where new biorefineries will be built. This is a win for consumers, a win for our rural economies, and a win for the environment. We are grateful for the President’s decisive leadership on this important issue and for the funds Congress provided to carry out this program.”
The awards announced today implement Section 932 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 to fund construction of regional commercial scale demonstration biorefineries that produce transportation fuels, chemical and biobased products from biomass. The awards can match up to 40 percent of the companies’ funding with federal grants, allowing both construction of new biorefineries and expansion of existing ethanol refineries to include large-scale cellulosic processing units.
· Abengoa Bioenergy, with its technology partner Dyadic International, received a $76 million matching grant to construct a new facility producing 11.4 million gallons of ethanol from cellulose in Colwich, Kansas.
· Broin Companies, with its technology partners DuPont and Novozymes North America, received an $80 million grant for the conversion and expansion of an existing facility in Emmetsburg, Iowa, which will produce 125 million gallons of ethanol, including more than 30 million gallons from cellulose.
· And Iogen Corp. received an $80 million grant for construction of a new 18 million gallon ethanol from cellulose facility in Shelley, Idaho.
Erickson continued, “Federal government cost-sharing for the construction of these large-scale biorefineries to convert cellulosic biomass to ethanol and other useful consumer products is a critical step toward bringing recent industrial biotech breakthroughs to the market. The demonstration biorefineries built with today’s announced grants will help rapidly advance the learning curve, reduce the costs, and increase the efficiency of producing ethanol from cellulose. New research made possible through these new, modern biorefineries will significantly speed the widespread commercialization of ethanol from cellulose and many other biobased products. These grants should also send a very strong signal to the investment community that commercialization of biofuels and biobased products from cellulose is a near-term certainty. The federal government will now share the risk in financing new cellulosic biofuels units in every region of the country.”
BIO supports the production of ethanol from all feedstocks. Agricultural biotechnology is helping to increase corn yields, while industrial biotechnology is helping to convert corn starch and crop residues into ethanol more efficiently. With ongoing advances in biotechnology, biofuels can help America meet nearly half its transportation-fuel needs by the middle of this century.
About BIO
BIO represents more than 1,100 biotechnology companies, academic institutions, state biotechnology centers and related organizations across the United States and 31 other nations. BIO members are involved in the research and development of healthcare, agricultural, industrial and environmental biotechnology products. BIO also produces the annual BIO International Convention, the world’s largest biotechnology conference and exhibition.
Upcoming BIO Events
BIO International Convention
May 6-9, 2007
Boston, MA
BIO VentureForum-East 2007
June 18-20, 2007
Montreal, Canada
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