Governor Bredesen Attends Biorefinery Groundbreaking
VONORE, Tenn. - DuPont Danisco Cellulosic Ethanol LLC and the University of Tennessee Research Foundation, through Genera Energy, LLC, broke ground today for an innovative pilot-scale biorefinery and state-of-the-art research and development facility for cellulosic ethanol, or ethanol from non-food sources.
On hand to celebrate the event were Governor Phil Bredesen and numerous other state and local officials. In 2007, Bredesen and the Tennessee General Assembly supported the project with a $70.5 million total commitment, including $40.7 million for biorefinery construction. Those funds are being combined with a substantial investment from DuPont Danisco Cellulosic Ethanol to construct the high-tech research facility.
“Earlier today, we held our first-ever Summit on Clean Energy Technology in Knoxville, and now we are here to break ground on this world-class pilot biofuel refinery,” said Bredesen. “When it comes to facing the challenges of the future, Tennessee isn’t just talking the talk about clean energy technology, we’re walking the walk, rolling up our sleeves and getting to work. The bottom line is that this plant and this partnership are going to do a lot of good for Tennessee’s future.”
The pilot-scale biorefinery is expected to be a catalyst for a new biofuel industry for the state. Utilizing DDCE's leading cellulosic ethanol technology and the UT Institute of Agriculture’s world-class expertise in cellulosic feedstock production and co-product research, the facility will produce cellulosic ethanol as a transportation fuel from two different non-food biomass feedstocks: corn stover (cobs and fiber) and switchgrass.
The pilot plant and process development unit (PDU) will be constructed in 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. With a plant capacity of 250,000 gallons of cellulosic ethanol annually, the facility is expected to produce cellulosic ethanol by the end of 2009.