Novozymes Launches Enzymes To Produce Biofuel From Ag Waste

   DOW JONES NEWSWIRES 
 

Novozymes said Tuesday it has launched the first commercially viable enzymes for production of biofuel from agricultural waste.

 
   MAIN FACTS: 

-Breakthroughs in enzyme technology enable cellulosic biofuel as a competitive alternative to gasoline.

-Novozymes' new Cellic CTec2 enzymes enable the biofuel industry to produce cellulosic ethanol at a price below $2 per gallon for the initial commercial-scale plants that are scheduled to be in operation in 2011.

-This cost is on par with gasoline and conventional ethanol at the current US market prices.

-"We have been working on this for the past 10 years and promised our customers and the market to be ready by 2010," says Novozymes' CEO, Steen Riisgaard.

-Advances in enzyme development have reduced the enzyme cost for cellulosic ethanol by 80% over the past two years and enzyme costs are now down to approximately 50 cents per gallon of cellulosic ethanol.

-Novozymes has partnered with companies in the biofuel industry, such as POET, Greenfield Ethanol, Inbicon, Lignol, ICM, M&G, CTC, COFCO, Sinopec, and PRAJ to help accelerate process technology development and implementation.

-Coupled with further improvements in enzyme efficiency, Novozymes expects the cost to produce cellulosic biofuel to be further reduced.

-"Our partners expect production costs to fall below $2 per gallon once their first commercial scale plants are fully operational, and the cost will continue to drop in the future."

-Cellulosic ethanol uses enzymes to break down cellulose in biomass into sugars that can be fermented into ethanol.

-Cellic CTec2 has proven to work on many different feedstock types, including corn cobs and stalks, wheat straw, sugarcane bagasse, and woodchips.

-A number of pilot- and demonstration-scale facilities are in operation, while large-scale commercial facilities are under construction and scheduled to be operational in 2011.

-The recent support from the Obama Administration will reignite investments in new biorefineries across the US. However, moving to higher blends such as E15 and promotion of E85 are still needed to meet the cellulosic ethanol targets defined by the Renewable Fuel Standard.

-By Stockholm Bureau, Dow Jones Newswires; [phone]; [e-mail]