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The U.S. Department of Energy announced awards
totaling $1 million to recipients of its "Bridge to the Corn Ethanol Industry"
initiative. The federal initiative is designed to help expand domestic ethanol production
by bringing together the established corn ethanol industry with newer technologies that
produce ethanol from agricultural and forest wastes and other types of biomass. The
initiative's broad purpose is to help expand domestic ethanol production by expanding the
number of economical feedstocks available to U.S. ethanol producers. Specifically, the department contracts, awarded through the National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Colorado, will help define the technical and economic issues in using corn stover as a primary feedstock along with corn starch in ethanol production. Corn stover is the generic term for the leaves, stalks and cobs left over when the corn plant is harvested for food. Corn ethanol producers would need only expand existing facilities, not build expensive new plants, to accommodate corn stover. |
"With more types of feedstocks, especially from the corn industry itself, ethanol producers can keep up with expected increases in demand," said Dan Reicher, U.S. Department of Energy assistant secretary for energy efficiency and renewable energy. "There will be many benefits from a successful initiative including reducing the cost of domestic ethanol production, creating new markets for U.S. corn growers, encouraging the production of a clean-burning alternative to gasoline and helping to cut our dependence on imported oil."
Contract recipients include:
- Vogelbusch U.S.A., Inc., Houston, Texas, and Chief Ethanol Fuels, Inc., Hastings, Nebraska, $126,000
- Purdue Research Foundation, West Lafayette, Indiana, and Williams Energy Services - Ethanol, Pekin, Illinois, $174,000
- Swan Biomass Co., Oakbrook Terrace, Illinois, and Chippewa Valley Ethanol Co., Benson, Minnesota, $155,000
- Merrick and Co., Aurora, Colorado, and High Plains Corp., York, Nebraska, $193,000
- The New York State Technology Enterprise Corp., Rome, New York, and Robbins Corn & Bulk Services, Sackets Harbor, New York, $188,000
- Swan Biomass Co., Oakbrook Terrace, Illinois, and High Plains Corp., Portales, New Mexico, $181,000
Roger Burken, general manager at Chief Ethanol Fuels in Hastings, Nebraska said the research being funded would attempt to resolve technical and economic issues involved with the use of stover - dead stalks, leaves and other plant material left in the cornfield after harvest - along with the grain itself in ethanol production.
"Chief Ethanol Fuels, as a major ethanol producer, is always looking for ways to reduce our costs and be a low-cost producer," Burken said.
Nebraska Governor Mike Johanns greeted the news of the grants enthusiastically. "As the nation's number three ethanol producer, it is important that the companies in the state maintain their technological edge so the state's ethanol industry cannot only maintain their position, but grow even larger," Johanns said.
