Phil Bredesen

The University of Tennessee Research Foundation announced today it will be partnering with DuPont to built a pilot biorefinery and research-and-development facility for cellulosic ethanol in Vonore, Tenn.

The facility is scheduled to begin operations in December 2009. Initially it will convert corn stalks, cobs and fiber into cellulosic ethanol, and in 2010 it will begin converting switchgrass. It is expected to produce 250,000 gallons of cellulosic ethanol annually, said UT President John Petersen.

To create the biorefinery and research facility, UT will join with DuPont Danisco Cellulosic Ethanol LLC, a joint venture between DuPont and the Copenhagen-based Danisco, which manufactures food ingredients and sugars.

“We are extremely pleased to collaborate with DDCE,” Dr. Petersen said. “The technical breadth and execution capabilities of DuPont Danisco, along with the backing of their parent companies, raise the national and international profile of the Tennessee Biofuels Initiative and confirm the State of Tennessee as a leader in the development of cellulosic ethanol.”

Switchgrass to be used in the new biorefinery was planted this year on 721 acres in seven East Tennessee counties, and the crops will mature in three years. The conversion of switchgrass to ethanol will begin in 2010, said John Pierce, technology leader at DuPont Danisco. Before switchgrass is available, the pilot plant will convert West Tennessee corn cobs to ethanol and improve its technology for switchgrass conversion, he said.

In 2007, the state Legislature allotted $40.7 million to build a pilot biorefinery. That money will be added to an investment from DuPont Danisco to construct the research facility, Mr. Pierce said.

Gov. Phil Bredesen said Wednesday’s announcement was an important step forward in the development of alternative fuels, which could be a solution to the U.S. dependency on foreign oil and soaring fuel costs.

“To me, it is a national security issue,” Gov. Bredesen said.

Mr. Pierce said the new pilot project will lead to commercial production sites.

“The joint venture is now targeting the two optimal biomass feedstocks in the United States, and we are ready to take our technology to the next level of commercial viability,” he said.

Serious talks between DuPont Danisco and UT began a little more than a month ago, Dr. Petersen said.

Earlier this year, UT has planned to partner with Mascoma Corp., a company working on other biofuel initiatives in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan and in upstate New York, to build the Vonore facility, but Dr. Petersen said UT and Mascoma officials were not on the same page.

Kate Casolaro, a spokesperson for Mascoma Corp., said Mascoma is no longer involved with the Vonore pilot plant.

“After a year of discussions, we have not been able to come to mutually acceptable terms on the implementation of this arrangement and have realized that our business interests are no longer aligned,” Ms. Casolaro said in a statement.

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