DuPont Advances Commercialization of Cellulosic Ethanol with Iowa Biorefinery Groundbreaking

Contact: Wendy Rosen
  650-284-6429

 

Once Completed, Plant to Supply 30 Million Gallons of Renewable Fuel to the United States

 

NEVADA, Iowa, Nov. 30, 2012 – DuPont today came one step closer to commercializing advanced biofuels by breaking ground on its cellulosic ethanol facility in Nevada, Iowa.  Expected to be completed in mid-2014, this more than $200 million facility will be among the first and largest commercial-scale cellulosic biorefineries in the world.  

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Goals of the DuPont Cellulosic Ethanol Plant in Nevada, Iowa

Once fully operational, the facility will produce 30 million gallons of cellulosic ethanol per year, and its fully integrated end-to-end production system will be available to license globally.

Nevada, Iowa Construction Site

This new facility is expected to generate 30 million gallons annually of cellulosic biofuel produced from corn stover residues, a non-food feedstock that consists of corn stalks and leaves.  This is more capacity than original estimates called for as data derived from our piloting facility in Tennessee has allowed DuPont to further optimize our process and technology.  This first commercial facility will require a capital investment of about $7 per gallon of annual capacity.  “Nearly a decade ago, DuPont set out to develop innovative technology that would result in low capital and low-cost cellulosic ethanol production.  We recognized that science-powered innovation was the catalyst to make cellulosic ethanol a commercial reality and to help reduce global dependence on fossil fuels,” said James C. Collins, president, DuPont Industrial Biosciences.

“By leveraging DuPont Pioneer corn production expertise and designing an integrated technology platform, we’ve built an affordable and sustainable entry point into this new industry.  We’re committed to continued productivity gains to drive costs down even further for the coming generations of plants, ones based on corn stover as well as other feedstocks,” Collins continued.  “And we didn’t get to this point alone.  We’ve built an incredible partnership with the state of Iowa, Iowa State University, entrepreneurial growers and a whole host of partners around the country who share our vision of making renewable fuels a commercial reality.”

Collins was joined by Iowa Governor Terry Branstad to celebrate the official beginning of construction on the facility at a ceremony held at the construction site adjacent to grain ethanol facility Lincolnway Energy.

“During my previous terms as governor, we were excited to bring ethanol production to the state.  After many hard years of work by Iowa growers and technology companies like DuPont, Iowa now leads the country in renewable fuel production,” said Governor Branstad.  This site in Nevada is the next critical step in our cellulosic ethanol journey.  We look forward to bringing these advanced technologies online, creating local jobs and helping to deliver clean, sustainable energy.”

Agricultural Impact

To supply the corn stover for its plant, DuPont will contract with more than 500 local farmers to gather, store and deliver over 375,000 dry tons of stover per year into the Nevada facility.  In addition to the estimated 60 full-time plant operations jobs, there will be over 150 individuals involved in the collection, stacking, transportation and storage of the stover feedstock seasonally during each harvest.  The stover will be collected from an approximate 30 mile radius around the new facility and harvested off of 190,000 acres.

For many corn growers, residue management is a major challenge when maximizing their potential grain yield.  Leftover corn stover interferes with planting, delays stand establishment, monopolizes nitrogen in the soil and often harbors damaging insect, pests and pathogens.  Some stover from the corn crop is left on the field to protect the soil from erosion.

“Many of us who have participated in the stover harvest program with DuPont are already seeing benefits of this alternative residue management strategy including positive effects on grain yields the following year on our fields,” said Jim Hill, a corn grower whose stover will be used to supply DuPont’s biorefinery.  “We’re excited to work with DuPont to supply stover to this new biorefinery, partner to discover new markets for our products and co-products and develop new crop production techniques based on the opportunity to manage residues thru partial stover removal.”

DuPont will further adapt its cellulosic ethanol technology to additional feedstocks.  It is already processing switchgrass in the testing facility it owns jointly with the University of Tennessee near Knoxville, Tenn. 

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Environmental Impact

The use of advanced biofuels can result in fewer greenhouse gas emissions.  An International Organization for Standardization (ISO) compliant, peer reviewed life cycle assessment of the DuPont biorefinery and supply chain indicates a potential greater than 100 percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions compared to gasoline.  This significant greenhouse gas reduction is enabled by use of cellulosic co-products as a source of renewable energy.  The DuPont biorefinery co-product is a material that can displace coal in facilities currently burning this fossil fuel.

Regional businesses and academic institutions have already indicated interest in exploring the potential use of the renewable co-products to replace portions of their coal fired operations.

“We are excited to explore the various synergies between Lincolnway and DuPont that bring value to both companies.  One area is the possibility of using DuPont’s cellulosic ethanol co-product to replace our coal usage,” said Lincolnway Energy Chairman Jeff Taylor.  “We strive to continually improve our operations and environmental impact.  Replacing our fossil fuels with this renewable cellulosic ethanol co-product to generate heat and power makes great sense.  It is generated right next door, would reduce our coal usage and the transportation costs of shipping coal cars almost a thousand miles.”

DuPont (NYSE: DD) has been bringing world-class science and engineering to the global marketplace in the form of innovative products, materials, and services since 1802.  The company believes that by collaborating with customers, governments, NGOs, and thought leaders, it can help find solutions to such global challenges as providing enough healthy food for people everywhere, decreasing dependence on fossil fuels, and protecting life and the environment.  For additional information about DuPont and its commitment to inclusive innovation, please visit www.dupont.com.

Forward-Looking Statements:  This news release contains forward-looking statements based on management's current expectations, estimates and projections.  All statements that address expectations or projections about the future, including statements about the company's strategy for growth, product development, market position, expected expenditures and financial results are forward-looking statements.  Some of the forward-looking statements may be identified by words like "expects," "anticipates," "plans," "intends," "projects," "indicates," and similar expressions.  These statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve a number of risks, uncertainties and assumptions.  Many factors, including those discussed more fully elsewhere in this release and in documents filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission by DuPont, particularly its latest annual report on Form 10-K and quarterly report on Form 10-Q, as well as others, could cause results to differ materially from those stated.  These factors include, but are not limited to changes in the laws, regulations, policies and economic conditions, including inflation, interest and foreign currency exchange rates, of countries in which the company does business; competitive pressures; successful integration of structural changes, including restructuring plans, acquisitions, divestitures and alliances; cost of raw materials, research and development of new products, including regulatory approval and market acceptance; seasonality of sales of agricultural products; and severe weather events that cause business interruptions, including plant and power outages, or disruptions in supplier and customer operations. The company undertakes no duty to update any forward-looking statements as a result of future developments or new information.

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11/30/12

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