Novozymes wins $12.3M ethanol contract from feds

Triangle Business Journal (Raleigh-Durham)
Wednesday, October 8, 2008 - 10:21 AM EDT

The U.S. Department of Energy has given a $12.3 million contract to Novozymes in an effort to cut the cost of making ethanol from materials such as wood and the inedible parts of plants.
Novozymes, a Danish chemicals company with U.S. headquarters in Franklinton, said it will match the 2.5-year grant with its own money. That will bring the total investment on the project to $25 million.

The work will be done on “cellulosic ethanol.” Unlike traditional ethanol, which is made from the edible parts of crops such as corn and sugar cane, cellulosic ethanol is made from materials such as grasses, wood and leaves. Novozymes’ efforts are currently centered on making ethanol from corn “stover,” or the leaves and stalks of the plant.

In a statement, Novozymes says the project is the largest R&D effort in its history. Some 100 workers are on the job, with the U.S. portion of the work being done at a lab in Davis, Calif.

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