BP president provides update on oil giant's biofuels business

Ethanol Producer Magazine
By Kris Bevill July 06, 2011

Sue Ellerbusch, president of BP Biofuels North America, traveled to the heart of U.S. oil production recently to provide an update on the company’s biofuels operations to attendees of the Louisiana Energy Conference. She assured the group that the commercialization of cellulosic biofuels is “just around the corner” and said BP is committed to carrying out its plans to produce biofuels from energy grasses in the Southeast U.S., yielding up to five times more fuel per acre than corn ethanol.

BP currently operates a 1.4 MMgy demonstration-scale facility near Jennings, La. The plant began operations in 2008, testing the viability of sugarcane and energy cane bagasse, and was once a joint venture with enzyme developer Verenium Corp. BP purchased Verenium’s share of the operations last year and is now the sole owner of the plant and technology. Ellerbusch said the facility is used to produce data and samples that influence the company’s scale-up strategy for future plants. “Our Jennings facility is doing exactly what it was designed to do: demonstrate the feasibility and sustainability of producing cellulosic biofuels in the southern United States,” she said.

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