Broin gets grant to make ethanol in Iowa

Broin gets grant to make ethanol in Iowa

	Published : Thu, 01 Mar 2007 00:02 By : Agencies Print this Story

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) - A new north central Iowa ethanol plant will receive an $80 million federal grant to make ethanol from corn stalks, leaves and other plant material, the Department of Energy announced Wednesday.

Sioux Falls, S.D.-based Broin Companies announced in November plans to build a $200 million cellulosic ethanol plant in Emmetsburg.

The process under development with Denmark-based Novozymes and Delaware-based DuPont Co. uses the entire corn plant instead of just the kernel, which is currently used to make most ethanol in the United States.

The technology breaks down the cellulose in plant parts into basic sugars that can be fermented into ethanol.

The plant is expected to initially produce 50 million gallons of ethanol and expand to 125 million gallons, said CEO Jeff Broin.

The Broin plant was one of six companies to be awarded federal grants for development of cellulosic ethanol. Others are located in Missouri, Florida, California, Virginia and Colorado.

Many industry experts have said significant expansion of ethanol production will require the use of material other than corn.

The Renewable Fuels Association, a trade group, said creation of ethanol from plant material will move the nation toward a more diverse energy future.

'While corn will remain a key component of our ethanol industry, the kind of production necessary to greatly reduce gasoline consumption in this country can only be realized from the addition of cellulosic material as a feedstock,' said RFA President Bob Dinneen in a statement.

Jeff Broin said in a statement that the hope is ethanol from plant material can be commercialized within a few years.

'Our goal is to bring cellulosic ethanol to commercial viability by the end of the decade in order to reduce global warming, revitalize the rural economy and lessen our country's dependency on foreign oil,' he said. 'But we can't get there alone. This partnership with the Department of Energy, along with the collaboration of companies like DuPont and Novozymes and the farmers around Emmetsburg, Iowa, will allow us to achieve significant progress toward these goals.'

Department of Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman said the Broin plant will help pave the way to cost effective production of ethanol from plant materials.

'Ultimately, success in producing inexpensive cellulosic ethanol could be the key to eliminating our nation's addiction to oil,' Bodman said in a statement. 'By relying on American ingenuity and on American farmers for fuel, we will enhance our nation's energy and economic security.'

The project is expected to produce 11 percent more ethanol from a bushel of corn and 27 percent more from an acre of corn, while consuming 24 percent less water and using 83 percent fewer fossil fuels than what is needed to operate a corn to ethanol plant.

The technology has been under development for several years. The DOE jointly funded a five-year research initiative with the assistance of the National Renewable Energy Laboratory and South Dakota State University.

Iowa currently is the nation's leading producer of ethanol and soybean-based biodiesel.

Broin owns 18 ethanol plants in five states. It also owns ethanol plants in the Iowa towns of Gowrie, Jewell, Ashton, Hanlontown and Coon Rapids.