Special Report on Cellulosic Ethanol: Novozymes aims for lower-cost enzymes with DOE funding support

In Denmark, the US DOE has given Novozymes a $12.3 million contract for R&D on reducing the cost of producing cellulosic ethanol from corn stover. The focus is on superior enzymes. The company said that it would match the contract, and bring the total R&D investment to $25 million, and stated that the R&D project would be the biggest in the company’s history. The project will be partly undertaken at the Novozymes labs in Davis, California.

The cost of cellulosic ethanol has been a barrier to development and deployment; in the enzymatic hydrolysis approach, the cost of enzymes has been the most formidable cost barrier on an operating basis. Construction costs, which will reach from $4 per gallon of nameplate capacity for commercial-scale projects, or 2-3 times as much as conventional ethanol, are another cost area of concern.

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