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Poster Presentation 5-22
Moving Federal Biofuels Research and Development into the Marketplace: Creating Industrial Partnerships for a Large-scale Cellulose-based Demonstration Plant
John H. Ashworth
Biotechnology Division for Fuels and Chemicals Biofuels Industrial Partnerships National Renewable Energy Laboratory Golden, CO 80401
E-mail: john_ashworth@nrel.gov
For the past two decades, researchers have been steadily increasing the efficiency and reducing the cost of processes for converting cellulosic feedstocks to fuels (primarily ethanol) and other value-added products. The NREL Enzyme Sugar-Ethanol Platform (ESP) is a concentrated national effort to complete the developmental steps required to prove these conversion technologies as viable options for the commercial production of low-cost sugars for fuels and chemicals. The Department of Energy and NREL have begun the process of identifying industrial partners who will actively participate in the design and funding of this design, construction and operation of a demonstration plant. The NREL Industrial Partnership program seeks to involve a range of potential firms who have the financial resources, expertise, and management skills to help design, build, or co-locate a cellulosic conversion plant that will serve as a prototype for the future U.S. cellulosic fuels and chemicals industry. This will rely on industry interaction and feedback to create the structure, timing, and nature of the government co-funded technology demonstration plan. A variety of teaming and innovative funding options are being explored with industrial firms, trade associations, state and local governments, and feedstock providers to create an economically compelling case for the scale up of the ESP technology. This cooperative approach will help make certain that the final process designs meet both near-term market needs and also provide a platform for a future large-scale cellulosic fuels and chemicals industry.
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