Genencor Achieves Significant Progress Toward Second-Year Goal in Its National Renewable Energy Laboratory Contract
PR Newswire ~ October 30, 2002 ~ 4:15 pm EST
- Biomass-to-energy program on track to attain three-year program goal -
PALO ALTO, Calif., Oct. 30 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Genencor International, Inc. (Nasdaq: GCOR) today announced it has made significant technological progress toward the company's second-year goal on a U.S. Department of Energy ( DOE) contract supporting an economically-viable enzymatic process for converting biomass to ethanol. The contract is managed through DOE's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) in Golden, Colorado.
"Genencor is more than half-way through the program and we believe the company is on track to achieve the final goal in 2003," said Michael Himmel, contract monitor for NREL.
Specifically, as part of the three-year, $17 million program, Genencor is using its integrated technology platforms in a focused effort to deliver enzyme systems enabling a 10-fold improvement in the economics of breaking down biomass (cellulosic material found in plant residue) and complex carbohydrates into fermentable sugars. These sugars are the raw materials necessary for future biorefineries that will produce ethanol, organic chemicals and other bioproducts like plastics. Successfully meeting the goal will assist NREL and DOE in the development of sustainable biorefineries to take their place alongside traditional oil refineries and open new, untapped markets for industrial biotechnology.
"Since the world transportation fuel market is estimated at 500 billion gallons per year, the development of a cost effective biomass-to-ethanol program has significant business potential," said Thomas J. Pekich, group vice president, Bioproducts for Genencor. "Low cost carbon from renewable resources is necessary to make biorefineries commercially viable. This achievement would result in many winners including consumers, farmers and the environment."
Genencor successfully completed the first target of the program in 2001. " Genencor's well-established integrated discovery and delivery platforms are leading the way to developing an economically viable process for biomass conversion," said Michael V. Arbige, senior vice president of technology for Genencor. "We are very pleased to be making significant progress towards completing this program's goals." |
