[StBernard] Governor Blanco breaks ground for nation's first Demonstration-Scale Cellulosic Ethanol Facility

[Westley Annis]

Governor Blanco breaks ground for nation's first Demonstration-Scale Cellulosic Ethanol Facility


JENNINGS- Governor Kathleen Babineaux Blanco, joined by Celunol Corporation officials, broke ground today on a new demonstration-scale cellulosic ethanol production facility, located at its Jennings site, with a rated design capacity of 1.4 million gallons per year (MGY). Joined by dignitaries from federal, state and local government, as well as several project partners and suppliers, Celunol also celebrated the completion of its pilot cellulosic ethanol facility, the first in the nation.

"These two milestones mark a significant step forward for Louisiana and our nation," said Governor Blanco. "Cellulosic ethanol represents a new way to pursue the goals of increased energy security and economic development for our rural economy, while protecting the quality of our environment. We congratulate Celunol and its partners on these milestones, and look forward to the growth of this promising new industry here in Louisiana."

"It has become clear that we need to look to new feedstocks and technologies to increase the sources of supply of ethanol to meet the nation's rising demand for clean automotive fuel," said Carlos Riva, Celunol's President and CEO. "The pilot plant we have inaugurated here illustrates the technical feasibility of producing ethanol on a high-yield basis from low-cost crops and agricultural residues. We expect that the demonstration facility we are constructing will validate the economics of this process on a much larger scale. We believe that a successful demonstration here in Jennings will mark the last major step before the full-scale commercialization of this exciting new technology can begin." 

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

About the Demonstration Facility

Celunol's demonstration facility is the first facility of its kind in the United States to enter the construction phase. The plant will be designed and constructed to have an annual rated capacity of 1.4 MGY of ethanol and to make use of locally-grown sugarcane bagasse and specially-bred energy cane. It will use Celunol's patented production process, which employs a combination of microorganisms and specialty enzymes, to convert up to 95% of available sugars in biomass feedstocks into fuel ethanol. The project is designed by the U.S. subsidiary of AMEC, a worldwide provider to the world`s infrastructure, manufacturing and process industries (www.amec.com <http://www.amec.com> ). It is to be constructed by Cajun Constructors, a nationally recognized leader in construction services (www.cajuncontractors.com <http://www.cajuncontractors.com> ). The plant is planned for completion before the end of 2007.

About the Pilot Facility

Celunol's newly-expanded pilot facility is the first cellulosic ethanol facility in the nation, and is capable of producing ethanol from both the C5 (hemicellulose) and C6 (cellulose) sugars available in biomass feedstocks. Constructed for use as a research and development facility, the plant will be used to test Celunol's patented, high-yield process on a wide variety of feedstocks including canes, grasses and woodchips.

For more information contact: 

Kevin Stickney 
Calypso Communications 
(603) 431-0816 
kstickney at calypsocom.com


John B. Howe
VP Public Affairs, Celunol
(617) 674-5318
jhowe at celunol.com 

Or visit the Celunol website at www.celunol.com <http://www.celunol.com> . 

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