NEVADA, Iowa — DuPont Co. celebrated the opening of what company officials have called the world’s largest cellulosic ethanol plant, located in Nevada, Iowa, that will use the raw material corn stover – the stalks, leaves and cobs left in a field after harvest – in ethanol.
"Iowa has a rich history of innovation in agriculture," Gov. Terry Branstad said at the Oct. 30 grand opening. "Today, we celebrate the next chapter in that story, using agricultural residue as a feedstock for fuel, which brings both tremendous environmental benefits to society and economic benefits to the state.
"The opening of DuPont’s biorefinery represents a great example of the innovation that is possible when rural communities, their government and private industry work together toward a common goal."
As the nation’s largest ethanol and biodiesel producer, Iowa will be among 21 states sharing a total $100 million from the USDA to expand use of higher blends of the renewable fuel, the department announced in September. According to Wilmington, Del.-based DuPont, the new $225 million Iowa facility has the capacity to produce 30 million gallons per year.
"The facility will demonstrate at commercial scale that non-food feedstocks from agriculture can be the renewable raw material to power the future energy demands of society," the company stated. "Cellulosic ethanol will further diversify the transportation fuel mix, just as wind and solar are expanding the renewable options for power generation.
"Vital to the supply chain and the entire operation of the Nevada biorefinery are close to 500 local farmers, who will provide the annual 375,000 dry tons of stover needed to produce this cellulosic ethanol from within a 30-mile radius of the facility."
In addition to providing a new revenue stream for the growers, DuPont said the central Iowa plant will create 85 full-time jobs on-site and more than 150 seasonal local jobs in the state for annual stover collection. This includes more than 1,000 construction jobs, which were created during the facility’s construction.
DuPont is also working on other non-food based feedstocks including switchgrass, sugarcane bagasse, biomass sorghum and empty fruit bunch. William Feehery, president of DuPont Industrial Biosciences in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, said as a global company with operations in more than 90 countries, it is uniquely positioned to deploy its cellulosic technology for a global rollout, in transportation fuel and other industries.
"Today, we fulfill our promise to the global biofuels industry with the dedication of our Iowa facility," he said. "And perhaps more significantly, we fulfill our promise to society to bring scientific innovation to the market that positively impacts people’s lives."
Company officials said the majority of the fuel produced at the Nevada, Iowa, facility will be sent to California to fulfill the state’s Low Carbon Fuel Standard, a policy to reduce carbon intensity in transportation fuels. In addition, the plant will serve as a commercial-scale demonstration of cellulosic technology, where investors from all over the world can see firsthand how to replicate this model.
For 90 years, company officials said DuPont-Pioneer has been working with Iowa farmers. With this plant, it has also worked with key partners including the USDA, Iowa State University and equipment manufacturers to build a revolutionary new supply chain for the plant, ensuring environmental stewardship of the land through proper stover collection practices.
Moreover, company officials said the plant is the culmination of years of collaboration between DuPont and other world entities, including the U.S. Department of Energy and National Renewable Energy Lab; Natural Resources Conservation Service; Michigan State University; University of Tennessee; state of Iowa; city of Nevada; and Iowa Economic Development Authority.
