DuPont, DOE Launch Bio-refinery Project

E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Co. (DuPont) and the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) are combining their efforts to develop a "bio-refinery" that uses corn or other renewable resources to produce fuel and other value-added chemicals. The Wilmington, Del., manufacturer and the DOE's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) have announced a $7.7 million research and development agreement to collaboratively develop, build and test a refinery pilot process that makes fuels from the entire corn plant. The agreement is part of a larger $38 million DuPont-led consortium known as the Integrated Corn-Based Bioproducts Refinery project. The consortium --which includes the NREL, Diversa Corp., Michigan State University and Deere & Co. -- was awarded $19 million in matching funds from the DOE last year to demonstrate the feasibility of alternate energy and renewable resource technology.