Sep 26 2007
DuPont is pledging USD 1 million to the Iowa State University (ISU) New Century Farm, the first research effort in the United States to focus on producing cellulosic ethanol on the farm. The research efforts also will focus on enhancing the production, processing and utilization of feedstocks for biofuels and biomaterials.
An artist's rendering of the New Century Farm.
"The need for renewable sources of energy requires a dynamic new way of thinking. The New Century Farm will research the practical things farmers can do in the future to grow, harvest and store biomass in a sustainable manner," said Dean Oestreich, DuPont vice president and general manager and president of Pioneer Hi-Bred, a DuPont business. "We're proud to partner with Iowa State to create a demonstration farm that will be the first of its kind to integrate both the growing and processing of biomass into biofuels."
The New Century Farm will include a facility for research in biomass crop breeding, crop rotation needs and ways to efficiently store and process biomass material. It also will feature a teaching laboratory for training future scientists and farmers, and an extension facility to demonstrate the economic, social and environmental viability of bioenergy.
It will be constructed on the ISU Agricultural Engineering and Agronomy Research Farm west of Ames, Iowa. Construction is scheduled to begin this fall, with a completion date for the main bioprocessing facility a year later.
"We are excited to be working with Pioneer and others to create a facility that will help address the opportunities and challenges of producing biofuels and bioproducts from biomass," Wendy Wintersteen, dean of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at ISU, said.