Biofuel production costs break through 50 cent mark
Biofuel Digest reports that two producers have been able to reduce the cost of production of cellulosic ethanol and algal biodiesel below USD 2.00 per gallon, or 50 cents per litre.
Cellulosic ethanol
In Denmark, Novozymes has announced that productivity increases with its new Cellic CTec2 enzymes have brought enzyme costs down to 50 US cents per gallon, and will enable the biofuel industry to produce cellulosic ethanol at a price below USD 2.00 per gallon for the initial commercial-scale plants that are scheduled to be in operation in 2011. This cost is on par with gasoline and conventional ethanol at the current US market prices.
Marketing Director Poul Anderson confirmed that the company would be using a cocktail of 5-7 enzymes for its customers, and that the optimisation process would take from 2-12 months per customer, but could be completed during the overall cellulosic ethanol production plant. Anderson confirmed that the enzymes will be produced at the company’s proposed Nebraska facility.
“The enzymes are ready,” said Novozymes’ CEO, Steen Riisgaard. “Biofuel producers now have a critical component to turn agricultural waste into a competitive alternative to gasoline.”
Extraordinary advances in enzyme development have reduced the enzyme cost for cellulosic ethanol by 80% over the past two years and enzyme costs are now down to approximately 50 cents per gallon of cellulosic ethanol. Coupled with further improvements in enzyme efficiency, Novozymes expects the cost to produce cellulosic biofuel to be further reduced.
Algal fuel
In Washington, the special assistant for energy at the Defence Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), which has been conducting two algal fuel projects, said that “Darpa has achieved the base goal to date. Oil from algae is projected at $2 per gallon, headed towards $1 per gallon.”
Barbara McQuiston said the General Atomics and SAIC-led projects have been recording harvests at more than 1,000 gallons per acre and predicted that large-scale refining, at the 50 Mgy (million gallons per year) level, would commence as soon as 2011. DARPA is chasing a US military-based goal of obtaining half its fuel from renewable sources by 2016.
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