DuPont and Ethanol Europe to develop Macedonia cellulosic biorefinery

DuPont and Ethanol Europe have entered into a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the government of the Republic of Macedonia to develop a commercial-scale 2G ethanol plant to supply the European market.

According to the terms of the MOU, the government of Macedonia will facilitate the project by establishing a viable supply chain using energy crops, increasing local production of cereals and oilseeds.

Ethanol Europe will create an investment plan to develop the sustainable agricultural supply chain, project design, project financing, and construction of a 100 million litre biorefinery.

'We believe the Macedonian project can reassert Europe's leadership in the bioeconomy,' said Eric Sievers, CEO of Ethanol Europe. 'This project provides a road map forward on how Europe can replace fossil fuels with biofuels.

DuPont will license the cellulosic ethanol technology currently being commercialised in their biorefinery in Nevada, Iowa, supplying the enzymes that unlock the sugars in biomass and advising on how to ensure sustainable agricultural supply chain practices.

'The European Parliament must create a stable, renewable energy policy environment that encourages investments in advanced biofuels innovation to enable projects like this to bring economic and social as well as substantial job creation to underdeveloped regions of rural Europe,' adds Sievers.