EU companies win €39 million for bioethanol plant

Dong Energy and Novozymes have been awarded €39 million from the European Union (EU) to build a plant in Denmark.

The plant will use straw to produce clean fuel.

'European Union funding is a crucial step, but we also need to be sure we can sell the 80 million litres of second-generation bioethanol that we plan to make,' Jorgen Udby, chairman of the board at Maabjerg Energy, said in a statement. 'To ensure that, we need a political and legal framework setting a minimum level of second-generation biofuel additives in petrol.'

A final decision on whether to proceed with the facility is expected in the last quarter and depends on whether EU member states provide enough support for the fuel. Construction may start next year and production in late 2017, adds Thomas Maxe, a spokesman for Maabjerg Energy Concept.

The companies were awarded the money from the European Commission's NER300 programme for low-carbon projects.