Together, UT and DuPont Danisco are developing world-class, multipurpose research and development facilities in East Tennessee. A process development unit (PDU) will allow promising ideas for technology improvements and efficiencies to take the first step beyond the lab. A larger, pilot-scale biorefinery capable of producing 250,000 gallons of cellulosic ethanol will allow research perfected and improved in the PDU to undergo rigorous testing in preparation for the push to large-scale industrial manufacturing.
In and of itself, just getting the pilot-scale biorefinery up and running and churning out volumes of data on process, engineering and economics is a critical step toward the next giant leap to commercial-scale operations. But even more important, we and DuPont Danisco believe, is integrating that focus on conversion technology and industrial process scale-up with an intensive focus on the challenges of developing a brand-new crop for a brand-new market in a brand-new industry.
$75 billion potential market
Through research and development and farmer programs, UT has been, quite literally, sowing seeds to grow this nascent industry in Tennessee. Before anyone had really even heard of switchgrass, five Henry County farmers participated in a small-scale switchgrass program with UT, generating some of the first real, farm-based production data.
Drawing on that experience, the first 16 pioneering East Tennessee farmers are producing more than 700 acres in UT's switchgrass-production incentive program this year. Now, those farmers are paving the way for about 6,000 more acres to be added over the next two years in the final phases designed to spark a market-based opportunity for all farmers, along with researching and developing markets for other switchgrass uses.
Not only is Tennessee leading the nation in farm-based energy crop production, but this project and the collaboration with DuPont Danisco positions Tennessee to develop a pipeline of research and development that could capture part of a potential $75 billion market opportunity.
We are proud of the Biofuels Initiative and optimistic about the dividends we expect it to pay for generations to come. We also recognize that it is only part of what will eventually be a multipronged approach to reducing our dependence on foreign oil and securing a safe, abundant, sustainable, affordable energy future.
Cellulosic ethanol is a positive step in the right direction, on the verge of being a self-sustaining, environmentally responsible reality. We believe this most recent advance in the UT Biofuels Initiative is a model for how diligent investment of state funds can jumpstart a promising commercial industry and prepare private partners to assume reasonable risks of bringing technologies to the marketplace.
Kelly Tiller, Ph.D., is director of external operations for the UT Office of Bioenergy Programs.