Danish Novozymes sees bright future for US biofuel industry - report

Nov 21, 2011 - Danish industrial enzymes maker Novozymes A/S (CPH:NZYM B) still sees big potential in the US biofuel industry although political support for ethanol has declined, according to Adam Monroe, head of Novozymes North America.

"It is a huge potential that is out there," Monroe said, cited by news agency Associated Press (AP).

The executive said that the US biofuel industry has developed a lot in the past ten years and it should be able to compete on its own even after the federal ethanol tax credit ends next year. However, the government should continue to implement different policies to support the biofuel industry, Monroe said.

In 2012, Novozymes plans to open a new plant in Blair, in the US state of Nebraska, to produce enzymes that break down the starch in corn or another feedstock, a main part of ethanol production. The plant, which is expected to be completed in the second quarter of 2012, will cost between USD 160 million (EUR 118.4m) and USD 200 million. It has been designed so it could be expanded fivefold in the future, which reflects Novozymes' optimism about the future.

(USD 1.0 = EUR 0.740)

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