Web exclusive posted Feb. 11, 2008, at 1:01 p.m. CST

Energy crop company Ceres Inc., located in Thousand Oaks, Calif., announced Feb. 7 it will be sowing thousands of acres of switchgrass, high-biomass sorghum and other energy crops over the next three years around St. Joseph, Mo., to support a cellulosic ethanol facility being engineered by ICM Inc. Last week, the U.S. DOE announced a $30 million grant to support the development of the demonstration-scale project.

"We are pleased that ICM chose Ceres as a seed provider for the dedicated energy crops they needed," Ceres Chief Executive Richard Hamilton said. "They have been a clear leader in optimizing the starch-to-ethanol process, and we believe they are well-prepared to make next-generation biofuels competitive with starch ethanol and petroleum."

Ceres' primary role will be to supply seed of specially developed energy crop cultivars to nearby farmers, who will grow the plants and harvest the biomass. The company will also provide agronomic recommendations to the overall venture, which will compare numerous raw materials including Ceres' dedicated energy crops for their conversion efficiency and fuel yields, as well as their economic viability.

According to the DOE grant announcement, ICM's proposed plant will be located in St. Joseph, Mo., and will itilize agricultural residues such as corn fiber and corn stover, as well as energy crops such as switchgrass and sorghum using an integrated biochemical and thermochemical process.

"Once we get crops in the field and biomass moving through a refinery, the industry will start bringing down costs and ramping up production," Hamilton said. Noting that the recently signed Energy Independence & Security Act of 2007 calls for a minimum of 16 billion gallons of cellulosic ethanol per year from biomass, he added, "Getting there will require the application of new technologies, such as biotechnology, both in the field and at the biorefinery." These improvements are expected to increase net energy benefits and reduce greenhouse gas emissions, Hamilton predicts. Currently, switchgrass-to-ethanol produces approximately five times more energy than is necessary to grow, harvest and process it, and results in 90 percent fewer greenhouse gas emissions than petroleum fuels.

Other participants in the project include Agco Engineering; the Agricultural Research Service's National Center for Agricultural Utilization Research in Peoria, Ill.; Edenspace Systems Corp.; the DOE's National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Golden, Colo.; Novozymes North America Inc.; South Dakota State University; Sun Ethanol Inc.; and VeraSun Energy Corp.