DuPont Supports U.S. Renewable Fuels Standard, U.S. Senate Committee Is Told

Speaking before the U.S. Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works, DuPont BioFuels Global Director Jan Koninckx said the company fully supports maintaining the existing Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS) and advanced biofuels tax policies as vital tools needed to bring second-generation biofuels to market.

“Advanced biofuels are a technological and economic reality, and they are about to be a commercial reality,” Jan said. “At this critical point in development, it is essential that these policies be maintained. With stable policy and access to the fuels pool, we will succeed.”

RFS lays the foundation for achieving significant reductions of greenhouse gas emissions from the use of renewable fuels, for reducing imported petroleum while creating new job opportunities and encouraging the development and expansion of our nation’s renewable fuels sector.

Globally, the biofuels market reached $45 billion in 2009, and is estimated to grow to more than $100 billion by 2020. Today’s biofuels produced from conventional crops deliver an estimated 20-60% greenhouse gas emission reduction versus conventional fossil fuels such as gasoline and diesel. Expectations are that cellulosic biofuels will deliver at least an 80% reduction.

DuPont has developed and is ready to commercialize two advanced biofuels that will reduce global reliance on petroleum and meet the increasing demand for renewable energy. The company has developed technologies that allow the conversion of non-food feedstocks to ethanol, as well as biobutanol, a next-generation biofuel with excellent fuel performance characteristics. It is pursuing these efforts through two joint ventures: DuPont Danisco Cellulosic Ethanol (DDCE) and Butamax Advanced Biofuels LLC. Both advanced biofuels are expected to produce commercial volumes by 2014.

“The RFS is helping to motivate the right kinds of market transitions,” Jan said. “The U.S. government called on the private sector to step forward and advance biofuels technologies and production. We have responded with ten years of work, hundreds of millions of dollars of R&D investment and our brightest minds. We are confident of our capabilities to cost effectively produce advanced biofuels.”