Renessen LLC, a joint biotechnology venture between Cargill and Monsanto, will build a pilot scale facility in CArgill's Iowa BioProcessing Center campus in Eddyville to produce ethanol from new biotech corn hybrids.

"Given the rapid expansion of the domestic ethanol industry, there has been a concerted market push of late for new technologies that will enhance ethanol yields and improve co-product values," said Michael Stern, Ph.D. chief executive officer of Renessen. "Our process does both, and also will greatly reduce the need for natural gas to dry the non-fermentable material. This is a great opportunity for U.S. corn growers, livestock producers, and the biofuels industry as a whole."

The plant, which is slated to open in January 2007, will produce:

• corn oil for food and biodiesel
• nutrient-rich feed ingredient for use in swine and poultry production
• ethanol, and
• animal feeds including distiller's dried grains with solubles(DGGS, a primary by-product of ethanol production).

This early on, Renessen already plans to actively seek ethanol partners for commercialization of the technology.

Source: Monsanto