DuPont, Iowa State University Create New Century Farm for Biofuels

On Friday, DuPont stated that it had pledged $1 million in funding to the Iowa State University (ISU) New Century Farm, the first research effort in the United States to focus on the production of cellulose-based ethanol on a farm setting. In addition, the research efforts also will seek to find ways of enhancing the production, processing, and utilization of feedstocks in the creation of biofuels and biomaterials.

The funding will come through DuPont's Pioneer High-Bred business arm and will be allocated from 2008 through 2012.

The New Century Farm is to include a facility for research into biomass crop breeding, crop rotation needs, and ways to efficiently store and process biomass material. In addition there will be a teaching laboratory for training future scientists and farmers, as well as an extension facility to demonstrate the economic, social, and environmental viability of bioenergy.

"The need for renewable sources of energy requires a dynamic new way of thinking. The New Century Farm will research the practical things farmers
can do in the future to grow, harvest and store biomass in a sustainable manner. We're proud to partner with Iowa State to create a demonstration farm that will be the first of its kind to integrate both the growing and processing of biomass into biofuels," said Dean Oestreich, DuPont vice president and general manager and president of Pioneer Hi-Bred.

"We are excited to be working with Pioneer and others to create a facility that will help address the opportunities and challenges of producing biofuels and bioproducts from biomass...The New Century Farm will not only provide a venue for cutting-edge research, it will also allow us to train the next generation of scientists in this critical growth area,"said Wendy Wintersteen, dean of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at ISU.