POET spokesman Matt Merritt tells Recharge his company is also negotiating terms for an additional $13.15m, which would bring total DOE money for the project to $100m. POET may be able to access the $13.15m as soon as this year, he says.

“DOE has shown an incredible commitment to speeding the commercialization of cellulosic ethanol,” says Jeff Broin, chief executive of POET, the world’s largest ethanol producer.

He adds with the $6.85m add-on grant, POET will be able to assist farmers take advantage of this new revenue stream while helping the US realize all the benefits of second-generation ethanol.

DOE in 2007 made an initial $80m commitment to the Project LIBERTY, which stands for Launch of an Integrated Bio-refinery with Eco-sustainable and Renewable Technologies in Y2009.

Project cost is estimated at $250m. This includes the plant plus helping farmers and equipment manufacturers develop a feedstock infrastructure and other costs.

Among other companies involved with the project are Dupont and Novozymes, plus equipment and logistics providers, along with 14 regional farmers.

POET estimates that the plant will need 700 dry tons a day of corn cobs for the plant, which will have nameplate capacity of 25 million gallons of ethanol a year.

Merritt cautions that POET has not released exact ethanol yields for the plant or how many days it will operate. But the company is confident it will produce between 85 and 100 gallons for each dry ton of cobs.

POET is using its own process technology for the project that resulted from joint research efforts with DOE with assistance from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and South Dakota State University.

POET says its fractionation technology and raw starch hydrolysis process boost ethanol yields but more importantly, create additional value-added products and streams – including intended use of fiber in production of cellulose to ethanol.

To complement this technology, POET has licensed a unique integrated lignocellulose conversion technology package developed by Dupont that converts high volumes of both simple and complex sugars in corn plants into ethanol.

POET is also collaborating with Novozymes on providing state-of-the-art enzyme technology in the cellulosic biomass field.

Plans call for conversion of a conventional corn dry mill facility in Emmetsburg into a commercial-scale biorefinery. The new unit will be attached to grain-fed grain ethanol plant at the site.

The cellulosic ethanol plant is scheduled to begin operation in late 2011. POET has operated a pilot-scale cellulosic plant since November 2008 in Scotland, South Dakota, southwest of Sioux Falls where POET is based.

Corn cobs are both economical and environmentally friendly as a feedstock for cellulosic ethanol. An Iowa University study showed that removing corn cobs from fields appears to have no substantial impact on soil nutrient content.

The US Environmental Protection Agency has praised the economic benefit of using corn stover, which includes corn cobs, in making cellulosic ethanol.