WILMINGTON, Del. and GOLDEN, Colo., Oct. 6, 2003 DuPont and the U.S. Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) today announced a joint research agreement leading toward the development of the world's first integrated "bio-refinery" that uses corn or other renewable resources rather than traditional petrochemicals to produce a host of valuable fuels and value-added chemicals. The $7.7 million Cooperative Research and Development Agreement calls for DuPont and the NREL to collaboratively develop, build, and test a bio-refinery pilot process that will make fuels and chemicals from the entire corn plant including the fibrous material in the stalks, husks, leaves, and the starchy material in the kernels.

The agreement is part of the larger $38 million DuPont-led consortium known as the Integrated Corn-Based Bioproducts Refinery (ICBR) project. The ICBR project which includes DuPont, NREL, Diversa Corporation, Michigan State, and Deere & Co. was awarded $19 million in matching funds from the Department of Energy last year to design and demonstrate the feasibility and practicality of alternative energy and renewable resource technology.

The initiative will develop the world's first fully integrated bio-refinery, which will be capable of producing a range of products from a variety of plant-material feedstocks. Several bio-refineries currently produce a range of products mainly from starch-rich or protein-rich biomass, while other bio-refineries start with a variety of vegetable oils.

"DuPont has a rich history of partnering with governments to enhance the quality of life through science," said DuPont Chief Science and Technology Officer Thomas M. Connelly. "We are pleased the U.S. Department of Energy and NREL support this initiative and recognize that bio-science offers feasible solutions to meet our energy needs while reducing our environmental footprint. The scarcity of non-renewable resources amplifies the need to
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Contact: Anthony Farina
Anthony.R.Farina@usa.dupont.com
302-774-4114
DuPont
6-Oct-2003

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