An agreement to further develop and optimize the process and the enzymes for converting plant residues to fuel has been signed Inbicon and Novozymes. The deal says the company paves the way for a profitable green technology.

“We are very pleased with this agreement,” says Steen Riisgaard, President and CEO of Novozymes. “Working closely with competent partners like Inbicon is an important step to enable the commercial success of biofuel based on plant residues. Strong development substantiates that the first commercially viable enzyme for the next generation of sustainable biofuel will be ready by 2010. Already now we have sampled the promising prototype for testing at Inbicon.”

According to Niels Henriksen, CEO of Inbicon, the challenge is to bring biofuel to the market at a low enough cost. ”The new demonstration plant in Kalundborg is a break-through in the commercialization of sustainable biofuel production from plant residues. The main goal is to prove that the Inbicon process is viable under industrial conditions. The agreement with Novozymes will contribute to make the Inbicon process the most cost-efficient solution in cellulosic ethanol,” he says.