The DOE loan guarantee will enable Abengoa Bioenergy to build a commercial scale biorefinery facility, located near Hugoton, in Stephens County, to produce renewable liquid fuel from organic feedstock source.
In collaboration with DOE, the company has been developing new ethanol production technologies since 2003.
Originally, the company has received $34m cost matching award from the Department’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy’s Biomass Program, for the development of its Abengoa pilot plant in York, Nebraska.
In addition, the company has also signed a cooperative agreement in 2007 for about $100m loan guarantee for its Hugoton facility.
Abengoa CEO Manuel Sanchez said the company has been developing this technology for ten years, and the project itself has been in the development stages for over five years.
Abengoa Bioenergy president and CEO Javier Salgado said the new cellulosic ethanol plant will pave the way for the next generation of biofuels, which will be even more energy efficient and environmentally friendly, and will help lead the US to a cleaner, more secure energy future.
"The facility is designed to produce approximately 23 million gallons of advanced cellulosic ethanol each year, as well as enough energy to meet the electric power needs of the plant," Salgado said.
Abengoa Bioenergy is a subsidiary of Abengoa, a provider of technology solutions for sustainable development in the energy and environment sectors.
