The state’s switchgrass initiative is looking for new investors. The program aims to turn crops of the tall perennial grass into ethanol to fuel cars. Now it’s using a new East Tennessee biorefinery to demonstrate the technology, in hopes of attracting capital to bring it to market.
The state has put up some $70 million through 2012 to make switchgrass an energy crop. And it’s leveraged another $300 million from federal and private sources.
Now the pilot biorefinery near Knoxville is working out the kinks of scaling up from the lab to the marketplace, and showcasing the results.
Kelly Tiller is CEO at Genera Energy, the University of Tennessee’s company in the biofuels business. She says this isn’t just a school science project; it’s a working model to bring in outside funds.
Tiller says that could be the makings of a billion-dollar trade in the state. And among the potential investors, she says right now they’re talking with businesses in the supply chain – that is, oil companies.
