Agrivida aims for $0.80 corn ethanol, inserting fast-acting enzymes into plants

In Massachusetts, Agrivida plans to deliver three enzymes to bring down the cost associated with corn-based ethanol to $0.80 per gallon. After receiving $6.8 million in grants from the USDA and the Department of Energy’s ARPA-E program earlier this year, Agrivida plans to deliver these three enzymes for corn this fall.

Agrivida’s technology triggers enzymes inserted into plants, that begin to rapidly breakdown of cellulose, to produce lower-cost sugars which can be fermented into biofuels and renewable chemicals.