DuPont says that new biofuels with improved properties will proliferate in coming years

In New York, the chief innovation officer of DuPont said that second-generation biofuels would proliferate in coming years and give consumers a wide range of choices with improved fuel properties. Thomas Connelly, told Reuters that DuPont has focused on biobutanol, but has not yet proven that the fuel can be economically feasible. DuPont owns a 10 percent stake in a planned ethanol facility in the UK, in partnership with BP and British Sugar, that will be converted to butanol production over the next few years. Butanol has a comparable mileage to gasoline and can be shipped using existing gasoline infrastructure. DuPont subsidiary Pioneer Hi-Bred is also providing genetically modified seed corn for the conventional ethanol market.

DuPont announced that it is planning three additional equity investments in biofuels facilities. The company said that it projects biofuel revenues to reach $1.2 billion by 2012.

DuPont recently unveiled a three-stage biofuels strategy, including: improving the yield of grain ethanol production; developing cellulosic ethanol technologies; and its butanol partnership with BP.

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