BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – As the State of Illinois announces a $15 million allocation for the expansion of the National Corn-to-Ethanol Research Center (NCERC) at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville (SIUE), Rodney Weinzierl, Executive Director for the IL Corn Marketing Board, released the following statement:
“Fully funding an expansion of the National Corn-to-Ethanol Research Center at Southern Illinois University in Edwardsville is very welcome and exciting news for the corn farmers in Illinois. An expansion in this facility will allow the testing and trials required for new corn products to scale in Illinois, building both future markets for Illinois corn and creating jobs in the agriculture and processing sectors for our state.
“For the last 23 years, NCERC has helped scale countless technologies that make ethanol production more efficient, doing the research that allows for more ethanol production per bushel of corn. This work has been vital for corn farmers. Today, the opportunity in front of us is the potential of a bioeconomy – a world where U.S. corn-based products replace petroleum-based products. This NCERC expansion will result in more space, more fermentation tanks, and more expertise to guide new ideas to commercialization.
“Today’s ag economy is poor, and many family farmers are struggling to keep their farms viable with razor thin margins. Illinois corn farmers need markets. While an NCERC expansion will not deliver immediate corn market growth, it will provide opportunities for future generations of corn farmers and will help to bring young people to our rural communities. In that spirit, Illinois corn farmers joined with SIUE, SIU, and the State of Illinois in this project, committing $2 million dollars towards the expansion. We look forward to many more years of success and leadership for Illinois corn farmers, the Illinois ethanol industry, a growing Illinois bioeconomy, and the entire state of Illinois.
“Thank you to Governor Pritzker and the Illinois administration for empowering this investment in Illinois corn farmers and developing new corn markets.”
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Background on NCERC:
- NCERC has the largest academic fermentation scale-up capacity in the U.S. (22,000L)
- NCERC's business model is similar to a Contract Research Organization and allows for a range of technology testing and product development.
- Since 2003, NCERC has advanced 100+ technologies toward commercialization, especially in corn-to-ethanol
Why expand now?
- The U.S. currently has limited fermentation capacity for developing and testing new products at commercial scales. As a result, some U.S. companies are developing and testing products at facilities outside the country.
- Europe has approximately twice the precision fermentation capacity of the U.S., while China accounts for approximately 70% of the world’s basic fermentation capacity. The NCERC expansion would add fermentation capacity in the U.S. for companies developing and testing new bioproducts.
- Agriculture is the backbone of the Illinois economy and is currently in a significant economic downturn. As the second largest corn producing state, investment in the use of corn and corn co-products will boost the entire Illinois economy.
What will the expansion include?
- The ability to connect with the biomanufacturing industry for biorenewables production
- The ability to validate both in-house and external high-impact processes through scalability and demonstration toward commercialization.
- Explosion-proof, Biosafety Level 2 work areas, two 5,000L bioreactors, processing and purification capabilities, and intake/distribution and maintenance space
- Greater opportunities to train the next generation of researchers in this important area of work through partnership with SIUE.
