Inside NCERC: Meet Evan - An Operator and Research Fellow

From the outside, the National Corn-to-Ethanol Research Center at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville might look like just another building on campus. Inside, it’s a very different story.

NCERC is a one-of-a-kind research facility where researchers and industry partners can test new ideas for ethanol, corn utilization and emerging biofuel technologies at a scale much larger than a traditional laboratory. With massive fermentation tanks, specialized equipment and labs designed to take a process from small-scale experiments to pilot-scale production, NCERC is helping answer an important question for farmers: What comes next for corn?

On this episode of IL Corn TV, Shane Gray talks with Evan, a Visiting Research Fellow and operator at NCERC. Evan is one of the people running the trials, monitoring the systems and troubleshooting the equipment that keeps the research moving.

Their conversation looks beyond today's ethanol market and toward the opportunities that could create even more demand for corn — from new technologies and additives to sustainable aviation fuel and potentially even maritime fuel.

And there's an important Illinois connection behind it all. NCERC's roots go back to an idea from Illinois corn growers in the early 1990s, and grower support continues to help make research like this possible today.

Because farmers can grow the corn. NCERC helps figure out what we can do with it next.

Watch full episode.