Novozymes (NVZ.L), a company that regularly appears on the SB20 List
produced by SustainableBusiness.com's green investing newsletter, Progressive Investor, has entered a new partnership with with the major Chinese oil and energy company Sinopec (0386.HK).
Novozymes, along with Chinese partner COFCO, will work with Sinopec to
produce ethanol on a commercial scale from the agricultural waste corn
stover.
"Second-generation bioethanol production in China holds vast
potential for Novozymes as the technology leader, and we expect to be
the first company with enzymes ready for large-scale production by
2010," Steen Riisgaard, CEO at Novozymes, said.
Together, the three partners cover the entire value chain of
bioethanol production. Novozymes has developed conversion processes
necessary for turning agricultural waste into bioethanol.
COFCO (China National Cereals, Oil & Foodstuff Corporation)
is a producer and supplier of processed agricultural products and will
contribute its knowledge on grain processing.
Sinopec is the world's third-largest oil refinery. It owns
around 30,000 gasoline stations and has a 60% share in China's
refined-oil market. Sinopec has rich knowledge in petroleum refinery
and distribution which will contribute to biofuel roll-out.
