Waste-to-fuel Industry Will Create 6 MLN Jobs and RMB32 BLN Income for China     

Cellulosic ethanol creates huge social, environmental, and financial benefits to China. "By converting agricultural residues into fuel ethanol, China can reduce its gasoline consumption by 31 million tons in 2020, thereby reducing its dependence on imported petroleum by around 10%. By doing that, China will abate about 90 million tons of CO2 emissions. Meanwhile this industry will create 6 million direct jobs, resulting in an RMB32 billion - around US$4.7 billion - income increase annually," says Steen Riisgaard, CEO of Novozymes at the Boao Forum for Asia held April 17th - 19th.
    According to the joint report by Novozymes and McKinsey & Co, cellulosic ethanol is economically favorable compared to other CO2 abatement technologies in transportation.
   The report estimates that China can produce cellulosic ethanol at the cost of US$2.5 per gallon by 2010, and dramatically reduce this to US$1.5 per gallon by 2015.
    This is based on China-specific costs, including raw material collection and transportation, ethanol production, midstream logistics, and downstream distribution.
    In the short term, building the cellulosic ethanol industry in China represents an RMB90 billion (US$13 billion) business opportunity, of which Chinese companies will capture more than 75%.
   Novozymes is a leading company in the development of enzymes for the production of cellulosic ethanol. In 2010, the company will be ready to deliver enzymes for commercial production of ethanol based on agricultural residues. On February 2nd, 2009, Novozymes and its Chinese partner COFCO entered into a new partnership with major Chinese oil and energy company Sinopec to develop a commercial-scale process for producing bioethanol from corn stover. Together the three partners cover the entire value chain of bioethanol production and distribution. (CCR2009 No. 4)
   Biofuel refers to liquid products such as bioethanol and biodiesel, which can replace gasoline or diesel. Compared to oil, biofuels are based on renewable input, and they generate lower CO2 emissions. Cellulosic ethanol, also called second-generation bioethanol, reduces greenhouse gas emissions by at least 90% when compared to oil-based fuels.
   Bioethanol is a significant step towards a world that is not dependent on diminishing fossil oil reserves. "We call it the bio-based society."