BLAIR, the United States, May 30 (Xinhua) -- Danish enzyme maker Novozymes inaugurated the world's largest enzyme plant in Blair, Nebraska in central United States on Wednesday, in a major effort to march into the U.S. biofuel market.
With an investment of 200 million dollars, Novozymes's newest plant encompasses nine buildings with a floor space of 137,000 square feet. It is located within a 500-mile radius of 60 percent of all ethanol producers in the country.
According to the leading enzyme firm, the plant will specialize in making top enzymes, a key technology component for both the existing and advanced biofuel markets.
Peder Holk Nielsen, executive vice president of Novozymes, saw the plant as a critical part of Novozymes' global production chain, adding to its existing plants in China, Brazil, Denmark and the United States.
"The United States is the world's largest biofuel market today, and many of the new advanced biofuel plants will be located in the U.S. Midwest, one of the main reasons we chose Nebraska for our new site," said Nielsen.
In his views, today's 10 percent blend of biofuels in U.S. gasoline reduces gas prices for consumers by about a dollar a gallon. With the recent approval of 15 percent blends by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and increased production capacity coming online, together with volatility in many key oil-producing regions and the cost of oil production on the rise, the potential of biofuels could go even further, which means a good opportunity for Novozymes.
Bloomberg New Energy Finance estimated that by 2030, advanced biofuels could displace up to 16 percent of U.S. gasoline consumption, generating 600 billion dollars in revenues while creating 1.4 million jobs.