According to the new agreement among the government, the company Ethanol Europe and DuPont, the parties will work toward building a market for the fuel in Europe, which would support a commercial-scale second-generation ethanol plant in Macedonia.

The government will work to build a viable supply chain for the crops that are needed to create the ethanol and incentives for renewable biomass electricity for the country’s power grid.

DuPont will provide the cellulosic ethanol technology being commercialized in their new refinery in Iowa. DuPont will supply the enzymes for the biofuel and provide guidance on keeping the agricultural supply chain sustainable. Ethanol Europe will create a plan for investment in a sustainable agricultural supply chain, designing the project and financing it, as well as the construction of the refinery itself.

“We believe the Macedonian Cellulosic Project can reassert Europe’s leadership in the bioeconomy,” said Eric Sievers, CEO of Ethanol Europe. “This project provides a road map forward on how Europe can replace fossil fuels with biofuels that add to global food security. The European Parliament must create a stable, renewable energy policy environment that encourages investments in advanced biofuels innovation to enable projects like this to bring economic and social as well as substantial job creation to underdeveloped regions of rural Europe. We are very pleased to have obtained the support of a technical partner of the caliber of DuPont for this project.”