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Oil giant announces partnership to develop cellulosic ethanol

BP and Verenium have announced they are planning to join forces to accelerate the development and commercialisation of cellulosic ethanol.

Cellulosic ethanol is a biofuel produced from wood, grasses, REMOVE COMMA or the non-edible parts of plants.

The companies hope to employ different technologies and operational capabilities to advance the development of the environmentally-friendly production facilities in the US.

BP is pledging to give Verenium $90 million (£45 million) over the next 18 months in return for the rights to all current and future technology that is employed to produced the fuel.

Commenting on the partnership, Carlos A Riva, president and chief executive at Verenium, said: "We are very excited and proud to be partnering with BP, a world leader in both the traditional and alternative energy industries that shares our commitment and vision to rapidly evolve next-generation ethanol into a commercial-scale solution for our energy needs."

According to the US department of energy studies conducted by the Argonne Laboratories of the University of Chicago, cellulosic ethanol reduces greenhouse gas emissions by 85 per cent compared to reformulated gasoline.