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The new process could yield 75,000 gallons of ethanol per acre annually, said EthosGen co-founder Jim Abrams. Plants in operation now get 600 gallons from a cornfield of the same size.
The company still needs various permits from the state Department of Environmental Protection before construction can begin, a process a DEP spokesman said takes months if all goes smoothly.
Still, Abrams and his supporting cast remain undaunted.
"We're going to build, there's no question about it," said Mark Leffler, a professor in the McGowan School of Business at King's College who has been working with EthosGen. "We'll be building in the next 60 days."
The plant would produce 10,000 gallons of ethanol annually, enough to power about 10 cars burning pure ethanol, Abrams said.
Earth Conservancy has donated 10 acres for the project from the hundreds that it owns in Newport Township. The precise location of the EthosGen parcel has yet to be determined, however, as the company is looking for an area with the best access to the water in flooded mine tunnels beneath the property.
EthosGen is counting on funding from a variety of outside sources to fund the company's growth, Abrams said.
It has submitted a $600,000 grant application to DEP and is pursuing a $600,000 commercial loan. Thus far, EthosGen has received more than $400,000 in private and government funding.
Investors in Sweden and the Department of Defense were also listed as potential sources of capital.
The first full acre of greenhouse and production space carries a $1.2 million price tag, Abrams said.
nsohr@citizensvoice.com
