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The Futurol Project's goals The Futurol Project's primary goal is to develop and validate a so-called "second-generation" bioprocess for ethanol production by using lignocellulose (sourced from agricultural & forestry by-products and/or dedicated energy crops) as a feedstock. The project's targets are as follows: To produce ethanol at a competitive price by using diversified raw materials. To develop cellulose extraction technologies, select enzymes and yeasts and develop the most appropriate hydrolysis and fermentation processes. To obtain the best possible energy and greenhouse gas balances. To reinforce approaches to sustainable development throughout the sector's value chain. The Futurol Project: In a rapidly changing environmental and energy context, sustainable transportation will be a key challenge in the years to come. It is essential to reduce greenhouse gas emissions - particularly in the transport sector. Biofuels constitute one possible way of meeting these new challenges. The Futurol Project seeks to develop and market processes, technologies and products (enzymes and yeasts) for producing second-generation bioethanol from not only dedicated energy crops but also agricultural and forestry by-products, green waste and other lignocellulose-containing biomass. This project is part of a sustainable development approach to the whole production chain - from the field to the wheel. The Futurol Project has received funding by the French state innovation agency OSEO and is accredited by the Industries et Agro-Resources cluster. The €76.4 million project is being implemented by the PROCETHOL 2G consortium, formed by 11 project partners - all leading players from the R1amp;D, industrial and financial sectors. The 8-year project timeline is centred on the implementation of a lab-scale pilot and then an industrial pilot, in parallel with the ongoing R1amp;D work. The pilot facility is located on the agro-industrial complex at Pomacle-Bazancourt in the Marne county (north-eastern France). The Futurol Project partners: ARD: http://www.a-r-d.fr/ Presentation: ARD is a private-sector research organization which is mainly owned by agricultural cooperatives (cereal, sugar beet and alfalfa producers). It employs 75 staff. ARD's Chief Executive is Yvon Le Henaff. Resources: Human resources: 75 staff in 6 groups: Fractionation and Pilot Units, White Biotech, Green Chemistry, Agromaterials, Analytical Chemistry and, lastly, Environmental Technologies. Research partners: ARD also collaborates with academic partners such as: INRA, the University of Reims Champagne-Ardenne, the Ecole Nationale Supérieure de Chimie de Rennes, the Ecole Nationale Supérieure de Chimie de Lille, the Compiegne University of Technology, INSERM, CNRS and CERMAV in France and ECN, Wageningen, Delft and VTT internationally. Facilities: an analytical and research lab, technical and pilot production units and a biotech laboratory. MISSIONS AND STRATEGY: ARD is an R1amp;D service provider which adds value to and finds new outlets for agricultural crops. It develops innovative, competitive and environmentally friendly processes with a view to sustainable and environmentally responsible industrial growth. ARD favours an integrated biorefinery approach, enabling added-value exploitation of the whole plant. It elaborates novel compounds by leveraging the synergies between its different resources and skills. Lastly, ARD promotes the use of plant-based resources in society, business and, more particularly, industrial applications. ARD's research results, compounds and materials are used in cosmetics, detergents, solvents, specialty chemicals, chemical intermediates, bioplastics, fibres, biofuels and organic soil improvers. COMMITMENT TO THE PROJECT: Role and objectives: participation in the FUTUROL pilot, involvement in definition of the pilot, development of the pre-treatment process, industrialisation of the fermentation process, analysis of how the various effluents can be recycled. Resources: researchers, laboratory equipment and pilot facilities on the Pomacle campus. IFP Energies Nouvelles: http://www.ifp.fr/ PROFILE: IFP Energies Nouvelles is an internationally renowned public-sector research and training organization whose mission is to develop the technologies and materials of the future in the energy, transport and environmental sectors. IFP Energies Nouvelles provides public-sector and industrial stakeholders with innovative solutions for a controlled transition towards the energy sources and materials of the future: cost-effective, cleaner and sustainable solutions with better performance levels. RESOURCES: For over 20 years, IFP Energies Nouvelles has been doing R1amp;D on biofuel production processes and the impact of biofuel use in engines (performance levels, fouling, effects on lubricants, etc.). IFP Energies Nouvelles will provide the project with the benefit of its acknowledged scientific skills and innovative technological solutions in this field. COMMITMENT TO THE PROJECT: The Futurol Project is fully integrated into IFP Energies Nouvelles' development strategy for the energy sector. IFP Energies Nouvelles will notably provide skills in the following fields: - process development simulation and optimization, technical and economic analyses and life cycle analyses ("from the field to the wheel"). - process engineering, in particular for the selection of biomass pre-treatment methods, definition of equipment needs and optimization of the associated operating conditions, - optimization of enzymatic hydrolysis, with the development of kinetic models, analytical methods and specific tests. - design of the validation pilot and a demonstration prototype. - quantitative evaluation of available biomass resources and modelling of the production facilities' supply chains. MISSIONS AND STRATEGY: IFP Energies Nouvelles aims at diminishing the by-products of biofuel production and diversifying the sources of biofuel feedstocks. In parallel with improvements in first-generation biofuels, IFP Energies Nouvelles is studying new routes for added-value biomass use (lignocellulosic raw materials, such as wood or straw residues) based on both enzymatic/biochemical processes and Fischer-Tropsch gasification/synthesis. IFP Energies Nouvelles is also working on routes for producing diesel fuel from ethanol. Thanks to its work on both first- and second-generation biofuels, IFP Energies Nouvelles is contributing to the diversification of transport fuel sources - a major challenge for our societies and one of IFP Energies Nouvelles' strategic missions. INRA: http://www.inra.fr/ PROFILE: The INRA is the leading agronomic research institute in Europe and is ranked second in the world. It performs applied research with a view to appropriate nutrition, environmental conservation and a competitive, sustainable agricultural sector. RESOURCES: The INRA is France's second largest national research institute and has strong regional roots. Research is performed by 20 regional centres with nearly 200 field stations throughout mainland France and its overseas territories. INRA's 2007 budget was €732 million. It employs 8,600 staff: including 1,800 scientists, 2,400 engineers and 4,400 technicians and administrative staff. COMMITMENT TO THE PROJECT: The INRA is one of the major players in the Futurol R1amp;D consortium. It provides its expertise and know-how and will perform about 35% of the project's R1amp;D activities in three fields: the sustainable production of plant-based resources, white biotech (enzyme reactions and fermentation) and environmental and territorial management. The INRA will host about three quarters of the project's 30 PhD students. To this end, several INRA research groups from across France will work in collaboration with local universities and other research organizations. Seven regional sites will be involved: Estrées-Mons, Laon, Orléans, Marseilles, Rheims, Toulouse and Versailles-Grignon. The resources and skills contributed by the INRA to the Futurol Project will represent an average of 16 FTEs (researchers, engineers and PhD students) per year for eight years. The researchers will apply their multidisciplinary skills to the design of a second-generation biofuel production process which uses biomass in an optimal way. In the mid- to long term, the INRA's work will contribute to the development of a sustainable, competitive sector and provide political and socio-economic decision-makers with effective tools. MISSIONS AND STRATEGY: Applied research: a novel approach As a national institute for applied research, the INRA has to combine scientific excellence with societal demands. It collaborations with world of farming, business and local authorities have long contributed to the development of the agricultural, food, environmental and biotechnological sectors. The institute is rising to meet to the challenges of the 21st century and satisfy the food and non-food needs of the Earth's growing population within a context of climate change, the rarefaction of fossil resources and the conservation of natural resources. The INRA has been reinforcing its green chemistry R1amp;D skills since 2006. LESAFRE: http://www.lesaffre.com/ PROFILE: Lesaffre (founded in 1853 and still family-owned) is the world leader in yeast. It has production and sales operations worldwide and employs 6,000 staff. In addition to the company's longstanding business sectors (bakery and agrifood), its expertise in biotechnology (yeasts, aromas, enzymes, bacteria, etc.) and fermentation processes have enabled it to enter the nutrition and healthcare markets. COMMITMENT TO THE PROJECT: Lesaffre is a Futurol R1amp;D partner. It will contribute its expertise in yeast selection and use in production. It will notably perform R1amp;D work on obtaining top-performance yeast strains for the Futurol second-generation bioethanol production process. Lesaffre will also part-fund the construction of the planned industrial prototype. RESOURCES: Lesaffre intends to remain a pioneering, market leader and has been investing strongly in R1amp;D for many years. Research and development is a major component of the company's innovation strategy. A dedicated R1amp;D division was created in 1965 and now employs over 100 experienced researchers. This multidisciplinary team collaborates with sixty or so universities and research centres worldwide. The company's R1amp;D projects rely on multidisciplinary skills: from genetics and process industrialisation to microbiology, fermentation, chemical engineering, analytical chemistry and food science. These activities are underpinned by worldwide technological and economic intelligence activities. MISSIONS AND STRATEGY: Lesaffre is acknowledged for its ability to innovate and its expertise in complex fermentation processes. The company has a developed a range of cutting-edge products and services in its target markets. As a customer-focused business, the company's innovation policy drives the implementation of new, high-performance production processes and novel applications for yeasts. SICLAE: http://www.siclae.com/ PROFILE: SICLAE was founded by five agricultural cooperatives from north-eastern France (Champagne Céréales, Nouricia, EMC2, Société Coopérative Agricole de la Champagne and Société Coopérative Agricole de Sézanne) in order to pool their activities in crop transformation and thus build and grow an internationally dimensioned company with strong regional roots and a focus on large-scale crop production. The SICLAE group of agro-industrial companies (most of which are leaders in their respective markets) is managed on a sector-by-sector basis. The main subsidiaries are Malteurop (the world number one in malt production), NutriXo (one of Europe's top milling and industrial bakery companies), Chamtor (a French specialist in starch and glucose production), Champagne Maïs (one of Europe's top corn processing companies), Nestal (the leader in feed in eastern France) and ARD (a benchmark player in agro-industrial R1amp;D in France and Europe). The group also has shareholdings in two recently incorporated bioenergy companies, Ineos Champlor and LMT Oleagineux. SICLAE's turnover for 2008/09 was €1.5 billion. MISSIONS AND STRATEGY: SICLAE provides its customers with novel, sustainable solutions and shares the value created with each of the stakeholders in its market sectors. SICLAE intends to achieve a leading position in its long-standing food markets, in order to develop the best possible skills, impact significantly on markets and optimize its projects with high capital investment requirements. Lastly, SICLAE intends to be a pioneer in new plant-based sectors (such as biofuels, plant-based detergents and green solvents) by adopting an integrated approach. The group has two core research themes: white biotech (the use of living organisms to produce alternatives to petrochemicals) and green chemistry (the use of physical and chemical processes to extract or process plant-based substrates). COMMITMENT TO THE PROJECT: SICLAE is a major economic player in the north-eastern France. It processes 3 million tons of cereals and rape seed in 21 production units operated by a total of 1500 staff. In addition to this regional activity, SICLAE has 28 mills and factories throughout France. Lastly, SICLAE has business operations in 23 countries. ROLE, OBJECTIVES AND RESOURCES IN THE FUTUROL PROJECT SICLAE will part-fund the FUTUROL pilot facility as part of the industrial consortium. SICLAE's participation in the project emphasizes the regional agricultural sector's commitment to second-generation biofuels. TOTAL: http://www.total.fr/ PROFILE: Total is a global energy producer and provider whose mission is to sustainably satisfy humankind's energy needs. As the world's fourth-largest integrated oil and gas company and a major chemicals producer, Total has operations in over 130 countries and 95,000 employees. As the leading fuel refiner and distributor in Western Europe, Total operates 12 refineries and a network of about 16,500 service stations worldwide (most of which are located in Europe and Africa). Since 1992, Total has been actively involved in the development of biofuels and is one of Europe's leading energy companies in this sector. In 2007, Total incorporated 710,000 tons of ethanol-derived ethyl tertiary butyl ether into its petrol fuel and 880,000 tons of plant oil methyl esters into diesel fuel. In the same year, Total introduced its first pumps for the sale of E85 in France and launched Ecolium 30, a biofuel for vehicle fleets (70% diesel fuel and 30% methyl esters). RESOURCES: The R1amp;D activities of Total's Refining and Marketing division are performed in three corporate research centres and in collaboration with university labs, specialist research organizations and service providers in France and worldwide. MISSIONS AND STRATEGY: In parallel with its incorporation of first-generation biofuels, Total is involved in the development of second-generation biofuels which will complement existing biofuels by widening the range of biomass feedstocks and improving the overall environmental footprint. Total has identified a number of sectors and technologies likely to offer synergy with its existing business and is working to confirm and develop their potential (generally in collaboration with other organizations). COMMITMENT TO THE PROJECT: Total's involvement in the Futurol Project is part of the company's commitment to the development of the second-generation biofuel production sector. Total will notably provide the Futurol Project with its expertise in biofuel/petrochemical mixtures and its experience of industrial fuel production and sale. TEREOS: http://www.tereos.com/ PROFILE: The Tereos cooperative agro-industrial group is a global player in the production of sugars, starch and alcohols from sugar beet, sugar cane and cereals. Tereos has operations in Europe, South America (Brazil) and Africa (Mozambique and Reunion Island). It has 12,000 cooperative members, 13,000 permanent staff and a turnover of €3.4 billion. COMMITMENT TO THE PROJECT: Tereos will part-fund the industrial part of the Futurol Project and will also be specifically involved in the construction and operation of the prototype to be used to validate the pilot results on the semi-industrial scale (100 metric tons of biomass dry matter per day). MISSIONS AND STRATEGY: Tereos' objective is to acquire and rapidly commission the best possible second-generation bioethanol production technology, with a view to complementing conventional feedstocks (such as beet, cane or feed cereals) with fermentation substrates derived from biomass in general and cellulose in particular. The research projects should result in flexible first- and second-generation technologies which enable more rapid responses to changing market conditions for raw materials and thus help reduce the speculative trading of agricultural commodities. RESOURCES: As part of a state-funded biofuel development project, Tereos has built and commissioned two bioethanol production units with an annual capacity of 300,000 m3 each: the facility at Origny Sainte-Benoite uses sugar beet and the Lillebonne plant uses feed cereals. The units' capacity and performance levels enable the generation of 3 energy units for every one consumed. ONF: http://www.onf.fr/ PROFILE: The French National Forestry Office (ONF) manages 4.5 million hectares of public-domain forests in mainland France and performs other various other missions in the public interest on behalf of the French state. The ONF sells 14 million m3 of wood per year (more than 40% of the national total) and is the leading supplier of raw materials to the French wood sector. In 2007, the ONF's turnover was €606 million (a 9% increase on 2006). MISSIONS AND STRATEGY: Under the terms of its contract with the French state for the period 2007-2011, the ONF has notably undertaken to: · perform sustainable, innovative, high-quality management of public-domain forests (PEFC certified). · help feed the wood sector's supply chain and contribute to the development of wood as an energy source. · development of commercial activities in order to fund its not-for-profit activities, notably in the environmental sector and the prevention of natural risks. RESOURCES: With 10,500 employees (including 3,500 forestry workers) in 10 territorial directorates and 65 agencies, the ONF is developing its activities in close collaboration with local stakeholders throughout France. The subsidiary ONF Energie sells wood as fuel under the terms of long-term supply contracts. Through its subsidiary ONF International, the ONF can also leverage solid international experience in the development of forest-based carbon sinks. COMMITMENT TO THE PROJECT: Forest biomass (from both natural forests and dedicated plantations with short- or very short-cycle coppicing) will constitute a major feedstock for second-generation biofuel production units. The ONF manages over 4.5 million hectares of public-domain forests and has been strongly involved in the French government's Grenelle de l'Environnement nationwide consultation and guidelines; it is necessarily a major player of the emergence of a promising sector which is capable of meeting the energy dependence and climate change targets set by the French government and the European Union. As with Futurol's other partners, the ONF will part-fund the project. Furthermore, it will collaborate with the INRA on research into lignocellulosic resources. UNIGRAINS: http://www.unigrains.fr/ PROFILE: Created by French cereal farmers, UNIGRAINS is a private equity and venture capital firm with which targets investments in the agricultural and agrifood industries and has in-depth expertise in these sectors. UNIGRAINS makes long-term investments in both high-potential start-ups and established, market-leading companies by providing a broad range of equity funding and debt finance solutions. COMMITMENT TO THE PROJECT: One of UNIGRAINS corporate objectives is to finance companies which exploit biomass in non-food applications (notably green chemistry and renewable energy). UNIGRAINS was involved in creation of France's first industrial ethanol production plant in 1990 (with cereal feedstocks) and has also made a number of recent investments for the large-scale production of first-generation biofuels. The Futurol Project has enabled the company to get involved in the industrialization of second-generation biofuels in France as part of a broader European context in favour of renewable energies. For UNIGRAINS, this represents a logical continuation of its previous commitments to the biofuel sector. MISSIONS AND STRATEGY: UNIGRAINS makes medium- and long-term equity investments in high-potential, dynamic companies (generally as a minority stakeholder). UNIGRAINS forges constructive collaborations with majority shareholders. One of its missions is to help structure sectors of interest, keep corporate HQ and decision-making centres in France and stimulate each sector's network of SMEs and large companies. UNIGRAINS also seeks to facilitate the emergence of innovative start-ups. RESOURCES: UNIGRAINS manages over €600 million in assets and invests around €100 million a year. It has provided finance to over 300 companies. UNIGRAINS has created two additional investment funds, CEREA MEZZANINE (mezzanine finance for LBOs) and CEREA CAPITAL (majority equity investments), each of which holds over €100 million. UNIGRAINS also performs financial engineering and consultancy through its subsidiary MESSIS FINANCE. Crédit Agricole du Nord Est: www.ca-nord-est.fr PROFILE: With about 850,000 customers, Crédit Agricole du Nord Est is the largest bank and insurance company in the Marne, Aisne and Ardennes counties of north-eastern France. It is also the region's largest private-sector economic development player. As a member of the Industries et Agro-Resources cluster, Crédit Agricole du Nord Est funds major innovative, added-value projects while adopting a sustainable development approach. COMMITMENT TO THE PROJECT: Crédit Agricole du Nord Est is committed to adding value to regional development initiatives and so jumped at the chance to become involved in the Futurol Project. As a financial partner and project coordinator, Crédit Agricole du Nord Est supplies human resources to provide legal, financial and marketing support for the project's various components. RESOURCES: The skills of Crédit Agricole du Nord Est's 2600 collaborators from 200 different professions (including consultancy, analysis and financial engineering) enable the bank to provide financial support from the initial business idea through to fundraising, industrialisation and commercialisation. MISSION AND STRATEGY: The Crédit Agricole du Nord Est acts as a financial entrepreneur and a regionally-focused investor. As a mutual bank, Crédit Agricole du Nord Est builds lasting relationships with its customers based on proximity, responsibility and cohesion. It can intervene in each of the key moments in the lives of regional stakeholders: individual customers, business and local authorities. CGB: PROFILE: The CGB was founded in 1921 and associates 14 county-based or regional sugar beet cooperatives. In fact, it represents almost all of the 26,000 beet growers in France. The CGB's main activities are as follows: lobbying on behalf of sugar beet growers with their various economic partners and administrations on the French and European levels; negotiation of pricing contracts (governed by European Union legislation) with industrial buyers; monitoring factory deliveries of beet; disseminating information of interest to the beet sector via a specialist magazine "Le Betteravier Français"; funding and management of industry initiatives for improving beet crop production or generating new outlets for beet-derived products. The CGB is affiliated with France's main farmers' union (the FNSEA) as a specialist association. The CGB is a member of the CIBE (the International Confederation of European Beet Growers, which brings together beet growers' federations from 18 European countries) and the Worldwide Association of Beet and Cane Growers (WABCG). RESOURCES: To achieve its targets, CGB relies on its 14 regional syndicates and its cross-disciplinary, expert services (legal and economic affairs, technical expertise and public relations). MISSION AND STRATEGY: In the field of ethanol and other non-food uses (industrial sugar and alcohol), CGB aims at deepening its knowledge of the sector, forecast changes more accurately and promote all non-food uses of beet. COMMITMENT TO THE PROJECT: By part-funding the Futurol Project, the CGB has confirmed its commitment to second-generation bioethanol and intends to promote the use of beet and its by-products as feedstocks in the project. More about the Futurol Project: Is the correct term "biofuel" or "agrifuel"? The Futurol Project for fuel production is based on transformation of a very wide range of biomass sources. In 2007, the French state terminology commission recommended the use of the term "biofuel" for all fuels derived from plant- or animal-based biomass. However, some recent French publications have used the term "agrifuels" to describe biofuels. What is the context of the Futurol Project? Today's challenge is to reduce energy consumption, increase energy efficiency and develop the range of renewable energies in a sustainable development approach. The transport sector is particularly concerned because it consumes the most fossil fuels (mainly as liquid fuels). It is therefore responsible for a significant proportion of humankind's greenhouse gas emissions. This field will witness major technological investments in the years to come. Biofuels constitute one possible way of meeting these new challenges. What exactly are "first-generation" biofuels? At present, biofuels are produced from crops such as sugar cane, sugar beet, cereals and oil-containing plants. These first-generation biofuels are based on existing technologies and are already used in vehicles. There are two main types of biofuel: - Diesel-type fuels. The most well known is biodiesel, made from oil-containing plants (rape, sunflower, soya, palm, etc.). - Petrol-type fuels. The best known is bioethanol, which is an alcohol made by fermentation of either sugar from plants (sugar beet and sugar cane) or starch from cereals (wheat and corn). There are industrial production units for these types of biofuels in France and worldwide. What exactly are "second-generation" biofuels? "Second-generation" biofuels will be obtained by processing biomass in new ways and by using a more diverse range of resources: non-edible parts of plants, animal fat, straw, wood, agrifood waste, forestry residues, etc. There are currently two main approaches to the production of second-generation biofuels: the biological/fermentation approach (for production of bioethanol) and the thermochemical approach (for the production of biodiesel). What is the difference between the biological approach and the thermochemical approach? The biological approach aims at producing fuel ethanol by transforming lignocellulosic (woody) biomass into sugar via biochemical or enzymatic hydrolysis and then transforming it into ethanol via fermentation. The thermochemical approach (also called the "biomass to liquid" (BTL) approach) seeks to produce synthetic biodiesel fuels by using high-temperature gasification to transform biomass into a gas. This gas is then transformed into biodiesel via the so-called Fischer-Tropsch process. What are the advantages of biological processes? Biological processes have clear practical and economic advantages and are in line with a sustainable development approach. In fact, biological approaches use little or no chemical reactants or solvents and do not require high temperatures and extreme conditions. Moreover, biological approaches have fewer risks and are more acceptable in environmental, industrial and societal terms. However, for these processes to be effective, it is necessary to improve the enzymes which release the sugar that will be subsequently fermented with yeast strains selected according to the type of raw material. One of the main objectives of the Futurol Project is to select the right yeast strains and to develop the fermentation processes which are best suited to each type of raw material. The project will also engineer cost-effective enzymes to ensure that the process is profitable. Are there synergies between first- and second- generation biofuels? By enabling the exploitation of new raw materials, second-generation biofuels will complement first-generation biofuels. Moreover, the integration of second-generation processes in the first-generation industrial sites will help optimize the equipment, the range of feedstocks processes and the material and energy flows. What are the European Union and French targets for the development of biofuels? In Directive 2003/30/EC, the European Union specified that in 2010, 5.75% of the energy content in liquid fuels should come from biofuels. Furthermore, the 2009/30/EC Fuel Quality Directive and the 2009/28/EC Renewable Energy Directive (approved by the European Council on April 6th, 2009) set a biofuel incorporation target of 10% for the transport sector by 2020. Biofuels will contribute to sustainability criteria; the greenhouse gas emission saving from the use of biofuels must reach 35% – a value that will be progressively increased from 2013 onwards. These performance levels can only be achieved by developing new second-generation biofuel processes and continuing to improve existing, first-generation biofuels. France intends to adopt and exceed the European Union objectives, with 7% energy content from biofuels in 2010. Second-generation biofuels are also a priority in the French government's Grenelle de l'Environnement consultation. What are other countries doing to develop cellulosic bioethanol? The USA is implemented a wide range of initiatives in this field, with four pilot units and six commercial units being planned. Most of these facilities will use forestry by-products or dedicated fuel crops. In Europe, pilot unit projects are underway in Sweden, Spain, the Netherlands and Denmark. How does the Futurol Project differ from other projects launched elsewhere in the world? The Futurol Project is the only project based on the complete value chain and brings together partners from a range of backgrounds. It features 11 scientific, industrial and financial stakeholders, some of whom have been involved in biofuel production for many years now. The Futurol Project's industrial partners have a strong position in the first-generation biofuel sector. While continuing to improve the performance levels of first-generation production units (notably by optimizing energy consumptions - again by using biobased energy sources), the industrial partners wish to identify and exploit all the possible synergies between the first- and second-generation biofuels. What is the Futurol Project's budget and what is the timeline? The project will run for 8 years (including the various development steps) and will seek to commercialize the resulting process by 2015. The total project budget is €76.4 million. On May 21, 2008, OSEO (the French state innovation agency) confirmed that it would award €29.9 million in funding to the Futurol Project. What are the Futurol Project's main challenges? The Futurol Project is seeking to implement a process with high environmental and economic performance levels as part of a sustainable development approach. The technological challenge consists in making the cellulose available to the enzymes capable of transforming it into sugars. In economic terms, reducing the cost of these enzymes is also a challenge. Scientific and technological progress and increasing international competition now make it essential to move to a more advanced stage of development. In fact, encouraging lab-scale results means that the process can be scaled up to the pilot plant level. The Futurol Project aims at developing a second-generation production process that is as flexible as possible. It must be possible to (i) locate production facilities anywhere in the world, (ii) use different types of feedstocks and (iii) implement second-generation process in first-generation industrial units. Lastly, the choice of a biological process will improve adaptability to different feedstocks via the use of specifically engineered enzymes. What are the main project phases? The Futurol Project has three main phases: (i) construction of the pilot unit, (ii) development of the industrial prototype and (iii) full industrialisation. The pilot unit will be operational in the autumn of 2010 and will be situated near the ARD Research Centre on the Pomacle-Bazancourt biorefinery site. It will enable the project's engineering teams to scale up the R1amp;D process and validate the selected strategies. The pilot unit will be able to produce up to 500 litres of ethanol a day (i.e. around 180,000 litres a year). In a second phase, large-scale validation will be performed in a prototype unit located at one of the Tereos group's industrial sites. The prototype will enable the process to be scaled up and tested under industrial conditions. The annual production volume will be around 3.5 million litres. Once the process has been validated in the prototype unit, it will be commercializing by international out-licensing. Industrial development and commercialization of the cellulosic bioethanol production process is planned for 2015-2020. Which R1amp;D resources will be committed to the Futurol Project? The project is based on its partners' expertise and experience in all stages in the biofuel production process - "from the field to the wheel". About 90 researchers will be involved in the project and will work on the following themes: analysis of available or obtainable resources. pre-treatment. hydrolysis. fermentation. enzyme production. recycling and by-products. life cycle analysis, carbon balance, environmental impact, greenhouse gas emissions, etc. integration. project issues for each modules. Which raw materials will be used? The Futurol Project will enable the optimized processing of a wide variety of raw materials and will not compete for resources with existing food or industrial uses, in order to obtain the best possible environmental performance levels. The project will look at: - lignocellulosic plants (sorghum, alfalfa, Miscanthus, etc.). - wood and forestry residues (wood chips, bark, short-rotation coppicing, etc.). - by-products from crops and the agrifood industry (cereal straw, sugar beet pulp, etc.). - urban green waste. These raw materials also have key agronomic and environmental advantages, such as reduced entrants (water, fertilizers and phytosanitary products), farm integration and crop rotation. One of the deliverables of the Futurol Project is to quantify available or obtainable feedstocks and make the supply chain more reliable.