WASHINGTON, D.C., U.S. — Quad County Corn Processors broke ground on July 29 on its new cellulosic “bolt-on” ethanol plant in Galva, Iowa, U.S. 

The Adding Cellulosic Ethanol (ACE) project will turn corn kernel fiber, a cellulosic feedstock, into high-octane, clean-burning ethanol. The new facility is expected to produce 2 million gallons of cellulosic ethanol from a feedstock already onsite. Since 2000, Quad County has operated a 35-million-gallon-per-year corn ethanol biorefinery with 35 full-time employees. The ACE project will create 55 to 75 construction jobs as well as five additional full-time jobs which will bring Quad County’s total employment to 40 full-time employees.

The technology being used at the facility is a direct result of Quad County Corn Processors Cooperative receiving a $4.25 million investment from the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Department of Energy as part of the Biomass Research and Development Initiative. The R&D process spanned four years.

“With the addition of this new cellulosic process, we will stretch the production capacity of each and every corn kernel that passes through our plant,” said Delayne Johnson, Quad County’s general manager. “We will increase our ethanol yields by 6 percent, increase our corn oil extraction three times over, while also creating a higher protein livestock feed. This is value-added agriculture at its best.”