Praj and Novozymes signed the collaboration agreement in Copenhagen. However, they have worked together for several years within conventional biofuels.
Pramod Chaudhari, chairman of Praj Industries said, “Praj is engaged in pilot trials of advanced biofuels at our Praj-Matrix innovation center in India. We have been working with various agri-residues, including sugarcane bagasse, corn cobs, straw, wood chips, and grasses. Our progress in cellulose-to-ethanol processing combined with the experience of Novozymes in this area is a significant development which will enable a significant reduction in the cost of enzymes for the production of cellulosic ethanol.”
Steen Riisgaard, president and CEO of Novozymes, said: “Novozymes’ strong commitment to sustainable biofuels and not least to developing enzyme technology for the commercial production of cellulosic biofuel is well known. We believe this collaboration with Praj will be instrumental in ensuring rapid deployment of cellulosic biofuel in India as well as in other parts of the world.”
