The federal government is financing a large manufacturing plant in southwest Minnesota that will turn corn sugar into chemicals usually made from petroleum.
The Department of Energy on Thursday announced a tentative $213 million loan for Solugen Inc. to construct its 500,000-square-foot facility in Marshall.
At the plant, which Solugen calls a “Bioforge,” the company will manufacture organic acids for use in concrete, cleaning, agriculture, energy and other industries the DOE says are hard to cut carbon emissions from.
DOE said the project will trim emissions by 18,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide per year compared to making chemicals from fossil fuels, which is equivalent to emissions from 3,500 U.S. homes.
The agency said Solugen would also help bring industrial production back to the U.S. for chemicals largely produced in other countries, including China.
“We’re very excited ... to catalyze many different sectors within the broad umbrella of clean energy,” said Chris Creed, chief investment officer for DOE’s loan office. “This transaction is going to help reduce greenhouse gas emissions versus the business-as-usual case for the chemicals market for a lot of in-demand manufacturing needs, and that’s very cool.”
Solugen will get corn sugar from an Archer-Daniels-Midland (ADM) corn-processing facility next to its Bioforge in Marshall. Solugen plans to process that dextrose into chemicals that end up in packaging, food, medicine, fertilizer, water treatments and more.
Solugen executives said the federal loan gives confidence to traditional banks for future projects and to equity investors to continue backing the company.
