The E.V. Smith Natural Resources Discovery Complex

Plans are under way to develop a unique learning and
outreach facility located just off I-85 near Tallassee, Ala. The
E.V. Smith Natural Resources Discovery Complex will connect
the people of our state and region to the land by creating
a portfolio of biofuels and biobased products made
from Alabama’s natural resources.

A learning campus and visitor park will merge public
amenities with educational facilities and administrative
work space. The campus will include classrooms with adjacent
laboratories, a library with reading room, a conference
room and an auditorium.

The campus also will serve as a hub for bioenergy facility
training, water-related outreach activities, educational
activities and other programs. A Bioenergy Discovery Museum
will include displays and resources related to sustainable
energy production. Here, visitors will see how ethanol,
biodiesel and other biofuels are created, and they will be
able to connect bioenergy with natural resource issues such
as water and soil sustainability.

Beyond the research laboratories in the Discovery
Complex, a Biofuel Research and Pilot Production Facility
will be constructed nearby. This facility will be designed
to produce approximately 1.5 million–5 million gallons of
fuel annually from cellulosic biomass. Fuel products could
include synthetic diesel fuel or gasoline, or ethanol. This pilot
production facility will provide expanded opportunity
for education and research in partnership with private industry,
thereby speeding commercialization of new biofuel technology.