The facility will use technology developed by DuPont in partnership with sugar company Tate & Lyle that uses corn to produce propanediol (PDO), a key component in DuPont's Sorona polymer which it uses to make clothing, carpeting and plastics.
The 'Bio' PDO from the facility will consume up to 40% less energy than the standard petroleum-based PDO, with each 100 million pounds of Bio PDO produced saving the equivalent of 10 million gallons of petrol per year.
"The world is in a position today where we can no longer afford to rely solely on oil and oil-derived products to sustain us," DuPont chairman Charles Holliday said.
"Biology-based solutions offer us the opportunity to transform economies by creating new, high-performance bio-materials that use less energy to manufacture, are preferred by our customers, and are better for the long-term health of our economy and the environment."
The plant has been acclaimed by Tennessee authorities who believe it will provide local jobs and income for corn farmers, as well as being a step forward in energy security for a US market reeling from record oil prices.
"We think the time for corn is now and that we are ideally placed to bring this new bio-based material to market," said Tate & Lyle chief executive officer Iain Ferguson.
"The corn fields of today will be the oilfields of the future and we believe that our joint venture, due on-stream next calendar year, is well matched to meet the demands of the current climate."
DuPont received the 2003 Presidential Green Chemistry Award from the US Environmental Protection Agency for their research into Bio PDO creation.
