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CHANNAHON, Illinois, US, August 9, 2006
(Refocus Weekly)
The U.S. government will spend US$250 million to
establish research centres to accelerate the development of biofuels.
The U.S. Department of Energy will fund two new bioenergy
research centres to accelerate basic research on the development of
cellulosic ethanol and other biofuels. Universities, national
laboratories, non-profit associations and private companies can
compete for funding by February, and awards will be announced next
summer.
The centres are expected to start work in 2008 and to be fully
operational by 2009. DOE will provide $25 million in the first year
for the establishment of each centre and $25 million per year in the
following four years to support operations at each centre, for a
total award of $125 million per facility.
“This is an important step toward our goal of replacing 30% of
transportation fuels with biofuels by 2030,” says DOE secretary
Samuel Bodman. “The mission of these centers is to accelerate
research that leads to breakthroughs in basic science to make
biofuels a cost-effective alternative to fossil fuels.”
Four billion gallons of ethanol are produced each year in the U.S.,
mainly from corn, and EPAct (Energy Policy Act of 2005) requires
that at least 7.5 billion gallons per year of renewable fuel be
blended into the nation’s fuel supply by 2012. To meet this target,
future biofuels production will require the use of more diverse
feedstocks, including cellulosic material such as agricultural
residues, grasses and other inedible plants.
The centres will conduct systems biology research on microbes and
plants, to harness nature’s own mechanisms for producing energy from
sunlight. A major focus will be to understand how to re-engineer
biological processes for more efficient conversion of plant fibre
(cellulose) into ethanol, which is a substitute for gasoline.
Funding for the bioenergy initiative culminates a six-year effort by
DOE’s Office of Science to lay the foundation for breakthroughs in
systems biology for the cost-effective production of renewable
energy. In July, DOE issued a joint biofuels research agenda with
its Office of Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy, entitled
‘Breaking the Biological Barriers to Cellulosic Ethanol.’ The report
provides a detailed roadmap for cellulosic ethanol research, and
identifies key roadblocks and areas where scientific breakthroughs
are needed.
DOE began supporting research on microbes and microbial communities
in 2000, with an objective of tapping the capability of
microorganisms to produce renewable energy, clean the environment
and manage atmospheric carbon. Research has been supported by the
Human Genome Project, and builds on DOE’s recent research on
microbes for energy production.
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