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DOE Bioenergy Research Centers

Transformational Science
for Energy Breakthroughs

thumbnailBioenergy Research Centers: An Overview of the Science
(Updated July 2009)

Available as Fast-download PDF or Higher-quality PDF

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What are the Centers?

In June 2007, the U. S. Department of Energy announced that it will invest up to $375 million in three new Bioenergy Research Centers. The Centers are intended to accelerate basic research in the development of cellulosic ethanol and other biofuels, advancing President Bush’s Twenty in Ten Initiative, which seeks to reduce U.S. gasoline consumption by 20% within 10 years through increased efficiency and diversification of clean energy sources. [Press Release]

The three centers are

The Centers will be supported by multidisciplinary teams of top scientists from 18 of the nation’s leading universities, 7 DOE national laboratories, at least 1 nonprofit organization, and a range of private companies. The three Centers are located in geographically distinct areas and will use different plants both for laboratory research and for improving feedstock crops.

What is the mission of the Centers?

A major focus will be on understanding how to reengineer biological processes to develop new, more efficient methods for converting the cellulose in plant material into ethanol or other biofuels that serve as a substitute for gasoline. This research is critical because future biofuels production will require the use of feedstocks more diverse than corn, including cellulosic material such as agricultural residues, grasses, poplar trees, inedible plants, and non-edible portions of crops. [See graphic, "How Cellulosic Ethanol is Made."]

The mission of the Centers will lie at the frontier between basic and applied science and will maintain a focus on bioenergy applications. These Centers aim to identify real steps toward practical solutions regarding the challenge of producing renewable, carbon-neutral energy. At the same time, the Centers will be grounded in basic research, pursuing alternative avenues and a range of high-risk, high-return approaches to finding solutions. To some degree, one key to the Centers’ success will be their ability to develop the more basic dimensions of their research to a point that can easily transition to applied research.

The Centers will address inherently interdisciplinary scientific problems requiring scientific expertise and technological capabilities that span the physical and biological sciences, including genomics, microbial and plant biology, analytical chemistry, computational biology and bioinformatics, and engineering.

How are the Centers funded?

Each Center is funded up to $125 million over a period of 5 years: $25 million in the first year for startup costs and up to $25 million per year for operations during the subsequent 4 years. The Department plans to fund the Centers for the first 5 years of operation (fiscal years 2008-2013). Subject to the finalization of contract terms and congressional appropriations, the Centers are expected to begin work in 2008, consistent with President Bush’s Fiscal Year 2008 Budget Request, and would be fully operational by 2009. In addition to DOE funding, each center extensively leveraged funding from other sources including state and corporate monies.

How were the Centers chosen?

DOE’s Office of Science issued a competitive Funding Opportunity Announcement in August 2006 to solicit applications. The three Centers were chosen following a merit-based, competitive review process that included external scientific peer review of the applications.

Establishment of the bioenergy research centers culminates a 6-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 2006, DOE Office of Science and DOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy issued a joint biofuels research agenda titled “Breaking the Biological Barriers to Cellulosic Ethanol.” The report provides a detailed roadmap for cellulosic ethanol research, identifying key roadblocks and areas where scientific breakthroughs are needed.

Bioenergy Research Centers Timeline

Related Materials

 

Map: Geographic Distribution of Biomass Crops

Brochures:

thumbnailGraphic: How Cellulosic Ethanol is Made

Graphic: Biofuels Primer

DOE Joint Genome Institute Bioenergy Fact Sheet: Harnessing DNA to Fuel our Nation’s Energy Security