The Oak Ridge National Laboratory was selected as one of only three sites in the country to receive $125 million over five years to establish and operate one of the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) new Bioenergy Research Centers. DOE is expected to make the formal announcement this afternoon at a press conference in Washington.

The centers will accelerate research in the development of cellulosic ethanol and other biofuels, and make biofuel production cost competitive on a national scale by 2012. ORNL’s BioEnergy Sciences Center will focus on improving the biofuel potential of switchgrass and poplar trees. 

Oak Ridge again demonstrates that it is on the cutting edge in alternative energy and will help lead our country to become more energy independent. ORNL led a strong team and it is no surprise that they were selected by the Department of Energy out of 21 teams across the country to host a new BioEnergy Sciences Center. If biofuels are part of the answer to our goal of energy independence, our region will be out front with solutions,

The Center will be located in Oak Ridge and led by Martin Keller, a microbiologist recently recruited to ORNL. The University of Tennessee will serve as one of the academic partners, providing specialized instrumentation, plant breeding technologies and new microbe discovery.