Genomics:GTL

DOE Mission Focus: Biofuels

In 2007, the President set a goal of reducing gasoline usage in the United States by 20 percent in the next 10 years. To achieve this goal, 15% of the reduction will come from increasing the supply of alternative fuels, and the remaining 5% from making motor vehicles more energy efficient. Displacing 15% of the projected gasoline usage for 2017 will require a rapid expansion of the annual renewable fuel supply from about 5 billion gallons of corn grain ethanol to about 35 billion gallons of alternative fuels from a variety of plant materials including grasses, woodchips, and agricultural wastes.

To address critical scientific barriers that must be overcome to advance the biofuels industry, the U.S. Department of Energy's Genomics:GTL systems biology program is creating a new generation of biological research enabled by the genome revolution. GTL will provide a systems-level approach to understanding and manipulating plants and microorganisms central to producing biofuels. As part of this effort, the Office of Science and Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy held a joint workshop on Biomass to Biofuels in December 2005.

• DOE Biomass to Biofuels Workshop Summary Breaking the Biological Barriers to Cellulosic Ethanol: A Joint Research Agenda, December 2005, Rockville, Maryland (Order Form)
• Bioenergy Research Centers: An Overview of the Science brochure, July 2009 [faster-download PDF or higher-quality PDF]
• Biofuels: Bringing Biological Solutions to Energy Challenges brochure [PDF]
• Biofuels Primer
• USDA and DOE Joint Research: Plant Feedstocks Genomics for Bioenergy
• The Energy Challenge
  • Biohydrogen
  • Cellulosic Ethanol
  • Text adapted from Genomics:GTL Roadmap: Systems Biology for Energy and Environment, U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science, August 2005. DOE/SC-0090.

The following fact sheets introduce biofuels and their potential for reducing U.S. dependence on petroleum-based transportation fuels, explain the basics of fuel ethanol production and the importance of biotechnology in improving this process, identify some benefits and challenges associated with converting biomass to ethanol, and summarize policy and legislation driving biofuels development.

Biofuels for Transportation

• What is biomass?
• What are biofuels, and how much does the U.S. produce?
• What are current levels of gasoline and diesel consumption?
• What is current U.S. oil consumption, and how much of that is imported?
• How many gallons of gasoline come from a barrel of oil?
• How much ethanol can we get from an acre of bioenergy crops?
• Can one gallon of ethanol displace one gallon of gasoline?
• Can ethanol be used by vehicles and fuel-distribution systems today?
• Can ethanol be used in colder northern U.S. climates?

Fuel Ethanol Production

• How is ethanol currently produced from corn?
• How is ethanol produced from cellulosic biomass?
• What are key biological barriers to cellulosic ethanol production?
• How can Genomics:GTL improve production of cellulosic ethanol and other biofuels?

Cellulosic Ethanol: Benefits and Challenges

• How will cellulosic ethanol production and use impact the environment?
• How would an expanded fuel ethanol industry benefit the economy and national security?
• Is there enough land for large-scale biofuels production?
• Does it take more energy to produce ethanol than it can provide as a fuel?

Biofuels Policy and Legislation

• Energy Policy Act of 2005
• The 2002 Farm Bill: Title IX
• Biomass R&D Act of 2000