This page provides a variety of multimedia products to enhance knowledge and understanding of biomass resources, processes, and projects. The links on this page lead to biomass-related images, videos, and infographics.
Bioproducts, Grown and Made in America
Through advances in scientific research and innovation, everyday products, materials, and chemicals can be produced from domestic, renewable resources like plants, algae, and wastes. These bioproducts offer an unprecedented opportunity to enhance U.S. economic competitiveness and bolster the "American-made" manufacturing industry. With funding from the U.S Department of Energy's Bioenergy Technologies Office, national laboratory science is setting the stage to enhance the American tradition of ingenuity and productivity. Learn more in this infographic.
Made with Biomass: Bioenergy Technologies Office Impacts
Bioproducts are everyday products, materials, and chemicals derived from renewable plant and waste resources. When bioproducts are produced alongside biofuels, profits from the sale of bioproducts can help offset the costs of biofuels production. This contributes to more affordable and reliable domestic energy choices. Check out these cool posters from the Bioenergy Technologies Office to learn more about how bioproducts are already part of our everyday life.
4 Fast Facts About Biomass
Biomass: it’s versatile, valuable, and very abundant! Check out this Bioenergy Technologies Office infographic to learn 4 fast facts about this great domestic and sustainable energy resource.
The U.S. Bioeconomy by the Numbers
See some of the impacts BETO has had on the bioeconomy through our work with our national laboratories and partner in this infographic.
Bioenergy Basics
Check out the Bioenergy Basics Infographic to learn how biofuels and other forms of bioenergy are made.
Impact Posters—2015
On October 1, 2015, the Bioenergy Technologies Office kicked off Energy Action Month by displaying bioenergy impacts posters in the Department of Energy Forrestal Building in Washington, D.C.
Biogas Opportunities Roadmap Progress Report
In support of the Obama Administration's Climate Action Plan, the U.S. Department of Energy, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and U.S. Department of Agriculture jointly released the Biogas Opportunities Roadmap Progress Report, updating the federal government's progress to reduce methane emissions through biogas systems since the Biogas Opportunities Roadmap was completed by the three agencies in July 2014. The report and infographic highlight actions taken, outlines challenges and opportunities, and identifies next steps to the growth of a robust biogas industry.
Bioenergy Process Development Units: Enabling the Bioeconomy
Bioenergy and the bioeconomy continue to grow. The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) supports the bioeconomy by investing in groundbreaking technologies to produce fuels, products, and power from non-food sources of biomass and waste resources. The Bioenergy Technologies Office (BETO) has invested in the development of Process Development Units (PDUs) located at DOE National Laboratories.
Researchers at each PDU study process optimization and monitor product yield versus cost. Most important, PDUs can partner with the bioenergy industry to help lower process capital and operational expenditures and address other process risks at increasing scales. This video provides an overview of all the BETO-funded PDUs.
America’s Resources First: Wastes to Energy and Products
Wet, solid, and gaseous waste streams are potential high-impact resources for the production of biogas, biofuels, bioproduct precursors, heat, and electricity. These streams are available now in both rural and urban areas without land-use change, and in many cases their utilization helps to address the unique and local challenges of their disposal. Agricultural wastes, methane and solid wastes produced from waste water treatment, and other organic and food residues all provide opportunities for generating bioenergy and bioproducts throughout the United States. Watch this video to learn how Roeslein Alternative Energy in the Midwest, and Mango Materials and East Bay Municipal Utility District (EBMUD) on the West Coast are taking advantage of various types of wastes and waste byproducts to create renewable power, fuels, and bio-based materials.
Innovative Bioeconomy Technologies
The development of innovative technologies is a driving force to build America’s bioeconomy. The growth of current and creation of additional markets for biopower, biofuels, and bioproducts would leverage significant opportunities for job creation, increase the availability and use of renewable domestic resources, and provide environmental benefits both domestically and globally. Watch this video to learn how a combination of innovative bioeconomy technologies—past and present—are being employed at various locations across the United States to produce renewable and sustainable biofuels or bioproducts, by companies including Lygos in the San Francisco Bay Area, Quad County Corn Processors in Iowa, and AltAir Paramount in Southern California.
Advancing Biomass Research and Development through the Regional Feedstock Partnership
The U.S. Department of Energy and the Sun Grant Initiative established the Regional Feedstock Partnership to address information gaps associated with enabling the vision of a sustainable, reliable, billion-ton U.S. bioenergy industry by the year 2030. The partnership is composed of representatives from land-grant universities organized under the Sun Grant Initiative, the U.S. Department of Energy, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and industry. Watch this video to hear some of the representatives of the Regional Feedstock Partnership describe its outcomes and benefits.
Growing Bioeconomy Markets: Farm-to-Fuel in Southside Virginia
Biomass has the potential to supply a significant portion of America's growing energy needs, while increasing energy independence, diversifying sources of domestic revenue, and adding over a million jobs to the workforce. In Nottoway County, Virginia, the Piedmont General Hospital campus partnered with the Virginia Tech Conservation Management Institute, FDC Enterprises, Inc., local farmers and government, and state organizations, to establish a successful supply chain of native warm-season switchgrass to use as biofuel for steam and heat generation for the hospital and its campus. Watch this video to learn how this effort helped Nottoway County and surrounding areas achieve environmental goals through increased perennial land cover, while providing economic opportunities for communities and farmers in the region and significant savings for the taxpayers of the State of Virginia.
Exploring Diverse Career Opportunities with the Bioenergy Career Map
The growing U.S. bio-based economy (bioeconomy) is creating opportunities for individuals with a wide range of skills and training while supporting the national strategy to develop diverse domestic energy resources. A knowledgeable and well-trained workforce is essential for developing the domestic bioeconomy to meet future energy demands. The interactive Bioenergy Career Map tool explores the growing network of bioenergy occupations, illustrates potential career pathways, and identifies the education and training necessary for each career.
How to Energize Your Curriculum with the BioenergizeME Infographic Challenge
The U.S. Department of Energy's BioenergizeME Infographic Challenge engages 9th–12th-grade high school teams to research one of five cross-curricular bioenergy topics and design infographics to share what they have learned through various social media channels. The purpose of the Challenge is to enhance energy literacy and foundational knowledge about bioenergy, as well as help students understand how they can play an important role in shaping America’s energy future. Learn more about the Challenge from Maria Zeitlin, the advisor for the winners of the 2016 BioenergizeME Infographic Challenge.
Bioenergy Markets: Today and Tomorrow
Industry representatives and researchers from national laboratories of the U.S. Department of Energy describe how bioenergy markets for sustainable and renewable biofuels and bioproducts exist today and are growing, and reveal how continued scientific and technological advancements in bioenergy can lead to the development of new market opportunities in the future.
Renewing Forests in Colorado: Opportunities in Bioenergy
Mike Eckhoff, Special Projects Coordinator of the Colorado State Forest Service and Biomass Coordinator of the Regional USDA Forest Service, and John Twitchell, Steamboat Springs District Forester of the Colorado State Forest Service, describe how millions of acres of beetle-killed trees have impacted the environment and economy of the State of Colorado, but reveal how these challenges provide unique opportunities for growth in the bioeconomy by using this biomass and other forest wastes to provide bioenergy.
Bioenergy Innovation
U.S. Department of Energy-funded researchers from university and national laboratories describe what “bioenergy innovation” means to them, and how innovation is key to building a renewable and sustainable future for our population and planet through biofuels and bioproducts.
Enabling the Billion-Ton Bioeconomy Video
The United States is rich in non-food biomass that can fuel the development of a thriving bioeconomy where renewable and sustainable resources power cars and planes instead of petroleum. The transportation and aviation industry is actively seeking ways to reduce its carbon footprint by powering planes with solid municipal waste, woody biomass, purpose-grown crops, and algae. Watch this short video to learn how biomass is being used to make our country greener, provide new employment opportunities, and reduce our dependence on foreign oil.
2016 Billion-Ton Report Preview Video
Alison Goss Eng, of the U.S. Department of Energy Bioenergy Technologies Office, Tim Theiss, Laboratory Relationship Manager of the Bioenergy Technologies Program at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, and Tim Rials, Director of the Tennessee Forest Products Center, provide background and their insights into the production and contents of the 2016 Billion-Ton Report.
Bioenergy 2016 Preview Video
In June 2016, the Bioenergy Technologies Office released a video preview of the Bioenergy 2016 conference. The video shows clips from Bioenergy 2015, as well as highlights what attendees can expect to gain from participating in Bioenergy 2016.
Growing and Sustaining Communities with Bioenergy
From Vero Beach, Florida, to Hugoton, Kansas, to Emmetsburg, Iowa, cellulosic ethanol biorefineries have had major impacts on communities and their residents. In other areas, bioenergy has significant potential to transform current and establish new industry. This short video illustrates how biorefineries and other bioenergy developments can benefit citizens, businesses, and whole communities, helping America’s rural economies grow and thrive.
Algenol: Using Algae to Make Fuels
Algenol is a company located in Fort Myers, FL that is working with its unique photosynthetic algae to take carbon dioxide that is in the atmosphere and produce a variety of affordable and sustainable biofuels. The scale-up of this work by Algenol was funded in part by the U.S. Department of Energy Bioenergy Technology Office’s American Reinvestment and Recovery Act support.
Bioenergy in a Multifunctional Landscape
How can our landscapes be managed most effectively to produce crops for food, feed, and bioenergy, while also protecting our water resources by preventing the loss of nutrients from the soil? Dr. Cristina Negri and her team at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Argonne National Laboratory are tackling this question at an agricultural research site located in Fairbury, Illinois.
Sustainability in Bioenergy: A Nation Connected
From its big screen premier at Bioenergy 2015: Opportunities in a Changing Energy Landscape, “Sustainability in Bioenergy: A Nation Connected” is a short documentary film highlighting personal stories and the efforts being made by communities across the United States to develop, produce, and provide bioenergy, while ensuring it is environmentally, economically, and socially sustainable.
- Sustainability in Bioenergy: A Nation Connected full version
- Sustainability in Bioenergy: A Nation Connected short version
National Laboratory Videos
National laboratories prepared films showcasing their bioenergy research. Energy Department research at the national laboratories is helping to advance bioenergy.
- Argonne National Laboratory
- Argonne Bioenergy Research—BETO supported research in sustainable landscape design, waste to energy, and life-cycle analysis.
- Argonne National Laboratory Videos—A series of videos by Argonne National Laboratory.
- Idaho National Laboratory
- The Idaho National Laboratory’s Bioenergy Team Addresses Tomorrow’s Biofeedstock Challenges—BETO research that addresses feedstock variability is a critical component in the biofuel production process.
- Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
- Berkeley Lab's 2012 Open House—"Adventures in Science"—Growing the bioeconomy begins at a young age through Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory’s Open House.
- Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory Breakthrough Video—BETO supported research at The Advanced Biofuels Process Demonstration Unit at Berkeley Lab.
- Los Alamos National Laboratory
- Turning Algae into Energy in New Mexico—BETO supports research into using algae as a feedstock.
- National Renewable Energy Laboratory
- NREL Grows the Bioeconomy Beyond the Laboratory—BETO supported research into growing the bioeconomy and furthering sustainability.
- Oak Ridge National Laboratory
- ORNL Bioenergy Technologies—BETO supported research breakthroughs in biomass conversion, feedstocks, logistics, and sustainability.
- Exploring Poplar Genes for Biofuel Production—ORNL scientist, Wellington Muchero, explains how genetics is used to enhance biofuel production
- Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
- 90 Seconds of Discovery: Biofuel Catalyst Life and Plugs—BETO supported research in biofuel catalysts.
- 90 Seconds of Discovery: Biofuels for Jet Engines—BETO supported research in aviation biofuels.
- Sandia National Laboratory
- Overview of Sandia’s Biomass Program—Sandia’s Biomass Program includes projects supported by BETO.
Bioenergy: America’s Energy Future
In July 2014, the Bioenergy Technologies Office released the short documentary film Bioenergy: America’s Energy Future. The film highlights stories of individuals and companies who are passionate about achieving the promise of biofuels and addressing the challenges of developing a thriving bioeconomy. The film also demonstrates that investing in bioenergy helps maintain America’s competitive advantage while creating domestic jobs for manufacturers, scientists, and engineers.
Biomass 2013 Videos
In June 2013, the Bioenergy Technologies Office released a video preview of the Biomass 2013 conference. The video shows clips from Biomass 2012, as well as highlights what attendees can expect to gain from participating in Biomass 2013. In August 2013, the Department of Energy also released a video of Secretary Ernest Moniz's speech at Biomass 2013.
- Biomass 2013 Preview YouTube video
- Biomass 2013 Preview Text version
- Secretary Moniz's Speech YouTube video
Energy Department's Energy 101 Series | Feedstocks for Biofuels and More
In May 2013, the Energy Department highlighted feedstock production for high-quality biofuels and bioproducts in its Energy 101 video series. The video shows a variety of non-edible feedstocks and demonstrates how they are harvested and prepared for biofuels. More specifically, the video discusses the critical work of the Energy Department and the Bioenergy Technologies Office to advance feedstock supply and logistics.
Energy Department's Energy 101 Series | Algae-to-Fuels
In September 2012, the Energy Department highlighted algae in its Energy 101 video series. The video shows an algae farm and demonstrates how algae is converted into energy. More specifically, the video discusses algae's viability to create biofuels.
Energy Department's Energy 101 Series | Biofuels
In July 2012, the Energy Department highlighted biofuels in its Energy 101 video series. The video shows how biomass is broken down and refined into sustainable biofuels via biochemical and thermochemical processes.
Biomass 2012
On July 10–11, 2012, the U.S. Department of Energy's Bioenergy Technologies Office hosted its fifth annual conference, Biomass 2012: Confronting Challenges, Creating Opportunities – Sustaining a Commitment to Bioenergy, at the Washington, D.C. Convention Center. The Bioenergy Technologies Office has created several videos archiving the event, including an interview with Secretary Chu, clips from keynote speakers, an image documentary, as well as several interview spots with conference participants. Click on the link to the Bioenergy KDF YouTube channel below to view highlights from the conference.
Project LIBERTY Groundbreaking
On March 13, 2012, the Bioenergy Technologies Office's Brian Duff participated in the POET-DSM Project LIBERTY groundbreaking activities in Emmettsburg, Iowa. Click on the links below to view the keynote speakers at the event.
- Brian Duff, Chief Engineer, Department of Energy Bioenergy Technologies Office
- Stephan Tanda, Member Managing Board, Royal DSM N.V.
- Jeff Lautt, President, POET, LLC
- Jack Kibbie, Iowa State Senator
- Terry Branstad, Governor of Iowa
Technology Demonstration
Cellulosic biofuels made from agricultural residue have caught the attention of many farmers and could be the next revolution in renewable biofuels production. Click on the video link below to see how an innovative technology that converts agricultural residues from the corn harvest into renewable biofuels could help the United States produce increasing volumes of cellulosic biofuels over the coming decade.
The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) maintains a searchable online library of photographs called the NREL Image Gallery.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation Service Photo Gallery is an excellent source for agricultural and forestry biomass resource photographs. Additionally, a selection of good photos of potential dedicated bioenergy crops, such as switchgrass and poplars, can be found at Oak Ridge National Laboratory's Bioenergy Feedstock Development Program.