Today, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced the selection of 35 projects totaling $73 million for bioenergy research and development (R&D). Funded through the DOE’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, these projects will help reduce the price of drop-in biofuels, lower the cost of biopower, and enable high-value products from biomass or waste resources.
“The main goal of DOE’s bioenergy R&D is to produce affordable biofuels that are compatible with existing fueling infrastructure and vehicles across a range of transportation modes, including renewable-gasoline, -diesel, and -jet fuels,” said Secretary Rick Perry. “These projects will reduce the price of drop-in biofuels, lower the cost of biopower, and enable high-value products from biomass or waste resources, while creating American jobs and strengthening our economy and energy security.”
The United States has the potential to produce 1 billion dry tons of non-food biomass without disrupting agricultural markets for food and animal feed. This underutilized domestic resource could be used to produce 50 billion gallons of biofuels (25 percent of U.S. transportation fuels), 50 billion pounds of high-value chemicals and products, and 75 billion kWh of electricity (enough to power 7 million homes).
