DOE Awards More Than $30 Million to Further Development of Bioproducts

September 18, 2001

WASHINGTON, D.C.ecretary of Energy Spencer Abraham today announced that the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) will invest $30 million over the next three to five years in 11 projects to develop process technology to produce chemicals, plastics, materials and other products from plant matter and other natural waste materials. The funds will also be used to establish university education and training programs in the area of bioproducts. Many of the projects will be cost-shared approximately equally between DOE and its partners.

"Producing marketable industrial products out of plants saves energy, saves nonrenewable resources and creates jobs," said Secretary Abraham. "The bioenergy and bioproducts fields hold tremendous potential for environmentally desirable manufacturing and the creation of new jobs in the farm belt."

The administration's National Energy Plan calls for increasing the development of bioproducts and bioenergy. The bioproduct projects receiving funding today address areas identified in the Technology Roadmap for Plant/Crop-Based Renewable Resources that helps set the agenda for biobased product research and development. The roadmap was developed jointly by DOE, agricultural organizations, biotechnology companies, chemical and material companies, and representatives from academia, national laboratories and other government agencies. Projects will be conducted by collaborative, multi-disciplinary teams with industry, university and DOE national laboratory partners.

Projects receiving funding include research to convert castor seed oil to plastic and other products, and to convert soy seeds to adhesives, resins, and composites; advanced membrane separation technology; new crop harvesting and storage technology; and the optimization of grain for bioproduct processing.

Three education grants will help establish multi-disciplinary education and training for graduate students in the area of bioproducts technologies. These grants will help establish cross-cutting multi-disciplinary academic and research programs and provide stipends for deserving graduate students. The education initiative is intended to enable students to integrate knowledge in the wide range of technologies and disciplines needed to be most effective in the emerging bioproducts industry.

The bioproducts and bioenergy initiative, which was stimulated by the Biomass Research and Development Act of 2000, is a multi-agency effort jointly coordinated by the Department of Energy and the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

For additional information on the Energy Department's bioproducts initiative see www.oit.doe.gov/agriculture. New bioproduct R&D project descriptions are also available.

New Bioproduct R&D Projects

Project Title	Partners	Total DOE Funding	Private Funding
Enhancement of Biobased Products from Sorghum Grain With Optimized Production and Composition Using Advanced Genomics	Orion Genomics, LLC, St. Louis, Mo; NC+Hybrids, Colwich, Kan.; SolviGen LLC, Chesterfield, Mo; Vogelbusch U.S.A., Houston, Texas; Cold Spring harbor Lab, Cold Spring Harbor, N.Y.; Purdue University, West Lafayette, Ind.; Crosbyton Seed Company, Crosbyton, Texas; National Grain Sorghum Producers, Lubbock, Texas	$7,500,000*	$7,500,000*
Multi-Component Harvesting Equipment for Inexpensive Sugars from Crop Residues	Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa; Arkenol, Inc., Mission Viejo, Calif.; CNH Global Nev., New Holland Pa.; University of Idaho, Moscow, Idaho; Idaho National Energy and Environmental Laboratory, Idaho Falls, Idaho	$1,575,000*	$1,636,740*
Collection, Commercial Processing, and Utilization of Corn Stover	Biomass Agri-Products, LLC, Harlan, Iowa; Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa; Midwest Labs, Omaha, Neb., Cargill Dow LLC, Minnetoka, MN	$5,000,000*	$5,000,000*
Affordable Resins and Adhesives from Optimized Soybean Varieties	University of Delaware, Newark, Del; Kansas State University, Manhattan, Kan.; Ashland Inc., Adhesive Divisions, Columbus, Ohio; CARA Plastics, Inc., Newark, Del.; North Central Kansas Processors, Washington, Kan.	$3,000,000 - $5,000,000*	$3,000,000 - $5,000,000*
Development of Improved Chemicals and Plastics from Oilseeds	Dow Chemical Company, Midland, Mich.; Castor Oil, Inc., Plainview, Texas; USDA, Western Regional Research Center, Albany, Calif.	$4,000,000 - $6,000,000*	$4,000,000 - $6,000,000*
Biomass Biorefinery for Production of Polymers and Fuel	Metabolix, Inc., Cambridge, Mass.; University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Tenn.; University of Central Florida, Orlando, Fla.; Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, Tenn.; Cornell University, Ithaca, N.Y.; National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Golden, Colo.; Porcelli Consultants, Inc.; University of Massachusetts, Amherst, Mass.; University of Massachusetts-Lowell, Lowell, Mass.; University of Texas, Austin, Texas	$7,397,000*	$7,397,000*

*Subject to negotiation and Congressional appropriation.

New SBIR Bioproducts Grants

Project Title	Partners	Total DOE Funding
Advanced Membrane Technology for Biosolvents	Vertec BioSolvents LLC, Mt. Prospect, Ill.	$100,000
An Acoustically Enhanced Pervaporation Bioreactor	Montec Associates, Inc., Butte, Vt.	$100,000

New Bioproducts Education Grants

Project Title	Partners	Total DOE Funding
Multi-Disciplinary Education and Training in Biobased Products: Graduate Major in Bioresource Engineering	Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa	$375,000
Establishment of a Graduate Program in Biobased Industrial Products	Kansas State University, Manhattan, Kan.	$355,474
Assessing the Economic Viability of Biobased Products for Missouri Value-Added Crop Production	University of Missouri, Columbia, Mo.	$112,253