US DOE offering $33.8M for cellulose

The U.S. Department of Energy said this week it would offer $33.8 million to support cellulosic biofuels.

The agency plans to award the cash to up to 5 companies to help the development of commercially viable enzymes, which it said is a key step to enabling the production of renewable biofuels such as cellulosic ethanol.

"Ethanol from new feed stocks will not only give America more efficient fuel options to help transform our transportation sector, but increasing its use will help reduce greenhouse gas emissions," said DOE assistant secretary Andy Karsner.

The offer is part of the President’s Twenty in Ten Plan, calling for the reduction of 20 percent of U.S. gasoline usage by 2017 through diversification of clean energy sources and increased vehicle efficiency.

Letters of intent for the funds are due Sept. 10, with completed applications due Oct. 30. The projects are expected to begin in 2008 and continue through 2011.

Participating companies can expect to get $5 million to $12 million apiece, with an award ceiling of $15 million.

The DOE said that with a minimum 50 percent industry cost-share, the funding will total nearly $68 million.

The agency said the funding aims to further reduce costs of enzyme system preparations in process-relevant conditions. Since 2000, the DOE said its enzyme development advancements have yielded thirty-fold cost reductions mainly on enzyme production.

The DOE said this funding will focus on production from non-food materials and agricultural waste, such as corn stover, switchgrass, and prairie grass.

The department is looking specifically for systems to hydrolyze and saccharify cellulosic biomass feedstocks. It said enzymes developed under this program must prove durable and effective in process-relevant conditions.

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