London, United Kingdom
January 27, 2009
The biggest ever single UK public
investment in bioenergy research has been announced today by the
main funding agency for the biosciences – the
Biotechnology and Biological
Sciences Research Council (BBSRC).
The £27M BBSRC Sustainable Bioenergy Centre has been launched to
provide the science to underpin and develop the important and
emerging UK sustainable bioenergy sector – and to replace the
petrol in our cars with fuels derived from plants.
Sustainable bioenergy offers the potential to provide a
significant source of clean, low carbon and secure energy, and
to generate thousands of new ‘green collar’ jobs. It uses
non-food crops, such as willow, industrial and agricultural
waste products and inedible parts of crops, such as straw, and
so does not take products out of the food chain.
Minister of State for Science and Innovation, Lord Drayson,
said: "Investing £27 million in this new centre involves the
single biggest UK public investment in bioenergy research. The
centre is exactly the sort of initiative this country needs to
lead the way in transforming the exciting potential of
sustainable biofuels into a widespread technology that can
replace fossil fuels.
"The centre is a great example of the UK investing in innovative
areas which have the benefits of creating new green collar jobs
as well as helping us to meet the global challenges of climate
change and reducing carbon emissions."
The BBSRC Sustainable Bioenergy Centre is focussed on six
research hubs of academic and industrial partners, based at each
of the Universities of Cambridge, Dundee and York and Rothamsted
Research and two at the University of Nottingham. Another 7
universities and institutes are involved and 15 industrial
partners across the hubs are contributing around £7M of the
funding.
The Centre’s research activities will encompass many different
stages of bioenergy production, from widening the range of
materials that can be the starting point for bioenergy to
improving the crops used by making them grow more efficiently to
changing plant cell walls. The Centre will also analyse the
complete economic and environmental life cycle of potential
sources of bioenergy.
This means the researchers will be working to make sustainable
bioenergy a practical solution by improving not only the yield
and quality of non-food biomass and the processes used to
convert this into biofuels but ensuring that the whole system is
economically and socially viable.
BBSRC Chief Executive, Prof Douglas Kell, said: "The UK has a
world leading research base in plant and microbial science. The
BBSRC Sustainable Bioenergy Centre draws together some of these
world beating scientists in order to help develop technology and
understanding to support the sustainable bioenergy sector. The
Centre is taking a holistic systems-level approach, examining
all the relevant areas of science needed for sustainable
bioenergy and studying the economic and social impact of the
bioenergy process.
"By working closely with industrial partners the Centre’s
scientists will be able to quickly translate their progress into
practical solutions to all our benefit – and ultimately, by
supporting the sustainable bioenergy sector, help to create
thousands of new ‘green collar’ jobs in the UK."
RELATED NEWS RELEASE
Imperial
College London researchers to help develop new 'green' fuel
sources
Imperial College London
life scientists working on new sustainable and efficient ways of
using plants to create biofuels are part of a new £27 million
national research centre announced by the Biotechnology and
Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) today.
The BBSRC Sustainable Bioenergy Centre has been launched to
provide the science to underpin and develop the important and
emerging UK sustainable bioenergy sector – and to replace the
petrol in our cars with fuels derived from plants.
The Imperial researchers receiving new funding as part of the
BBSRC's Centre are led by Dr Richard Murphy and Dr Thorsten
Hamann in the Department of Life Sciences. Both researchers'
work focuses on the sugars found in plant cell walls. Accessing
the cell wall sugars, which can be used to make biofuels like
ethanol to burn in car engines, is vital if researchers are to
maximise the usefulness of plants for making fuels.
A researcher harvests short rotation coppiced willow (genus
Salix) for genetic and compositional analysis
This is a difficult task because the sugars are locked tight
inside the cell walls, which have evolved to be tough, sturdy
and strong enough to keep plants upright during storms and
resist pathogen infections and other environmental stresses.
Accessing increasing amounts of the potential energy stored
inside cell walls is one of the key challenges facing bioenergy
researchers today.
Dr Murphy's research will be carried out in collaboration with
colleagues at Rothamsted Research and the Institute of
Biological, Environmental and Rural Sciences (IBERS) at
Aberystwyth University, and Cambridge University. It will focus
on analysing the different sugars and other compounds that are
found in the cell walls of bioenergy crops important for the UK,
such as fast-growing willows and Miscanthus, a giant grass.
Improving biofuel production from these plants is a priority
because they can grow on marginal land and require few
agricultural inputs like fertilisers. Furthermore, because they
are not food crops, using them for fuel does not take products
out of the food chain.
Understanding which sugars are found in different plants' cell
walls is important because some sugars are easier to extract
than others. Dr Murphy explains:
"We're looking to pin down which of these crops are the best for
producing biofuels, and an important element of this is finding
out which genotypes give us easier access to their cell wall
sugars. Building up a detailed picture of cell wall composition
in different varieties and species will help us to identify the
best targets for bioenergy production."
Dr Hamann's research involves identifying key genes associated
with the plant characteristics that influence the efficiency of
biofuel production. One of these characteristics is, for
example, the ease with which sugars can be released from the
plant cell wall during the production process.
In the lab, Dr Hamann and his colleagues use a small,
fast-growing model plant called Arabidopsis, the full genome of
which has been sequenced, to pinpoint which genes are most
important for biofuel production. Using this information they
then hope to use the corresponding genes in crops to facilitate
bioenergy production.
Working with colleagues at Rothamsted, the largest agricultural
research centre in the UK, Dr Hamann aims to transfer
discoveries made in the lab to the field. He says:
"Working with Rothamsted gives us unrivalled access to field
experiments in which we can validate the discoveries we make in
the lab. This should ensure the smooth and speedy translation of
fundamental science into workable solutions for biofuels in the
UK and Europe."
Imperial's application for the new BBSRC funding was facilitated
by the Porter Alliance, which combines the College's research
into bioenergy with that of colleagues at Rothamsted, IBERS, the
John Innes Centre, Cambridge, Southampton and York. Imperial's
work as part of the new BBSRC Sustainable Bioenergy Centre will
draw on research strengths from across the College's Departments
of Life Sciences, Chemistry, Chemical Engineering and the Centre
for Environmental Policy.
Professor Richard Templer, Director of the Porter Alliance said:
"I am delighted that members of the Alliance are partners in the
BBSRC's vision for a UK-wide bioenergy centre. Developing the
science for sustainable biofuels is a key element in reducing
the carbon footprint of our transport system. To get to the
right solutions will be tough and will require the contribution
of all branches of science and engineering, so a
multidisciplinary, nationwide approach such as this is an
extremely important first step."
Minister of State for Science and Innovation, Lord Drayson,
added: "Investing £27 million in this new centre involves the
single biggest UK public investment in bioenergy research. The
centre is exactly the sort of initiative this country needs to
lead the way in transforming the exciting potential of
sustainable biofuels into a widespread technology that can
replace fossil fuels.
"The expertise and resources of Imperial College London makes it
well placed to make a valuable contribution to the new BBSRC
Sustainable Bioenergy Centre and help to make sustainable,
environmentally-friendly bioenergy a reality."
By Danielle Reeves |
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