Tennessee
June 27, 2007
Tennessee’s efforts to be a leader
in biofuels research and development took another leap forward
as the U.S. Department of Energy announced that the
University of Tennessee
and the Oak Ridge National
Laboratory will manage a new $125 million bioenergy research
center.
The center, one of three funded by the DOE's Office of Science
from more than 20 proposals, was announced on June 26.
The Bioenergy Science Center will study how to more efficiently
extract cellulose from plants such as switchgrass and poplar
trees. Cellulose can be converted to fuels such as ethanol,
reducing the demand for gasoline.
ORNL's Martin Keller will serve as the center's director, and
Dr. Neal Stewart, a plant molecular geneticist with the UT
Agricultural Experiment Station, is among the researchers
participating in the team effort.
In addition to ORNL and UT, the DOE Bioenergy Science Center
partners are Dartmouth College, the University of Georgia, the
Georgia Institute of Technology, the Samuel Roberts Noble
Foundation and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory;
ArborGen in Summerville, S.C.; Diversa (now Verenium Corp.) in
San Diego, Calif.; and Mascoma in Cambridge, Mass. The team also
includes seven individual researchers from across the country.
The DOE award comes two weeks after the Tennessee state
legislature approved a $61 million package for bioenergy
research at UT and ORNL. As part of that package, called the
Tennessee Biofuels Initiative (
http://agriculture.tennessee.edu/Biofuel/), the state is funding
construction of a 5 million gallon-per-year pilot biorefinery
for research and demonstration of biomass-to-ethanol conversion.
The Initiative includes incentive payments for farmers to grow
switchgrass as a feedstock for the biorefinery.
UT is serving as the lead institution for the state-funded
effort. Tennessee Governor Phil Bredesen, who attended a press
conference at ORNL, said, "These two investments together
position Tennessee and the South to be among the leaders in the
emerging field of bioenergy."
UT Vice President for Agriculture Dr. Joseph DiPietro voiced his
gratitude to state leaders for their forethought and support.
"We are extremely grateful for the confidence that our elected
officials have shown us by supporting the Tennessee Biofuels
Initiative," he said. "The project epitomizes the research,
education and outreach missions of our land-grant institution."
Dr. Tom Klindt, interim dean of the UT Agricultural Experiment
Station, emphasized that recent investments in the region in
biofuels research and technology development exceed $200
million. “Tennessee is becoming a bioenergy research hub,” he
said. “This level of investment in agricultural research will
benefit rural economies and consumers from all walks of life.”
Klindt said the ultimate goal of the research is an affordable
alternative fuel for consumers in the form of cellulosic ethanol
and a sustainable bioeconomy.
For more information on the DOE Bioenergy Science Center, its
partners and facilities, see
www.bioenergycenter.org. |
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