DOE's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory to Build Biofuels-Development Unit
By Scott Doggett March 31, 2010
The Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory has been awarded nearly $18 million from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 to build an advanced biofuels process development facility.
Funded by the U.S. Department of Energy through its Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, the new facility is expected to help expedite the commercialization of next-generation biofuels by providing industry-scale test beds for innovative technologies. Called the Advanced Biofuels Process Development Unit, it will be the only facility of its kind available for public use.
The grant announcement was made by DOE Assistant Secretary for EERE Cathy Zoi, speaking today at the Biomass 2010 conference in Arlington, Virginia. Her agency oversees DOE's Biomass Program, which has been awarded about $718 million in Recovery Act funds to accelerate the commercialization of advanced biofuels and foster the growth of a sustainable U.S. bioindustry.
The Advanced Biofuels Process Development Unit is scheduled to be fully operational by early next year, and multiple possible locations for the facility are now being considered in the region east of the San Francisco Bay.
Advanced biofuels, as defined by the Energy Independence and Security Act, are renewable fuels - other than ethanol derived from corn starch - with at least 50 percent less
lifecycle greenhouse-gas emissions than the fossil fuels they replace.
Berkeley Lab's Advanced Biofuels Process Development Unit will feature pre-treatment of biomass capabilities and bioreactors for the production of microbial or fungal enzymes that can break down biomass into fermentable sugars.
The facility will also have substantial capabilities for fermentation or further conversion of sugars into advanced biofuels, along with the capacity to purify these fuels in sufficient quantities for engine testing.
Berkeley Lab is a DOE laboratory located in Berkeley, California. It conducts unclassified scientific research for DOE's Office of Science and is managed by the University of California.
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