By Renewable Energy Focus staff
“These projects will help to reduce America’s dependence on imported oil by accelerating the development and commercialization of cleaner, alternative fuels that can power our vehicles and our industry,” says Energy Secretary Steven Chu.
“Producing renewable fuels from biomass right here in the United States will improve our nation’s energy security and give us an innovative edge in the global market for clean energy technologies.”
The funding will be made available through the Biomass research and Development Initiative (BRDI), and will focus on three areas:
- Feedstock Development: Research, development and demonstration (RD&D) for improving biomass feestocks and their supply;
- Biofuels and Bio-based Product Development: RD&D to increase the use of cellulosic biomass in the production of biofuels and/or bio-based products – also the development of a wide range of technologies to produce various bio-based products including animal feeds and chemicals that can potentially increase the economic viability of large-scale fuel production in a biorefinery; and
- Biofuels Development Analysis: developing analytic tools to improve sustainability, environmental quality, cost-effectiveness, security, and rural economic development of renewable biomass technologies – also developing new tools to evaluate environmental impact and the potential of using Federal land resources to sustainably increase feedstock production for fuel production for biofuels and bio-based products.