Drop-in fuels can be made from plant cell wall fungus: report

In California, researchers at Sandia National Laboratories and Montana State University are collaborating on a project to modify an endophytic fungus – that lives between plant cell walls – to produce fuel-type hydrocarbons for transportation purposes.

Sandia is collaborating with Professor Gary Strobel from Montana State University, a known expert in Ascocoryne sarcoides and other similar fungi. The beauty of the endophytic fungi, Sandia biochemist Masood Hadi said, is that there is no need for the cost-intensive industrial processes that are typically required to break down biomass. “These things can turn crystalline cellulosic material directly into fuel-type hydrocarbons without any mechanical breakdown,” he said.

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