University of Illinois and the University of Florida get ARPA-E funding for biofuel crop research

In Illinois and Florida, researchers from University of Illinois and the University of Florida have been awarded a third round of funding from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) to realize ultra-productive biofuel crops. ARPA-E supports initial research for high-potential, high-impact energy technologies to show proof of concept prior to private-sector investment. ARPA-E grants are extremely competitive, and it is rare to receive additional funding, called “plus-up funds,” and even rarer to earn a second round of plus-up funding. Nearly $300,000 of plus-up funds will sustain the research project called Plants Engineered To Replace Oil in Sugarcane and Sweet Sorghum (PETROSS) for another year while it seeks additional investors and commercial partners.