DOE awards SBIR grant to Athena Biotechnologies for R&D into 10% drop in ethanol processing by developing heat-tolerant bacteria

In Delaware, Athena Biotechnologies received a Department of Energy Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grant to develop an energy efficient, high temperature process that drives a 10% drop in ethanol production costs. The company is focused on developing bacteria that produce ethanol at temperatures exceeding 80 degrees Celsius.

The grant was one of several from DOE relating to cellulosic ethanol research. SunEthanol received $100,000 to further develop its patented C3 process, which combines hydrolysis and fermentation into a single step. The five-step project is a collaboration between SunEthanol, Texas A&M and UMass, and is based on SunEthanol’s proprietary Q Microbe.

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