DOE grants funds to four universities for biofuels R&D

In Washington, the Department of Energy announced funding for the following Energy Frontier Research Centers working on biofuels projects, through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act:

·  University of Delaware (Newark, DE) – $17.5 million for five years to design and characterize novel catalysts for the efficient conversion of the complex molecules comprising biomass into chemicals and fuels.

·  University of North Carolina (Chapel Hill, NC) – $17.5 million for five years to synthesize new molecular catalysts and light absorbers and integrate them into nanoscale architectures for improved generation of fuels and electricity from sunlight.

·  Pennsylvania State University (University Park, PA) – $21 million for five years to dramatically increase our fundamental knowledge of the physical structure of bio-polymers in plant cell walls to provide a basis for improved methods for converting biomass into fuels.

·  Purdue University (West Lafayette, IN) – $20 million for five years to use fundamental knowledge about the interactions between catalysts and plant cell walls to design improved processes for the conversion of biomass to energy, fuels, or chemicals.

A complete list of the 46 EFRCs, their lead institutions, funding levels and objectives, is available here.

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