KSU scores $1.9M in DOE funding for camelina and pennycress research

In Kansas, Kansas State University researchers are part of a five-year collaborative grant from the U.S. Department of Energy to improve oilseed crops for use as biofuels and other bioproducts. The researchers received nearly $1.9 million to better understand how changing the biochemistry of oilseed plants alters their oil production. The research group is working with camelina and pennycress — non-food oilseed crops — that can be used as cover crops by farmers. This research will help scientists better understand how the plants synthesize fatty acids to make lipids while also improving oil production and crop profitability.