US government pumps fresh cash into biofuel research

The US government has announced almost $9m (£5.8m) of fresh funding to support research into second-generation cellulosic biofuels that do not affect food supplies.

The research grants, to be administered by the Departments of Agriculture and Energy, will help to increase US independence from foreign oil, officials said.

The two departments will award $8.9m in grants to teams researching how to generate energy from lignocellulosic material. Researchers claim lignocellulosic biofuels are more effective than conventional biofuels as they can be made from grasses, trees and other crops that can be developed without affecting food supplies.

The latest grants are expected to concentrate on perennial crops such as trees. "Since such crops tend to require less-intensive production practices and can grow on somewhat poorer quality land than food crops, they will be a critical element in a strategy of sustainable biofuels production that avoids competition with crops grown for food," said the Department of Energy in a statement.

Almost $7m in funding will come via the Department of Energy's Office of Science, which will fund seven projects, while the USDA's National Institute of Food and Agriculture will provide a further $2m for two projects.

The funding is being awarded entirely to academic institutions. The Universities of California, Delaware Georgia, Illinois and Missouri are among those receiving money.

The Department of Energy is also funding cellulosic projects through other channels. For example, it has awarded $17.9m to American Process Incorporated to help finance the creation of a waste-to-cellulosic plant in Michigan. The plant, launched last month, is a pilot-scale venture designed to convert woody feedstock into cellulosic Ethanol.