CSU researchers participants in four grants from biofuels collaboration
October 31, 2007
A joint center of Colorado State University, the Colorado School of Mines, the University of Colorado at Boulder, and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, and sponsored by industry, has announced $500,000 in grants to 10 teams pursuing renewable energy research ranging from the solar conversion of plant material for fuels to genetic crop engineering.
C2B2 founded in March 2007
The Colorado Center for Biorefining and Biofuels, or C2B2, was founded in March 2007 by the Colorado Renewable Energy Collaboratory, a consortium involving all four institutions. The goal is to increase the production and use of energy from renewable resources, said C2B2 Executive Director Alan Weimer, a professor in CU-Boulder's chemical and biological engineering department.
The 10 winning proposals, each for $50,000, were selected by members of C2B2's 27 industry sponsors, including such companies as Chevron, ConocoPhillips, Dow Chemical and Shell Global Solutions, Weimer said.
Colorado State University scientists involved in four of 10 winning proposals
Three CSU scientists are participants in four of the 10 grants:
- Professor Daniel Bush, chairman of the Department of Biology, will study the genetic engineering of sugar beets, viewed by many as a model renewable energy crop.
- Professor Keith Paustian, on the faculty of the Department of Soil and Crop Sciences and a research scientist at the Natural Resource Ecology Laboratory, is collaborating on a project led by the Colorado School of Mines on the technological and economic analysis of a proposed thermochemical plant to produce biofuels from cellulose.
- Professor Ken Reardon, Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering and CSU site director for C2B2, will study new approaches to stimulate algae to produce oils that can be converted into biodiesel. Reardon is also collaborating with C2B2 Managing Director and CU-Boulder Assistant Professor Ryan Gill on a project to use genetic tools to engineer microbial communities known as biofilms that adhere to surfaces. More efficient biofilms can increase the production of biofuels made from the cellulose of plant leaves, stems and stalks.
Viable technologies that can be commercialized
"The mission of C2B2 is to improve the fundamental understanding of the conversion of biomass to fuels and products and develop viable technologies that can be commercialized by our industry partners in relatively short order," said Weimer. "The message from these awards is that C2B2 is thriving, and we have a tremendous amount of interest from the private sector that is only going to grow."
David Hiller, executive director of the Colorado Renewable Energy Collaboratory, said each of center's six thrusts was funded within the 10 proposals. The six thrusts include crop engineering, biochemical conversion using enzymes and organisms, thermo-chemical conversion, process engineering, product engineering and system engineering.
First 10 seed grants
"These first 10 seed grants highlight the central strengths of C2B2 and the collaboratory," said Hiller. "We have four excellent faculties with broad research capabilities, a spirit of cooperation among the institutions and a strong public-private partnership."
The center, headquartered at CU-Boulder, has a current budget of nearly $2 million, and is funded by the four institutions, state matching funds and industry sponsor fees. The annual budget is expected to reach $5 million to $10 million in the next several years as sponsored research increases and memberships from industry collaborators grow, Weimer said.
Complementary to several new CSU initiatives
C2B2 activities are complementary to several new initiatives at CSU. These include a Clean Energy Supercluster that has a strong biofuels component and an NSF training grant proposal currently under review that aims to train the next generation of graduate students by providing experience in all aspects of biofuels research, ranging from plant biotechnology to chemical engineering. Developing clean energy alternatives, such as biofuels, is a global challenge in the 21st century and one in which CSU faculty are taking a leadership role in crafting workable solutions.
"The biggest winners in the development of C2B2 will be the students," Weimer said. "I can't imagine why any high school student interested in biofuels and renewable energy would consider leaving the state to attend college elsewhere with the opportunities C2B2 provides at the three Colorado universities."
Graduate students key to collaboration
Graduate students at four institutions will meet twice a year with C2B2 industry partners to present their research findings, an opportunity CU-Boulder Vice Chancellor for Research Stein Sture said is unusual in the arena of higher education. "The chance for these students to find jobs in their fields when they have finished school is heightened considerably by these interactions with the companies," said Sture, who is dean of the Graduate School.
In addition to fellowships for undergraduates, graduate students and postdoctoral researchers, C2B2 administrators plan to bring in 10 to 20 top undergraduates from around the nation as part of the Research Experience for Undergraduates Program to work with university and industry researchers, Weimer said. C2B2 administrators also are planning outreach activities to area K-12 schools, he said.
Discoveries and patents
Industry sponsors can participate in discoveries and patents generated with the aim of commercializing new technologies quickly, said Gill. Sponsors also may enter into individual agreements to fund proprietary research through C2B2.
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A podcast on C2B2 featuring Weimer can be accessed on the Web at http://www.colorado.edu/news/podcasts. For more information on C2B2 visit the Web at http://www.colorado.edu/che/c2b2/index.html.
Contact: Emily Wilmsen
Email: Emily.Wilmsen@colostate.edu
Phone Number: (970) 491-2336
