Category: Research

Inaugural Field Day for ARPA-E’s “Transportation Energy Resources from Renewable Agriculture” program set for June 2

May 22, 2016 | Jim Lane

In Washington, the Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy and the University of Arizona will host a Field Day for the TERRA program, including live demonstrations of crop sensing and analytics platforms that will broadly advance our nation’s energy security, agricultural productivity, crop yields, and environmental stewardship. The event will be held at the University of Arizona’s […]

Benson Hill Biosystems announces cloud biology system for plant genomics

May 19, 2016 | Meghan Sapp

In Missouri, Benson Hill Biosystems announced that is has commercially launched CropOS™, a cognitive engine using cloud biology to empower a new era of plant genomics innovation. CropOS uses powerful data analytics and biological knowledge to identify the most promising plant genetics in weeks instead of multiple growing seasons. Users can discover and breed tomorrow’s […]

University of Guelph researchers accidently double plant growth through genetic tweak

May 18, 2016 | Meghan Sapp

In Canada, an almost entirely accidental discovery by University of Guelph researchers could transform food and biofuel production and increase carbon capture on farmland. By tweaking a plant’s genetic profile, the researchers doubled the plant’s growth and increased seed production by more than 400 per cent. The team studied Arabidopsis, a small flowering plant often used […]

UC Riverside gets $1.3 million from USDA to research waste plant biofuel and chemicals processes

May 17, 2016 | Meghan Sapp

In California, researchers from the University of California at Riverside have received a $1.3 million award from the USDA that will fund research on developing commercially viable processes to create biofuels and chemicals from waste plant materials. The award will support a project that aims to convert poplar wood into ethanol and polyurethanes based on […]

Welsh researchers trialing new algae farm method

May 17, 2016 | Meghan Sapp

In the UK, the Engineering & Physical Sciences Research Council has funded a new seaweed farm in Pembroke Dock so marine biologists from Swansea University follow in the footsteps of other projects in Ireland and Scotland with an original farm design that is unique in the UK. A Durham University-led consortium has developed the design […]

Deinove, TWB partner to map, optimize Deinococcus bacteria for industrial biotech production

May 15, 2016 | Jim Lane

In France, Deinove and Toulouse White Biotechnology are collaborating with the MetaToul platform (INSA-LISBP Toulouse and MetaboHUB national infrastructure) headed by Prof. Jean-Charles Portais, aiming to map the metabolic fluxes of the Deinococcus chassis, i.e. to create an inventory of all the potentialities of the microorganism in the production of molecules of interest. This mapping, both […]

Berkeley Lab researchers develop “one-pot” method for advanced biofuels

May 12, 2016 | Meghan Sapp

In California, researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) have engineered a strain of bacteria that enables a “one-pot” method for producing advanced biofuels from a slurry of pre-treated plant material. The Escherichia coli (E. coli) is able to tolerate the liquid salt used to break apart plant biomass […]

Consortium for Algal Biofuel Commercialization demonstrates six years of work

May 11, 2016 | Meghan Sapp

In California, Consortium for Algal Biofuel Commercialization (CAB-Comm), led by the University of California, San Diego, has just released its final report, detailing the many accomplishments and impactful contributions achieved in its six years of operation. CAB-Comm was established in 2010 through a competitive award from the Energy Department’s Bioenergy Technologies Office (BETO) to conduct […]

University of Illinois and the University of Florida get ARPA-E funding for biofuel crop research

May 10, 2016 | Meghan Sapp

In Illinois and Florida, researchers from University of Illinois and the University of Florida have been awarded a third round of funding from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) to realize ultra-productive biofuel crops. ARPA-E supports initial research for high-potential, high-impact energy technologies to show proof of concept prior to private-sector investment. […]

European JRC finds LNG and methanol best alternative fuels for shipping

May 9, 2016 | Meghan Sapp

In Italy, a recent JRC report finds that fuels like liquefied natural gas (LNG) and methanol are the most promising alternatives to drive decarbonization of the shipping sector and ultimately contribute to the fight against climate change. Market penetration by alternative fuels has already begun with ship builders, engine manufacturers and classification societies by introducing […]

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