US Energy Department to provide $90m in funding to biofuels industry

The US Energy Department (DOE) is handing out up to $90 million ($78.9m) in project funding focused on designing, constructing, and operating integrated biofuel facilities.

The department notes the production of biofuels from sustainable, non-food, domestic biomass resources is an important strategy to meet the US administration’s goals to reduce carbon emissions and dependence on imported oil.

The funding is intended to support efforts to improve and demonstrate processes that break down complex biomass feedstocks and convert them to petrol, diesel and jet fuel, as well as plastics and chemicals.

“The domestic bio-industry could play an important part in the growing clean energy economy and in reducing US dependence on imported oil,” said Lynn Orr, DOE’s undersecretary for science and energy.

“This funding opportunity will support companies that are working to advance current technologies and help them overcome existing challenges in bioenergy so the industry can meet its full potential.” 

The US spends approximately $1 billion every three days on imported oil, but the DOE and the US Department of Agriculture estimate that the country could sustainably produce more than 1 billion tonnes of biomass that could be converted to biofuels, bioproducts, and bioenergy.

This would spur economic development in rural communities across the nation and those products could be used to fuel vehicles, heat homes, and replace everyday materials such as plastic.

Developing the bioeconomy could also potentially displace over 25% of US petroleum use and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 550 million tonnes.