Funding for Wisconsin bioenergy centre to continue

The Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Centre in Wisconsin, US has had its funding by the US Department of Energy (US DoE) renewed for another five years.

The centre receives $25 million (€19.2 million) a year from the US DoE and supports almost 400 researchers.

‘Our researchers, in partnership with the states of Wisconsin, Michigan and affiliated industries, have made substantial progress toward developing the next generation of advanced biofuels,’ says centre director Tim Donohue.

‘During this first funding cycle, the centre produced over 400 research publications and nearly 60 patents related to bioenergy.’

The next steps now that extra funding has been secured are for the centre to develop sustainable practices with enhanced biofuel crops and to increase the conversion efficiency of biomass into fuels and chemicals.