Abstract
The BioEnergy Science Center, a nationally and internationally peer-reviewed center of leading scientific institutions and scientists, is organized and in operation as a U.S. Department of Energy Bioenergy Research Center. This Oak Ridge National Laboratory-led Center has members from top-tier universities, leading national labs, and private companies organized as a single project team, with each member chosen for its significant contributions in the Center’s research focus areas. The recalcitrance of cellulosic biomass is viewed as (1) the most significant obstacle to the establishment of a cellulosic biofuels industry, (2) essential to producing cost-competitive fuels, and (3) widely applicable, since nearly all biofuels and biofeedstocks would benefit from such advances. The mission of the BioEnergy Science Center is to make revolutionary advances in understanding and overcoming the recalcitrance of biomass to conversion into sugars, making it feasible to displace petroleum with ethanol and other fuels.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
BioEnergy Science Center. Technologies available for licensing. http://www.bioenergycenter.org/licensing. Cited 30 Jan 2009.
Brown S. D.; Raman B.; McKeown C. K.; Kale S. P.; He Z.; Mielenz J. R. Construction and evaluation of a Clostridium thermocellum ATCC 27405 whole-genome oligonucleotide microarray. Appl. Biochem. Biotech. 137–140(1–12): 663–674; 2007.
DOE/SC-0095. Breaking the biological barriers to cellulosic ethanol: a joint research agenda. U.S. Department of Energy. http://genomicsgtl.energy.gov/biofuels/b2bworkshop.shtml; 2006.
Himmel M.; Ding S. Y.; Johnson D. K.; Adney W. S.; Nimlos M. R.; Brady J. W.; Foust T. D. Biomass recalcitrance: engineering plants and enzymes for biofuels production. Science 315: 804–807; 2007.
Lynd L. R.; Laser M. S.; Bransby D.; Dale B. E.; Davison B.; Hamilton R.; Himmel M.; Keller M.; McMillan J. D.; Sheehan J.; Wyman C. E. How biotechnology can transform biofuels. Nature Biotech. 26: 169–172; 2008.
Lynd L. R.; van Zyl W. H.; McBride J. E.; Laser M. et al. Consolidated bioprocessing of cellulosic biomass: an update. Curr. Opin. Biotech. 16(5): 577–583; 2005.
Lynd L. R.; Wyman C. E.; Gemgross T. U. Biocommodity engineering. Biotech. Prog. 15(5): 777–793; 1999.
Tennessee Biofuels Initiative. Recent News Oct 14, 2008, Jul 23, 2008. Office of Bioenergy Programs at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN. http://www.utbioenergy.org/TNBiofuelsInitiative. Cited 30 Jan 2009.
U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science. Genomics:GTL. http://genomicsgtl.energy.gov/benefits/index.shtml. Cited 30 Jan 2009.
Acknowledgement
The BioEnergy Science Center (BESC) is a U.S. Department of Energy Bioenergy Research Center supported by the Office of Biological and Environmental Research in the DOE Office of Science.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
Editors: P. Lakshmanan; D. Songstad
The submitted manuscript has been authored by a contractor of the U.S. Government under Contract No. DE-AC05-00OR22725. Accordingly, the U.S. Government retains a non-exclusive, royalty-free license to publish or reproduce the published form of this contribution, or allow others to do so, for U.S. Government purposes.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Miller, R., Keller, M. The DOE BioEnergy Science Center—a U.S. Department of Energy Bioenergy Research Center. In Vitro Cell.Dev.Biol.-Plant 45, 193–198 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11627-009-9213-y
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11627-009-9213-y