Dozens of UC research projects pursue fossil-fuel alternatives: Energy Biosciences Institute seeks renewable, sustainable, environmentally friendly biofuels

N completing its second year of a 10-year funding commitment from the energy company BP, the Energy Biosciences Institute (EBI) finds itself a central player in the international network of scientists looking for sustainable, renewable, environmentally friendly alternatives to transportation fossil fuels. With headquarters in Berkeley and a satellite unit at the University of Illinois, EBI has launched 51 different research projects in an effort to develop an integrated, holistic understanding of the energy biosciences. Cellulosic biofuels, prime targets in the EBI mission, are unusually complex and involve research questions not only in the production area (see pages 178 and 185) but also concerning social and economic impacts on other regions and nations. “No miracles are required to develop costeffective cellulosic biofuels,“ says Chris Somerville, UC Berkeley plant scientist and EBI director. “A series of two-fold improvements in the efficiency of various steps could make biofuels less expensive than liquid fossil fuels.” However, implementing rational improvements in the overall process is challenging. Managing the various components will require coordinated, integrated knowledge from many scientific and engineering disciplines. This is what EBI was established to do, and scientists at UC Berkeley, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), and University of Illinois are heavily into the collaborative quest. This fall, another call for proposals was issued by EBI, and 10 to 15 additional programs or projects will be under way by 2010. BP has pledged $500 million for a decade of research. Other major UC participants in the search for biofuels include EBI’s neighbor to the north, the Joint BioEnergy Institute (JBEI) in Emeryville, as well as the California Biomass Collaborative and the Bioenergy Research Center, both based at UC Davis, and the San Diego Center for Algae Biotechnology at UC San Diego (see box, page 163).