RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT GRANTS
Ceres has been awarded a number of grants to improve dedicated energy crops.
Biotech Improvements to Switchgrass
In 2007, we began a three-year research project to study how biotechnology can be used to double the yield of switchgrass by 2020. The goal is to increase biomass by expressing genes that directly increase either biomass through increases in plant density and/or size, or indirectly increase biomass through enhanced tolerance to stresses or more efficient use of water and nutrients. This project is funded by a $1.5 million grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture under the USDA and DOE’s 2006 Biomass R&D Initiative grant program.
Plant-based Co-Products in Energy Crops
In 2007, we began a three-year research collaboration with specialty materials company, Rohm and Haas, to determine if energy crops planted for cellulosic ethanol could simultaneously produce methacrylate monomers, a key raw material used in the manufacture of home and industrial products. This project is funded by a $1.5 million research grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture under the USDA and DOE’s 2006 Biomass R&D Initiative grant program.
Enhanced Carbon Sequestration in Poplar
In 2005, Ceres, in collaboration with Oregon State University, was awarded a $1.4 million grant from the DOE’s Office of Science to study ways to enhance the ability of poplar trees to sequester atmospheric carbon dioxide. The three-year research project is also looking at how to partition carbon into specific portions of the plant, such as roots, and into types of natural plant compounds that are highly resistant to breakdown in the environment. Poplars, like cottonwoods and aspens, are considered the model for tree biotechnology and genomics.