Cover Story

A Burst of Energy

With $20 million from the Legislature for renewable energy, the University of Minnesota is busy making plans to use the state's biological resources to produce clean energy and environmentally friendly products as well as boost the economy.

Fill a mason jar with murky sea water, add a dollop of mud, a few inches of wire, and a graphite electrode, and what do you have? A 4th grade science project? A mess for Mom to clean up?

Daniel Bond, from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, helped create a battery that uses common bacteria to turn organic matter from the ocean floor into electricity. In May he will move his laboratory to the University of Minnesota, where he will work with other faculty on renewable energy.

The surprising answer is an experiment conducted by a group of distinguished scientists at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst showing how to make a battery that uses common microbes to transform organic matter from the bottom of the ocean into electrical energy. The study was published in Sciencein January 2002. And one of those scientists, an assistant professor named Daniel Bond, will soon be packing up his mason jars and heading for the University of Minnesota.

Bond is the kind of young scientist who gets competitive offers from universities nationwide. But he chose the University of Minnesota because, he says, the collaborative opportunities and facilities here give him the best opportunity to grow. Bond will be a member of the Department of Microbiology in the Medical School and the Biotechnology Institute, a joint venture of CBS and IT. He will set up his lab in CBS Gortner Laboratories, where the Biotechnology Institute and the Division of Microbial Biochemistry are located.

"This is a very good sign that we are on the right track," says Robert Elde, Dean of the College of Biological Sciences and director of the University's Initiative for Renewable Energy and the Environment (IREE). "The momentum of IREE is building."

Bond will join faculty from throughout the University linked by the Initiative for Renewable Energy and the Environment, which was funded by the 2003 Legislature with $20 million from money Xcel Energy provides for alternative energy development. The diverse group includes chemists, engineers, ecologists, microbiologists, agronomists, architects, economists, and policy experts with a common interest in finding environmentally and economically friendly alternatives to energy and products made from fossil fuels. Many have been working independently for a number of years on renewable energy projects. Through IREE, they have found each other and are exploring opportunities to share ideas and resources.

Roger Ruan has patented a technique for making liquid 'bio crude' from biomass by 'cooking' the biomass with water and a chemical catalyst to dissolve it. The simplicity of the process would make it possible for a grower to take biomass to a local biorefinery and have it converted to bio crude, which could then be transported to another site for further processing.

A growing trend toward renewables

With this initiative the University and the State have stepped up their commitment of financial and human resources to renewable energy and materials. They join a growing national movement toward renewables driven by dwindling fossil fuel reserves, environmental damage from CO₂ and other pollutants, and Middle East politics. Advances in biotechnology make the transition feasible. And potential economic benefits add to the appeal.

The initiative grew out of parallel efforts that began last fall. Edward Garvey, Deputy Commissioner of Commerce, and Dean Elde began discussing a plan to raise the University's profile in renewable energy while faculty in the College of Agricultural, Food, and Environmental Sciences were exploring the same idea. At the same time, interest was building within the legislature to increase the use of hydrogen fuel in Minnesota. The groups merged and the legislation was passed.

Minnesota is particularly well positioned to benefit because of the state's agricultural base, the presence of companies such as Cargill, Cargill-Dow, and 3M, and strength of University programs in agriculture, biocatalysis, microbial biochemistry, chemical engineering and materials science, ecology, and other key fields.

The potential economic benefits of renewable energy are enormous because it means the state can produce its own energy rather than paying billions of dollars a year to import fossil fuels. Redirecting that money to Minnesota energy producers would give the state as a whole an economic boost and could revitalize the rural economy.

Organization and goals

IREE is led by an executive committee that is chaired by Dean Elde and includes H. Ted Davis, dean of the Institute of Technology (IT); Charles Muscoplat, dean of the College of Agricultural, Food, and Environmental Sciences (COAFES); Al Sullivan, Vice Provost; and Ken Keller of the Humphrey Institute. Richard Hemmingsen, Government Relations, is interim director, Jennifer Kuzma, Humphrey Institute, is interim associate director. The working group consists of Hemmingsen, Kuzma, Phil Larsen, associate dean of COAFES, Judd Sheridan, associate dean of CBS, and Lanny Schmidt, Regents Professor of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science in the Institute of Technology.

The committee has designated four research clusters that reflect high potential areas and strengths within and outside of the University.

• Hydrogen
• Bioenergy and Bioproducts
• Policy, Economics, and Ecosystems
• Conservation and Efficient Energy Systems

The focus is balancing short-term and long-term investments, says Hemmingsen. That means finding ways to put wind and solar energy to work now while research on hydrogen and biomass energy continues.

The executive committee is also looking at how to work with external partners to leverage resources throughout the state to best advantage.

Hydrogen

Hydrogen, the simplest and most abundant element in the universe, makes an ideal fuel because it doesn't produce emissions and is renewable. But it rarely exists alone in nature, so scientists have to find creative ways to separate it from other elements or to produce pure hydrogen.

Hydrogen Cluster co-leader Lanny Schmidt, Institute of Technology, and colleagues in his group are exploring several different approaches. Schmidt is developing chemical methods to turn fossil and renewable fuels into hydrogen while Jane Davidson, also in IT, is using solar energy. Michael Flickinger, a CBS faculty member on sabbatical at Cargill, Inc. is experimenting with phototrophic bacteria encapsulated in latex film. The cells produce hydrogen when they are exposed to light.

Another key issue is developing hydrogen fuel cells. Like a battery, a fuel cell converts energy from a chemical reaction into electricity. Unlike a battery, however, a fuel cell never needs recharging because it has an external fuel source e.g. hydrogen. Fuel cells will need to be created for a variety of uses, from laptops to cars to buildings. Schmidt hopes that IREE funds also will attract U faculty interested in hydrogen storage and transportation.

Bioenergy and Bioproducts

The Bioenergy and Bioproducts Cluster focuses on converting biomass such as corn stover, wood chips, alternative crops, perennials, and organic refuse into fuel and products such as plastics and fibers.

Biomass energy has the potential to greatly reduce greenhouse gases, which cause global warming. Biomass generates about the same amount of carbon dioxide as fossil fuels, but every time a new plant grows, carbon dioxide is actually removed from the atmosphere. The net emission of carbon dioxide will be zero as long as plants continue to be replenished for biomass energy purposes. Growing energy crops would also benefit the state's agricultural industry.

Cluster leaders are Larry Wackett, College of Biological Sciences; Roger Ruan and Don Wyse, College of Agricultural, Food, and Environmental Sciences; David Kittelson, Institute of Technology; and Donald Fosnacht, UMD. Wackett, head of microbial biochemistry in CBS, has expertise in using microbes, enzymes, and other eco-friendly catalysts to turn biomass into fuel and products. Ruan, who heads the Center for Biorefining, has patented a simple technique for making liquid 'biocrude' (biopolyols) from biomass and is developing methods for turning the liquefied biomass into industrial and consumer products such as biodiesel fuel and biodegradable polymers. Kittelson directs the Center for Biodiesel Research. Wyse, former director of the Minnesota Institute for Sustainable Agriculture, looks at developing crops specifically to provide energy. Fosnacht, who is associated with the Natural Resources Research Institute at UM Duluth, works on using forest residue and products as biomass.

Policy, Economics, and Ecosystems

David Tilman, Regents Professor of Ecology and a co-leader of the Policy, Economics, and Ecosystems Cluster, calls it the conscience of the initiative.

David Tilman, Regents Professor of Ecology, weighs environmental costs and benefits of renewable energy proposals. "We will look at all the costs, including unseen environmental costs, to figure out what's best for society," Tilman says.

As an example, Tilman points to environmental costs of using nitrogen fertilizers to grow energy crops, such as corn to make ethanol. Nitrogen fertilizers are the main source of groundwater pollution along the Mississippi and responsible for ecosystem damage in the Gulf of Mexico. Corn requires lots of nitrogen.

"There's lots of potential, but lots of issues. What's the net gain when costs are weighed against benefits? I haven't yet seen an example where all costs and benefits were fully considered in the same analysis. That's where our focus will be."

Tilman adds that the timing for this effort is good because he believes society wants to make wise choices about energy. And IREE provides an opportunity for engineers, agronomists, ecologists, economists, and policy makers to work together at the beginning of the process.

Other co-leaders are Ken Keller, Hubert Humphrey Institute, and Steve Polasky, College of Agricultural, Food, and Environmental Sciences.

John Carmody and Jane Davidson are members of the Conservation and Efficient Energy Systems cluster. They are shown on the roof of Rapson Hall, where photovoltaic solar panels are being used to heat the building.

Conservation and Efficient Energy Systems

Greg Cuomo, co-leader of Conservation and Efficient Energy Systems, jokes that this cluster includes "everything else that's left over from the other three." For the most part, that means conservation of energy and the integration of all forms of energy into efficient systems for use in buildings, industry, and transportation. The cluster also serves a demonstration role to show how renewable energy can be put to use.

An associate professor of agronomy and plant genetics in the College of Agricultural, Food, and Environmental Sciences, Cuomo heads' COAFES West Central Research and Outreach Center in Morris. He has a longstanding interest in the potential of renewable energy to revitalize the rural economy. Cuomo planned the new Renewable Energy Research and Demonstration Center at Morris, which was funded with $4 million from the IREE legislation.

"The purpose of the center is to show what rural Minnesota can do for renewable energy and vice versa," Cuomo says.

Initial projects include building a biomass plant for heating and cooling a local elementary school and a facility for converting wind into hydrogen.

While agriculture and architecture may seem to have little in common, they share a keen interest in renewable energy.

Co-leader John Carmody, director of the Center for Sustainable Building Research in the College of Architecture and Landscape Architecture, is committed to reducing the impact of buildings the #1 user of energy and materials on the environment.

"The issue is not just producing clean energy but reducing energy consumption," says Carmody, whose research focuses on developing energy efficient systems for buildings.

"There's lots of innovation going on in heating, lighting, materials, and building design" he says. "The key is to figure out how to integrate them to achieve the greatest energy efficiency."

The center is using one of CALA's own buildings for practice. Three 24-panel arrays of photovoltaic solar panels on the roof of Ralph Rapson Hall are being used to provide electricity to the building. The system was formerly on the Minnesota Science Museum and was reinstalled at the University by Xcel Energy. Louise Goldberg, a mechanical engineer at the center, is also using energy collected by the panels to extract hydrogen from water. The hydrogen is used to power a fuel cell that generates electricity. The hydrogen can be stored and used to supplement solar energy as needed. Xcel and the Minnesota Office of Environmental Assistance are sponsors.

Jane Davidson, professor of mechanical engineering in the Institute of Technology, another coleader, focuses on solar applications to buildings, and Ned Mohan, professor of electrical engineering, is leading wind research activities in the cluster.

Next steps

IREE is still getting up and running, so examples in each cluster provide only a glimpse of what might ultimately take shape or the source of the energy, from the ocean depths "such as Daniel Bond's sediment battery" to fields and forests, to the sky.

"The role of cluster leaders is to draw people to this work who have interests beyond their own," Hemmingsen says.

Toward that end, IREE is soliciting proposals. Grants are available to support cluster activities, new research, matching funds for special opportunities, and educational programs.

A key goal is to leverage funds to attract additional support from state and federal government as well as from industry. While $20 million is "enough to make a difference," Elde says. "Many states are committing much more, and the reality is that we are competing with them to establish our niche in the renewable energy economy."

Just when that economy will arrive will likely depend on when energy producers will be able to offer bio-based fuel and products to consumers at prices that are competitive with petroleum products.

"Ultimately, consumers will decide," says Elde. "Meanwhile, we are preparing for that inevitability."

Peggy Rinard