$2.2 million grant to research converting bacteria to biofuel

A team of University of Minnesota researchers and BioCee, a university start-up company, have been awarded $2.2 million from the Department of Energy for a research proposal using bacteria to produce biofuel.

Lead investigator Larry Wackett, University Distinguished McKnight Professor in the College of Biological Sciences, is working with faculty from the BioTechnology Institute; Department of Biochemistry, Molecular Biology and Biophysics; Department of Microbiology; and the Institute of Technology’s Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science.

The university’s project was one of three featured in Monday's New York Times. In essence, the team proposes to develop a bioreactor using bacteria embedded in a thin latex coating to produce hydrocarbon fuel. They are one of the only groups in the world with the ability to make biohydrocarbons. Hydrocarbon fuel has many advantages because society has invested trillions of dollars in the infrastructure to produce, transport and use it.

The grant is one of 37 totaling $151 million announced by Energy Secretary Steven Chu. The grants are administered by the Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E), which was created to stimulate American leadership in renewable energy technology. This is the first round of projects funded under the agency, which is receiving $400 million from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

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