US earmarks $30m for biofuel research

The US Department of Energy (DoE) has announced it is accepting applications for up to $30 million (£19.3 million) in funding to support small-scale integration projects to advance the development of "next generation" biofuels.

In a statement, it said it is backing research in this area to bring forward fuels that could replace petrol or diesel without requiring "special upgrades" to either vehicles or infrastructure.

The funding will be available for the next three to four years to support up to five projects.

Areas that could be covered by the research might include pre-treatment processes to improve the yield of sugars in later stages, the development of more efficient enzymes and the production of catalysts that convert sugars into biofuels and chemical intermediates.

"Developing the next generation of American biofuels will enhance our national energy security, expand the domestic biofuels industry and produce new clean energy jobs," said energy secretary Steven Chu.

In related news, scientists at the DoE's Brookhaven National Laboratory recently identified ATP-binding cassette transporters, which regulate the "molecular currency" of cell energy and could be manipulated to boost the production of biofuels by speeding up the breakdown of biomass.