£27m bioenergy research centre launched in the UK

Wed 04 February 2009 View all news

The Sustainable Bioenergy Centre was launched by UK science minister, Lord Drayson at the end of January. Hosted by the Biotechnology and Biologial Sciences Research Council, the £27m institute has been tasked with developing economically competitive and environmentally sound alternatives to fossil fuels. The Centre will research and develop fuels based on non-food crops, such as willow, industrial and agricultural waste products and inedible parts of crops, such as straw.

The new research centre's activities will be spread over different research "hubs" at the universities of Cambridge, Dundee, Nottingham and York and at Rothamsted Research in Harpenden, Hertfordshire. A further seven universities and institutes, along with 15 industry partners, are involved in the research work.

BBSRC Chief Executive, Prof Douglas Kell, said: "The UK has a world leading research base in plant and microbial science. The Centre is taking a holistic systems-level approach, examining all the relevant areas of science needed for sustainable bioenergy and studying the economic and social impact of the bioenergy process."

Six programmes will take place through the new centre:

  • Cell wall lignin programme
  • Cell wall sugars programme
  • Lignocellulosic conversion to bioethanol programme
  • Marine wood borer enzyme discovery programme
  • Perennial bioenergy crops programme
  • Second generation sustainable bacterial biofuels programme

The launch of the new centre comes amidst concerns raised over risks related to bioenergy by the European Environment Agency (EEA). The Agency claims a move towards large scale bioenergy production carries significant environmental risks, particularly relating to land-use change which could impact on Europe's biodiversity and damage soil and water resources. It believes these risks can be diminished through the right choice of crops and correct management.

In related news, oil giant BP has announced a joint venture in the US with Cambridgeshire-based cellulosic ethanol developer Verenium, to speed up the availability of sustainable biofuels from non-food feedstocks.

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