Directions and Prorams for Energy Research in the USDA

Robert Fireovid, National Program Leader – Bioenergy. USDA Agricultural Research ServiceNotes from the Advanced Biofuels Summit, Washington, DC, April 20-21, 2009
Robert focuses on how programs get implemented at the science level.
See: Strategic Energy Science Plan in the USDA REE for more information.
Focus is on agriculture and intramural funding.
Biofuels focus is new along with historic focuses on obesity, world hunger and food safety.
ARS Bioenergy Research. Well-kept secret; they do great research, quietly and well since 1940’s. Each program has a strategy and action program.
Current 5 year plan includes a focus on feedstock development.
Areas of feedstock focus are based on their scientific competencies:

Plant genetics and genomics and biotech for crop improvement

Plant genetic resources – with seeds for almost 10,000 resources

Microbial genetic resources

Germplasm and production systems for perennial grasses

Germplasm and production systems for forage legumes, sugar cane

Developing oilseed germplasm

Have 100 locations for testing in different regions. Uniquely capable of determining dual use crops.
Developing integrated systems for soil, water and waste management.
Also, innovative research in biorefining (utilization)
Chemical and biochemical processes for making value-added products. Distiller grains can make the difference between profitability and losses, believes the same will be true for cellulosic fibers. Have in-house pilot plants in research facilities. Maintain strong relationships with farming groups, land grant universities and agricultural extension programs.
Non-technical considerations:

Focus on research priorities that are unlikely to receive attention from private sector or other agencies

Focus on cellulosic feedstocks, winter coverage and crops on marginal land

Technologies for products that help strengthen rural economies that make them more energy self-sufficient

Maximize flexibility of biorefineries to utilize diverse feedstocks

Manage risk of invasive species

Also, plant biotechnology risk assessments

Existing infrastructure for grain collection/storage/transport

Food industry is interested in keeping feedstocks segregated.
Most of money is going into cellulosic ethanol
Helping biodiesel converters that lack access to technical support
Developing tools to understand molecular basis for key traits and for breeding

Feedstock Production:

Region-specific double crops

Tools to estimate feedstock amounts and impacts on soil fertility, for instance, not all corn stover can be harvested, some needs to be left on the land. Hope to have tool to help farmers.

Starting to broaden and expand to grain straw, cereal straw, etc.

Also on-farm refining

Biorefining

Biocatalytics

Thermochemical

Biodiesel – one of few groups in federal government that is focused here

Process economics and life cycle analysis – help with areas of focus

Biorefinery co-products

Upfront technology transfer plans and partners – working with farmers early-on

Other national programs include bioenergy programs (307)
His group also provides program integration and cross-component coordination through stakeholder-aligned cross-component coordination teams
See USDA biofuels programs for more information.
Questions and Answers
Where can information for intellectual property licensing opportunities be found?
The same website as for partnerships; where you can focus on bioenergy and biofuels and licensing. Materials on website are typically patented. We want to encourage partnerships before patents are issued, so he will put people in touch with scientists.
Fundability of programs and grants seem limited. What percent of grants submitted are awarded? National Institute of Food and Agriculture is the unit for extramural funding, including programs to fund academic labs at universities. 10-25% of grants get funded (approximately). Submissions that are denied get a debrief report as to why.
Is it within USDA’s mandate to look at petrochemical replacements?
Yes, it’s within the USDA mandate. In 2002, farm bill, funding was ramped up substantially. Still have active program on polymetrics. Peoria, IL is looking at bio-based products. For instance, a researcher in Madison, WI has created a biocatalyst that will produce ethanol, biodiesel and an adhesive.
Is biotech required to reach renewable fuel standard targets?
Not necessarily, nature provides a lot that needs to be cataloged. Once you start to grow perennials in large acreage, likely to run into pests. There are lots of opportunities for biotech.
What percentage of land would be needed to reach independence?
Most land use models are focused on an ARS – producer scale, landscape scale, watershed scale. They do bottom-up models. To answer that, you would need real economists to do top-down forecasts.