Mixing enzyme cocktails and customized biofuel crops to make cellulosic ethanol a reality is the goal of a new industry partnership.

Energy crop company Ceres, Inc. and enzyme provider Novozymes have announced a research collaboration to co-develop customized plant varieties and enzyme cocktails to improve the efficiency of converting biomass to fuel.

“According to the Billion Ton Study by the US Department of Energy, one third of the total sustainably collected biomass potential from agricultural resources can come from perennial crops”, said Cynthia Bryant, Global Biomass Business Development Manager of Novozymes.

Ceres and Novozymes will initially work to determine the best enzyme cocktails for the biorefining of Ceres’ commercial switchgrass seed products. The partners will also begin similar evaluations of sweet sorghum, and Ceres’ researchers plan to develop customized plant varieties that can be degraded more easily by Novozymes’ enzymes.

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A123 Systems is bringing more green jobs to Michigan with a gigantic new 300,000 square foot factory for its lithium-ion batteries, thanks to a whopping $249 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy.  The move follows a decision a few years back by A123 to start manufacturing in China.

As profiled in the LA Times, the move speaks volumes about the ability of new green tech to create jobs and lift the U.S. out of its economic doldrums – if it gets support from the investment community.
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