Des Moines Register
02-02-07
ISU loses chance at biofuels grant
BP's $500 million facility goes to a California-Illinois proposal
BY LISA ROSSI AND JERRY PERKINS
REGISTER STAFF WRITERS
Iowa State University missed out Thursday on a $500 million renewable-biofuels
research facility being financed by BP, the giant petroleum company.
But officials of the Ames school said Iowa State is still committed to being a key
center in the United States in renewable fuels research.
BP PLC decided to award the $500 million research grant to the University of
California-Berkeley and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
The announcement was a setback to ISU's efforts to make Iowa the epicenter
nationally for renewable-fuels research.
Iowa State had teamed up with the University of California-San Diego and the J.
Craig Venter Institute of Rockville, Md., in applying for the BP grant. The Iowa
State proposal was one of the finalists the oil company had considered.
"A blow to our efforts": said BP's choice of a competing proposal "is a blow Chad
Hart, the head of the biorenewables policy division at Iowa State's Center
for Agricultural and Rural Development,to our efforts." But he said Iowa
State's research efforts did not hinge on landing the grant.
"Our research will continue here with or without the funding," Hart said.
Even before BP announced its decision Thursday, Iowa State had begun to
position itself for future contracts and grants in biofuels research.
The university has asked the Iowa Board of Regents to approve a proposal next
week to ask the Legislature for $32 million to build and staff a biorenewables
research building at Iowa State. The regents meet Tuesday in Ames.
Robert Brown, the director of Iowa State's Office of Biorenewables
Programs, said the university will ask lawmakers for $28 million to pay for
constructing the building. Beyond that, Iowa State wants money to help pay for
10 new faculty members to study biorenewable energy.
Brown said Iowa State will now work to make itself attractive for future grants and
contracts in biofuels research.
"We're looking forward to the next big opportunity in biofuels, and there are many
of them," he said.
Brown added, "There are things we need to continue to do to build our
capabilities to make us attractive for a program like BP has offered."
He said faculty and equipment are two areas on which the university will focus.
Not a setback: Craig Lang, president of the Iowa Farm Bureau Federation, said
he did not think the BP decision was a setback to Iowa State's efforts.
"It would have been nice, but Iowa State was in the running and everyone knew
it," Lang said. "There are other oil companies that want to work with Iowa State."
He declined to identify those companies because the information is confidential.
"We have to follow up and make sure the Legislature provides money for
research and to make sure that Iowa residents know the huge benefits that are
coming from ethanol," Lang said.
The BP proposal that Iowa State put together may lead to other proposals.
The university is working with the same partners - the San Diego university and
the Venter Institute - in applying for federal research money.
They are seeking $125 million from the U.S. Department of Energy to build a
research center that would study biological issues related to biofuels production,
Brown said.
Larger budget: The announcement by BP left Iowa leaders speculating why
Berkeley and Illinois came out ahead and wondering what Iowa State can do to
better position itself for such opportunities.
The College of Agriculture in the University of California system has a budget
that is three times larger than that of Iowa State's College of Agriculture, said Ted
Crosbie, vice president of global plant breeding at Monsanto Co. in Ankeny and
the state of Iowa's chief technology officer.
The University of California also spends a lot more money on plant genetic
research than Iowa State, he said, and that probably influenced BP's decision.
John Browne, a BP executive, said Thursday: "The proposal from UC Berkeley
and its partners was selected in large part because these institutions have
excellent track records of delivering 'big science' - large and complex
developments predicated on both scientific breakthroughs and engineering
applications that can be deployed in the real world."
Officials said the California school wants to use its expertise in engineering and
life sciences to find ways to develop new fuel sources and to make solar energy
more powerful and less expensive.
Scientists at the University of Illinois want to focus initially on growing plants such
as switchgrass that can be used to produce alternative fuels.
Robert Malone, president of BP America, told reporters in California that he
believed his company was joining with "some of the best science engineering
talent in the world."
The new Energy Biosciences Institute will be the first public-private research lab
dedicated to renewable fuels and clean energy.
Why it matters
Iowa, the nation's leader in ethanol production, is trying to position itself as a
leader in biorenewable fuels production. BP's announcement Thursday was a
blow.
Iowa State University still plans to seek money from the state to build and staff a
new biorenewables research building. The regents meet Tuesday in Ames.
Reporter Lisa Rossi can be reached at (515) 232-2383 or lrossi@dmreg.com