Des Moines Register
02-03-07
Competition heats up in biofuels research
Iowa must step up its investments.
Petroleum giant BP on Thursday announced its partners in a $500 million
bioscience-based energy research program. Iowa State University was
handpicked to submit an application in partnership with others, but was not
chosen.
Iowa, which seeks to remain a leader in biofuels research, should neither miss
the clear wake-up call sounded by BP's decision, nor be alarmed by it. The
selected partners - especially the University of California-Berkeley and Lawrence
Berkeley National Laboratory, which had teamed up with the University of Illinois
at Urbana-Champaign - are renowned research institutions. Iowa State had
partnered with the University of California-San Diego, which has expertise in
working with microbes, and the J. Craig Venter Institute of Rockville, Md., known
for its genetics research.
Whatever disappointment is being felt at ISU faculty offices is shared on such
prestigious campuses as the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Purdue
University and England's Cambridge University. This sort of heady competition is
a bit like the Academy Awards. No competitors in the sweepstakes for
alternative-energy research dollars will win every time, but being a finalist
certifies your star power.
What's important for Iowans to recognize is the caliber of the competition - and
that Iowa needs to step up its investments in research to remain competitive.
Iowa became an early leader in researching and producing corn-grain ethanol
and soy biodiesel through a combination of good fortune (the blessing of its
productive soil), expertise (the know-how of plant scientists at ISU and
companies such as Pioneer and Monsanto) and can-do persistence of farmerinvestors.
Now the world has taken notice. The search for alternatives to petroleum has
gained steam worldwide, as worries grow about the threats posed by global
warming and the political instability of oil-producing nations.
BP's decision probably had more to do with Iowa State's partners than with ISU.
Berkeley Lab is funded by the U.S. Department of Energy and is the oldest of
DOE's national laboratories. UC-Berkeley is widely regarded as one of the
nation's best universities.
It's also a leader in synthetic biology. To significantly ramp up biofuels
production, scientists have to figure out how to efficiently break down cellulose,
the fibrous material that gives plants their shape. UC-Berkeley researchers hope
to synthesize new life forms to ferment cellulose. That type of breakthrough could
vault BP far ahead of competitors.
Plus, UC-Berkeley has faculty expertise in other energy fields. And it's simply a
lot bigger institution than Iowa State, so it can throw more dollars at energy
research. In addition to biofuels, BP's new institute will focus on areas such as
carbon sequestration and improved recovery from existing oil and gas reservoirs.
That doesn't mean Iowa should back away from its goal of leading the
biorenewable-energy revolution.
There will be other big opportunities for corporate investment. ISU is negotiating
with other potential corporate partners, President Gregory Geoffroy said Friday,
and continues to talk with BP about other opportunities.
Plus, available federal grant money is ballooning. President Bush pledged in his
State of the Union address to continue pumping more dollars into alternativeenergy research through the DOE. A reauthorized farm bill is expected to fund
more biofuels research, too.
Iowa will win its share of those dollars - if the state invests boldly and wisely to
build on its acknowledged plant-sciences expertise and practical know-how in
producing biofuels. It probably didn't hurt the chances of the two California
universities that Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger pledged $40 million in bonding for
a new building should either land the BP institute.
ISU has asked for 10 additional faculty positions to fill in gaps of expertise in
three main areas: alternative-energy crops, microbial fermentation and
engineering processes. That will require $1 million in recurring payroll costs and
$4 million in startup expenses. The university is also seeking $28 million for a
new building to house research teams that are part of its Office of Biorenewables
Programs.
That's a small bid to keep playing in a high-stakes competition. The Legislature
should make it happen.