Des Moines Register
04-12-07
ISU biofuels grant shows the lure of brainpower
Tuesday's announcement that ConocoPhillips will establish an eight-year, $22.5
million research program in biorenewable fuels at Iowa State University
represents a sizable step toward maintaining Iowa's leadership in growing this
industry.
It also sends a clear signal to the 2007 Legislature about where to target funding
to preserve that edge: building brainpower. The federal government and industry
are starting to pony up large grants for alternative-energy research. The big
bucks will go where the brains are.
That's why the Legislature should, as a top priority, provide the $5 million for 10
additional faculty positions for biorenewables research that ISU has requested for
next year's budget. The additional faculty members would fill in gaps in expertise
in such areas as alternative-energy crops and engineering processes.
Ryan Lance, senior vice president for technology at Conoco/Phillips, said the
company looked at universities around the world before deciding on Iowa State.
The pace-setting research by ISU faculty and students tipped the balance. Lance
also mentioned the expertise of ISU's economists, who can help determine
financial viability of various alternatives.
Previously, ISU was a finalist for petroleum giant BP's $500 million biosciencebased energy-research program, but learned in February it wasn't chosen. That
kind of eye-popping figure (which will be spread among three institutions and go
partially for bricks and mortar) might make the ConocoPhillips money look like
small change. Far from it.
The $22.5 million represents about a 40 percent increase in research dollars for
ISU's Office of Biorenewables Programs, which has garnered $57 million in
sponsored research funding since its founding in 2002. It also makes
ConocoPhillips the university's largest corporate sponsor for research on an
annual basis.
The money won't go for buildings or faculty. It will pay for research on specific
problems and technology: $1.5 million in the first year and $3 million for the
remaining seven years. A typical research project costs $100,000, explained
Robert C. Brown, the office's director. So in future years, the program could
finance 30 projects in disciplines across the university.
The ConocoPhillips grant also offers guidance to legislators wrestling over how
many strings to attach to Gov. Chet Culver's proposed $100 million Power Fund.
The fund has been held hostage to date by a power struggle between the
Legislature and governor's office. Legislators are gung-ho to support the
renewable-fuels industry, but some of them don't like the idea of turning over that
much money to the governor's office.
When the dust settles, what's important is that the bulk of the money be available
to finance research and development. If Iowa develops world-class expertise on
biofuels, public and private investment will flow to the brainpower here.