Measurement and Standards for Biofuels: Enabling a Transition from Petroleum as a Vehicular Energy Source Hratch G. Semerjian, NIST Joint INMETRO-NIST Workshop Rio de Janeiro, September 14-15, 2006

U.S. Advanced Energy Initiative $10B R&D to develop cleaner and more reliable alternative energy sources AEI proposes 22% increase in R&D funding to: 1.Change the way we fuel our vehicles 2.Change the way we power our homes and businesses

Changing the Way We Fuel Our Vehicles Transportation sector - Receives almost all its energy from petroleum products - This accounts for 2/3 of US petroleum consumption - At current rate, by 2030, US would be importing 62% of its total oil use AEI Goals: 1. Develop advanced battery technologies 2. Foster the technologies to make cellulosic ethanol cost competitive with corn-based ethanol by Enable large number of hydrogen fuel cell vehicles by 2020 Increase biofuels use from 2% to 30% of total gasoline consumption by 2030!

Breaking the Biological Barriers to Cellulosic Ethanol A Research Roadmap DoE Office of Science - Office of Bio. & Env. Research DoE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy US Dept. of Agriculture June 2006

America’s Energy Challenges Energy Security Economic and Energy Growth Climate Change

Technical Strategy: Development of a Viable Cellulosic Biomass to Biofuel Industry Systems Biology to Overcome Barriers to Cellulosic Ethanol Feedstocks for Biofuels Deconstructing Feedstocks into Sugars Sugar Fermentation to Ethanol Crosscutting Science and Technology, and Infrastructure for a New Generation of Biofuel Research –Analytical Tools (Genomics, Transcritomics, Proteomics,… Enzyme Structure and Function,… –Imaging Technologies, Microbial Cultivation, Data Infrstructure, Computational Modelling, Bioprocess Systems Eng’g and Economic Analysis

Critical Decision Making Scientific Issues? Reliability of Information and Analytical Tools? We need better Measurements and Standards!

U.S. American Competitiveness Initiative –Announced in the State of the Union address –Doubles, over 10 years, investment in: NIST laboratory and construction (STRS and CRF) National Science Foundation DOE Office of Science –Commits $50 billion of new funding to these key agencies –Makes permanent and updates the R&D Tax Credit –Increases math and science education (K-12) and increases the number of math and science teachers –Increases worker training and retraining opportunities –Reforms immigration policies to attract and retain the best and brightest from around the world