1. The trajectory of biofuels Chris Somerville Energy Biosciences Institute

2. The Energy Biosciences Institute $350M committed over 10 years Research mandate to explore the application of modern biological knowledge to the energy sector –Cellulosic fuels –Petroleum microbiology (eg., corrosion, souring, reservoir flow, remediation…) –Bio-based chemicals 2 BP

3. Combustion of biomass can provide low-GHG energy Biomass Photosynthesis “Combustion” Work Sunlight CO 2 Tilling Land conversion Fertilizer Transportation Processing It depends on how the biomass is produced and processed

4. Net Energy Yield of Biofuels Wang et al., Env. Res. Lett7, 045905

5. The Long-term trend in food prices http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/7284196.stm

6. Land Usage AMBIO 23,198 (Total Land surface 13,000 M Ha) Forest & Savannah Cereal 4.6% Pasture & Range 23.7% 30.5% Other crops 6.9% Nonarable 34.4%

7. Brazil ethanol production 1948-2008 (0.6% of land in Brazil) Courtesy of Carlos H de Brito Cruz The São Paulo Research Foundation, FAPESP http://www.fapesp.br <9 MHa in Sugarcane > 200 Mha in cattle Legislation enacted to allow expansion of sugarcane to ~64 Mha Conversion of residues to liquid fuel will expand production per Ha Expanded infrastructure and efficiency improvements will decrease costs

8. More than 1.5 billion acres of degraded or abandoned land is available for cellulosic crops Cai, Zhang, Wang Environ Sci Technol 45,334 Campbell et al., Env. Sci. Technol. (2008) 42,5791

9. Miscanthus gigantaeus: An energy crop Yield of 26.5 tons/acre observed by Young & colleagues in Illinois, without irrigation Courtesy of Steve Long et al

10. Private forests are extensive Alig & Butler (2004)USDA Forest Service PNW-GTR-613

11. Desert plants can greatly expand the availability of land for biomass production (Agave in Madagascar) Borland et al. (2009) J. Exp. Bot. doi:10.1093/jxb/erp118

12. Summary of Syngas-Liquids Processes Richard Bain, NREL

13. Distillation Ethanol Drying Co-Product Recovery Animal Feed Chemicals Sugar Cane Process Cellulose Conversion Hydrolysis Corn Process Cellulose Process Cellulose Pretreatment Cellulose Miscanthus Switchgrass Forest Residues Ag Residues Wood Chips Ferment- ation Sugar Sugar Cane Corn Kernels Starch Conversion (Cook or Enzymatic Hydrolysis) Ethanol Production Schemes Slide Courtesy of Bruce Dale

14. Batch processes have many inefficiencies 14 Time Sugar concentration Fuel accumulation Unused capital Catalyst Loss Cell Loss Wastewater Solids Boiler Sugar inhibition Fuel, lignin inhibition

15. An ideal process 15 Time Sugar concentration Fuel accumulation optima Fuel Removal

16. Sources of biodiesel CRC Report AVFL-17 Electron micrograph of a cell in an oilseed cotyledon Triacylglycerol 16

17. An example of hybrid fuels 17 Toste et al, Nature 2012 Fermentation Sugars H 2 H 2 H 2

18. Direct conversion of sugar to alkanes Huber et al., Science 308,1446

19. Concluding comments Biofuels can have significant net GHG benefits There is significant underutilized land available for expanded biomass production We will see a gradual transition from feed crops to cellulosic biofuels (and sugarcane) There are many opportunities to fundamentally improve the efficiency of production and diversification of biofuels Drop-in and “hybrid” fuels will expand the types of fuels and extend supply

20. Outreach and communications No advocacy Professional support for public planning and regulation Three publications to facilitate dissemination Several institute-sponsored weekly seminars, support for departmental seminars, conferences, workshops Collaborative agreements with other major institutes internationally Biannual week-long discussions, retreat, Bio101, intro to EBI… 20

21. www.energybiosciencesinstitute.org