Bioenergy News
Explore our archive of Bioenergy news stories.
Dec. 21, 2017
The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), as co-leader of the new Feedstock-Conversion Interface Consortium (FCIC), is pleased to announce the release of a Directed Funding Opportunity (DFO) to accelerate innovation and adoption of new practices and technologies to determine the root cause of biomass handling failures and to design solutions.
Dec. 15, 2017
Maria Ghirardi was initially drawn to medicine, but switched to bioenergy, a field where she’s been a pioneer for decades.
Dec. 11, 2017
Researchers from the U.S. Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) have gained new insights into how glycosylation--the natural attachment of sugars to proteins--affects a key cellulase enzyme.
Dec. 7, 2017
A new study from the Energy Department's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) establishes a novel catalytic method to produce renewable acrylonitrile using 3-hydroxypropionic acid (3-HP), which can be biologically produced from sugars. This hybrid biological-catalytic process offers an alternative to the conventional petrochemical production method and achieves unprecedented acrylonitrile yields.
Oct. 5, 2017
NREL establishes first demonstration project in United States.
Sept. 27, 2017
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) recently announced the selection of the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) to lead a new project, for up to $3.5 million, with the goal of reducing the production costs of algae-based biofuels and bioproducts through improvements in algal biomass yields.
Sept. 13, 2017
An enzyme discovered at the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) proves adept at breaking down cellulose fibers regardless of whether their crystalline structure is simple or highly complex. No other enzyme has shown that ability.
July 26, 2017
Paul King and Katherine Brown wanted answers. To produce ammonia from nitrogen, could they use a biomolecular reaction similar to one that boosts the production of hydrogen from water?
June 1, 2017
The National Renewable Energy Laboratory is co-leading the Chemical Catalysis for Bioenergy Consortium (ChemCatBio), a new research and development consortium dedicated to identifying and overcoming catalysis challenges for biomass conversion processes.
May 16, 2017
Students at Chatfield High School are hoping their algal research yields energy in microgravity.
May 11, 2017
A new study by NREL's Biofuel Air Emissions Analysis team describes the team's modeling of non-greenhouse gas air pollutant emissions for two feasibility-level biorefinery designs: (1) a biochemical technology pathway focused on biological conversion of cellulosic sugars and (2) a thermochemical pathway focused on fast pyrolysis of whole biomass.
May 9, 2017
For all living things to succeed, they must reproduce and have the energy to do so. An organism's ability to extract energy from its surroundings--and to do it better than its competitors--is a key requirement of survival. Until recently it was thought that in all of biology, from microbes to humans, there were only two methods to generate and conserve the energy required for cellular metabolism and survival.
Feb. 6, 2017
The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) released a new report that spotlights key accomplishments the first year of the U.S. Department of Energy Co-Optimization of Fuels & Engines (Co-Optima) initiative.
Jan. 10, 2017
Catalyst converts sustainable carbon sources into fuel for high-performance engines.
