BioFuels Journal

Summerville, SC—ArborGen, a world leader in the development and commercialization of technologies that improve the productivity of trees for wood, fiber and energy, will serve on a University of Florida-led research team to advance Pine-based transportation biofuels.

Funded by a 3-year $6.3 million grant recently awarded by the U.S. Department of Energy's Advanced Research Project Agency--Energy (ARPA-E), the research team's goal is to bring about a 5-fold increase in the amount of terpene produced by Loblolly Pine, making it cost-competitive with petroleum-based fuels.

As a leading commercial supplier of genetically improved Loblolly Pine seedlings, ArborGen will lend its expertise to the research team by developing and implementing novel and complementary approaches to increase the production of terpene in Loblolly Pine.

The research team will be led by Gary Peter, Ph.D. and professor of forest genomics with University of Florida's School of Forest Resources and Conservation in Gainesville, Fla. Maud Hinchee, Ph.D., ArborGen chief science officer, and William Rottmann, Ph.D., an ArborGen senior scientist, will contribute to this innovative research project.

In this effort, they join representatives from University of California -- Berkeley's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and Joint BioEnergy Institute (JBEI).

"ArborGen is ready to lend its scientific and commercial expertise in advancing the research goals of this exciting University of Florida-led Pine biofuel project," said Hinchee.

"Loblolly Pine is a proven crop that has the potential to dramatically transform the economics of biofuel production, benefiting landowners, biofuels producers and increasing jobs in rural America.

"ArborGen is involved in finding ways to maximize the productivity of trees so that emerging industries can obtain the resources they need, while conserving the supply required by traditional industries such as wood and pulp and paper."

The University of Florida "Plant Engineered To Replace Oil" (PETRO) project will increase the production of terpene, a natural liquid biofuel isolated from Pine trees.

The Pine tree developed for this project is designed both to increase the terpene storage capacity of the wood and to increase terpene production from three percent to 20 percent.

The fuel produced from these trees would become a sustainable domestic biofuel source able to produce 100 million gallons of fuel per year from less than 25,000 acres of forestland.

"Loblolly Pine is economically important throughout the Southeast because it's widely used for lumber and wood pulp," said Jack Payne, University of Florida senior vice president for agriculture and natural resources.

"By working with research entities and companies such as ArborGen to develop the potential of Loblolly Pine as a sustainable biofuel source, we can add a new dimension to its value, which has long-term benefits to the entire region and will provide greater economic security for our residents."

For more information, call 843-851-5077.

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• ArborGen

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