BP funds biofuel research with $500M

Oil giant BP has announced a $500M USD biofuel research program with the University of California Berkeley, the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign and the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.

The research is to explore how bioscience can be used to increase energy production and reduce the impact of energy consumption on the environment.

To be called the Energy Biosciences Institute, the group will perform "ground-breaking research aimed at the production of new and cleaner energy, initially focusing on renewable biofuels for road transport."

The EBI is to also pursue bioscience-based research in three other key areas; the conversion of heavy hydrocarbons to clean fuels, improved recovery from existing oil and gas reservoirs and carbon sequestration.

"The proposal from UC Berkeley and its partners was selected in large part because these institutions have excellent track records of delivering 'Big Science' - large and complex developments predicated on both scientific breakthroughs and engineering applications that can be deployed in the real world," said BP Group Chief Executive John Browne.

"This program will further both basic and applied biological research relevant to energy. In short, it will create the discipline of Energy Biosciences. The Institute will be unique in both its scale and its partnership between BP, academia and others in the private sector."

Dedicated facilities on the campuses of UC Berkeley and the University of Illinois will house EBI research laboratories and staff. The Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory will carry out supporting research. Up to 50 BP staff located on the two campuses will work in partnership with university faculty and researchers. BP and its partners will share governance of the EBI and guidance of its research programs.

The Energy Biosciences Institute will be funded by a $500 million grant from BP over a 10-year period as well as smaller matching grants from California. 

BP is already a top player in the global biofuels market. In 2006, BP blended 718 million gallons of ethanol with gasoline - a 25 percent increase from the previous year. BP accounts for about 10 percent of the global biofuels market.

BP Alternative Energy is a dedicated alternative energy business active in solar, wind, hydrogen and combined-cycle-gas-turbine (CCGT) power generation. It has established a biofuels business within its Refining & Marketing Business.