BER Science Highlights
U.S. Department of Energy | Office of Science | Biological and Environmental Research Program

Bioenergy

  • Rows of poplar trees beside a road.

    Poplar at Oak Ridge National Laboratory

    The ability to apply transformation and editing technologies to bioenergy crops has remained largely unrealized. Most DOE-relevant bioenergy crops also present unique challenges to plant transformation. Identifying potential crop-specific needs of bioenergy species, along with those of model plants and food crops could serve as a starting point for developing a more comprehensive community solution for advancing transformation and editing technologies across crops.

  • Rows of poplar under greenhouse lights.

    Poplar Genome-Wide Association Study

    Largest-Ever Dataset of Genetic Variations in Poplar Trees. The BioEnergy Science Center (BESC) genome-wide association study dataset comprises more than 28 million single-nucleotide polymorphisms, or SNPs, derived from approximately 900 resequenced poplar genotypes. The information is proving useful to researchers in the fields of biofuels, materials science, and secondary plant metabolism.

  • Poplar leaf

    Poplar Leaf

  • Potted plants lined up on a conveyor belt.

    Poplar Plants and the Advanced Plant Phenotyping Laboratory

    The Advanced Plant Phenotyping Laboratory will gather multiple plant phenotypes at high throughput, generating terabytes of data. The poplar plants are grown on a conveyor belt in a greenhouse and sent for regular automated imaging.

  • Three researchers stand in a gap between switchgrass stands. The switchgrass is taller than their shoulders.

    Switchgrass Harvest

    Switchgrass fertilization experiments at harvest time in Tennessee.

  • A truck driving alongside a field while a tracter harvests the crops and loads them into the truckbed.

    Sustainable Harvest

  • Switchgrass

    Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center scientists are studying dedicated energy crops such as switchgrass which do not compete with food crops, can be grown on nonagricultural land, and have the potential to deliver a range of environmental benefits.

  • Stained Lignin in a Cross-Section of Corn

    As this cross-section of a corn stem reveals, lignin (stained red) accounts for a significant portion of the plant tissue. Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center researchers are studying lignin as a source of useful chemicals rather than just a waste product of biofuel production.

  • Rows of sorghum plants.

    Sorghum Yield

    High-Yielding Sorghum Grass. Sorghum, CABBI’s first feedstock focus, has a genetic structure similar to sugarcane and Miscanthus, which are other notable energy crops. Bioengineering discoveries made in sorghum can transfer to its genetic cousins, increasing the research impact.

  • Small pellets made of lignin.

    Value-Added Products at CBI

    Center for Bioenergy Innovation is generating commercially attractive products from lignin residues, thereby increasing the cost effectiveness of biofuels and bioproducts. One example is these lignin-derived pellets, which can be used to create three-dimensional objects through computer-controlled printing.