The US Department of Energy has allocated 375 million dollars to three new bioenergy research centers in order to accelerate research into cellulosic ethanol. In his 2006 state of the union address, President Bush said that he wanted cellulose “not just from corn, but from wood chips and stalks”, to be economically competitive with gasoline within 6 years. This allocation is part of that goal. The money will be divided between three centers located in: Oak Ridge, TN, Madison WI, and near Berkeley, CA. The 375 million will fund these centers for 5 years, and will be dedicated to fundamental research on ways to make cellulosic ethanol economically viable.
