Durbin, Duckworth Announce $10 Million In Federal Funding For Purpose-Grown Energy Crops

Durbin, Duckworth Announce $10 Million In Federal Funding For Purpose-Grown Energy Crops

WASHINGTON ? U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) and U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today announced $10 million in federal funding through the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Bioenergy Technologies Office awarded to the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. This project will advance the production of low carbon intensity, purpose-grown energy crops that will accelerate a clean energy economy by expanding the domestic supply chain of alternative carbon sources.

"Today's funding helps to prepare Illinois farmers to be the first choice for supplying companies that are working to make new, American-made low-carbon jet fuels and bio-based products," said Durbin. "This project will help the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign continue its pioneering breakthroughs on energy crops like miscanthus, switchgrass, algae, pennycress, and fast-growing willow-all new opportunities for Illinois agriculture."

"As we continue our work to reduce emissions and foster energy independence, one of the most important things we can do is increase the use and supply of American-grown, American-made biofuels-which makes aviation more sustainable and helps Illinois farmers," said Duckworth. "This significant funding will be in good hands at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign as they work to put Illinois farmers in in the best position to produce and supply sustainable aviation fuel producers. I look forward to seeing the exciting innovations this project will help produce."

With this funding, the University of Illinois will play an important role in supporting the Federal government's Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) Grand Challenge goal to produce three billion gallons of SAF annually by 2030 and 35 billion gallons annually by 2050, enough to meet 100 percent of the projected U.S. aviation fuel demand. This research project also supports DOE's Clean Fuels & Products Shot™ by focusing on lowering net emissions in the fuel and chemical industry through alternative sources of carbon to advance cost-effective technologies with a minimum of 85 percent lower greenhouse gas emissions by 2035.

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