California-based Ceres, Inc. announced today that it has been awarded $5 million from the U.S. Department of Energy to expand its energy grass development projects. The goal of the projects is to increase yields of several energy grasses by as much as 40%, while simultaneously decreasing the use of inputs such as nitrogen fertilizers.
If its goals are reached, Ceres has projected that its energy grasses could displace 1.3 billion barrels of oil and 58 million tons of coal over a ten year period. Depending on cropping practices, 1.2 million tons of nitrogen fertilizer could be eliminated, among other benefits.
Ceres officials also noted that higher yields would reduce the land area needed to support individual projects. They say hardier, higher yielding seed varieties could also sequester more carbon and expand the area where economic yields can be obtained to include so-called marginal acres.
The three-year project is expected to begin next month. The research will cover a variety of energy grasses such as switchgrass, sorghum and miscanthus and will evaluate factors such as productivity and inputs requirements as well as carbon and nitrogen cycles. Upon successful completion of the project, the Ceres grasses would be evaluated by the U.S. Department of Agriculture prior to becoming commercially available.
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