BIO sees U.S. biofuels target as new 'Manhattan project' that will unlock key technologies

The Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO) reacts to the new renewable fuel standard (RFS) contained in the U.S. Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007, which calls for the production of a massive 36 billion gallons of biofuels by 2022 (previous post). BIO describes the goal as an undertaking larger than the Apollo project or the Manhattan project that will unlock new technologies from science fields like synthetic biology and will spill over into other economic areas leading to the emergence of a high-tech biobased economy.

This effort to produce biofuels on a massive scale is an undertaking larger than the Apollo project or the Manhattan project. America can meet this goal because of the accelerating advances in industrial biotechnology. The new RFS will catapult the U.S. biofuels industry to the next level of commercial development and take us beyond conventional ethanol. It will accelerate the creation of a U.S. biobased economy built on sustainable and renewable resources instead of petroleum and it will reduce both our dependence on foreign oil and our climate change emissions. - Brent Erickson, executive vice president for BIO’s Industrial and Environmental Section

BIO takes note of the following facts arising from the new RFS:

• At the mandated volumes, biofuels would make up for more than 20 percent of total gasoline for road transport in the United States by 2022. These volumes imply a total revenue pool of about $50 billion to $70 billion for producers and very significant revenues for farmers and suppliers.
• Enzymes and fermentation organisms necessary for biofuels could represent a business opportunity worth $3 billion to $5 billion.
• Construction of this capacity requires major capital investments, up to $100 billion for building some 300 new biorefineries.
• BIOWA (a non-profit group in Iowa) estimates that 10 new cellulosic biorefineries would create 22,000 jobs, yielding $11.6 Billion Economic Impact/yr and $367M Iowa Tax creation.
• Reducing dependence on oil by about 1.5 million barrels per day is a major move for enhancing energy security.
• And the United States could reduce greenhouse gas emissions, mostly via use of lingocellulosic ethanol, by about 200 million tons of CO2 equivalents. For comparison, 200 million tons is more than the total emissions of a country like the Netherlands.

The Energy Independence and Security Act is seen by BIO as a-game-changing moment in American history. The new law includes the most ambitious policy undertaken by any government in the world to create a viable, large-scale biofuels industry, it says.

The RFS could add as much as $170 billion to the U.S. economy in advanced technology development, biofuel production, and infrastructure construction. McKinsey & Company analysts project that the new RFS will bring the potential for tens of billions of dollars for biotech companies, farmers, suppliers and fuel producers and necessitate the investment of more than 100 billion dollars for building some 300 new plants. The new RFS provisions in the federal energy bill will induce an unprecedented level of venture capital investment in the biofuel industry:
energy :: sustainability :: biomass :: bioenergy :: biofuels :: cellulosic biofuels :: plant science :: genomics :: synthetic biology :: bio-engineering :: biotechnology :: bioeconomy ::

Erickson continued, “The industrial biotechnology and biofuel industries are ready and able to meet the challenge of sustainably increasing production of cellulosic and advanced biofuels to accomplish the goals of the new renewable fuels standard. Industrial biotechnology companies have made extraordinary leaps in an array of applications for biofuel production, from discovery of new microbes and enzymes for cellulosic ethanol production to creation of novel ones through synthetic genomics that can actually produce hydrocarbon molecules. By opening the door to advanced biofuels in the U.S. transportation fuel market, the energy bill will help biotechnology and biofuel companies deliver these advanced biofuel technologies to consumers’ gas tanks.”

According to a February 2007 analysis by Bio Economic Research Associates, productivity of DNA sequencing and synthesis, key industrial biotechnologies, has doubled in the past 12 to 24 months. These productivity improvements have contributed to the discovery and rapid development of new microbes for consolidated biofuel processing by such companies as Mascoma, Verenium, and Sun Ethanol. They have also advanced the work of synthetic genomics companies designing novel microbes for advanced biofuel production, including Gevo, OpX Biotechnologies, and LS9.

A report released by the J. Craig Venter Institute, the Center for Strategic and International Studies, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in November 2007, “Synthetic Genomics: Options for Governance,” identified at least 24 companies within the United States and 21 in other countries – notably Germany and Canada – engaged in commercial synthesis of gene- and genome-length DNA for applications ranging from biofuels to fine chemical and pharmaceutical production from renewable resources (previous post).

Market demand for environmentally beneficial fuels and products, along with recent advances in industrial biotech, can help create a biobased economy in the United States. Biobased plastics and chemicals made from sustainable renewable resources are already economically competitive with petroleum-based products. Investment in biorefineries spurred by the new renewable fuel standard can support development of other biobased products that further reduce America’s reliance on petroleum. - Brent Erickson, executive vice president for BIO’s Industrial and Environmental Section

BIO represents more than 1,100 biotechnology companies, academic institutions, state biotechnology centers and related organizations across the United States and 31 other nations. BIO members are involved in the research and development of healthcare, agricultural, industrial and environmental biotechnology products. BIO also produces the annual BIO International Convention, the global event for biotechnology.

References:
BIO: Blockbuster Renewable Fuel Standard Plus Advances in Biotechnology Will Transform U.S. Energy Picture and Economy, BIO Says - December 19, 2007.

Biopact: US becomes biofuel nation as Congress approves Energy Bill - December 19, 2007

Biopact: Civil society organizations respond to report on synthetic biology governance - October 18, 2007