UC Davis will receive $3.1 million of a $40 million biofuels grant announced today (Sept. 28) by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Led by researchers at the University of Washington, the five-year project is intended to expand what has been a Midwest-centric biofuels industry into Washington, Oregon, Idaho, western Montana and Northern California.

While the U.S. biofuels industry has focused almost exclusively on corn-based ethanol, there is growing interest in producing fuels from other feedstocks, such as tree trunks, limbs and leaves. But little is known about the economic viability or environmental impacts of growing trees for so-called “woody biomass” and converting it to fuel.

The development of a new industry creating fuels from woody biomass faces numerous challenges, including risks from adopting new technologies and the creation of new biomass markets to feed biorefineries. This grant is unique in that it brings together all the major players in the biofuel system to coordinate the deployment of the industry.

The USDA also announced a second $40 million, multi-institution grant today, to be led by Washington State University, as well as three grants of $15 million to $25 million to projects in Tennessee, Louisiana and Iowa.

The project that includes UC Davis will investigate the potential of farming hybrid poplar trees to be turned into aviation fuels, diesel and gasoline. Some 400,000 acres of poplars will be planted, and five commercial biorefineries will be built.

The lead researcher on the UC Davis project is Bryan Jenkins, a professor of biological and agricultural engineering, and director of the UC Davis Energy Institute. Jenkins said his team will be analyzing the impacts of biofuel production on regional economies and environments.

“When a farmer stops growing corn or pasture or pine trees, and starts growing poplar trees on that land instead, that change may affect soil health, regional greenhouse gas emissions, and the overall profitability of the farm enterprise,” Jenkins said.

“We will be characterizing those changes. Our goal is to help the agriculture and forest-products industries find the best ways to integrate these new crops.”

The grant will also fund work by UC Davis forest geneticist David Neale aimed at discovering genes in forest trees and understanding what they do, in hopes of breeding trees better suited for fuel production.