BADGER STATE BIOFUELS COMPANIES ON A ROLL
BYLINE: US States News
DATELINE: MADISON, Wis.
The Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection issued the following news release:
The Badgers football team isn't the only group in town on a winning streak this season. Three Wisconsin biofuel companies have been awarded $4.8 million in federal research dollars this fall - or more than 27 percent of the total awards nationwide.
"This is a tremendous achievement," said Rod Nilsestuen, secretary of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection. "These companies competed with some of the best minds in the nation to win these grants."
The U.S. Department of Energy and U.S. Department of Agriculture Biofuels Research and Development Grant program awarded:
$1.5 million to the Center for Technology Transfer (now called Clean Tech Partners), Madison, to develop the best method for stabilizing the value of biomass material before processing
$1.3 million to Lucigen Corporation, Middleton, to develop novel enzyme products for the conversion of defatted soybean meal to ethanol
$2 million to Virent Energy, Madison, for research into the co-production of propylene glycol with biodiesel production
The total awarded to Wisconsin, $4,780,800, was more than 27 percent of nearly $17.5 million total federal research grants awarded nationwide in this cycle.
Growing Wisconsin's biofuel industry is a major component of Governor Doyle's plan to make Wisconsin a leader in energy independence and create 17,000 jobs.
Contact: Robin Engel, 608/224-5002.