Research Phase

(0 to 5 years)

Technology Deployment Phase

(5 to 10 years)

Systems Integration Phase

(10 to 15 years)

Legacy Resources and Early Energy Crops (E-Crops)

Drivers

Expand biomass resource base and increase utilization

• Early E-crops
• Cellulose-processing viability
• Cost reduction

Transition: Modular Technology Deployment

Drivers

• Need for new energy crops to reach or exceed 1 billion tons of biomass
• Process simplification and improvement in modules
• Use of systems biology, chemistry
• Bioprocess engineering
• Rational systems design   

Integration and Consolidation

Fusion of economic value chains

Drivers

• Consolidated  bioenergy systems
• Technologies tailored for various regions
• Buildout

Feedstocks

E-crop sustainability

• Impacts on soil ecosystems, nutrients
• E-crop model development
• Genes, principles, E-crop subsystem controls

- Cell-wall makeup and structure

- Ties to deconstruction and fermentation

Feedstocks

• Understand plant as system
• Domesticate E-crops
• Enhance sugars, minimize lignin and toxic inhibitors
• Increase yield and soil sustainability

End-to-End Concurrently Engineered

Biofuel Systems (Biome-E Crop Processing)

• Systems tailored to regions and fully consolidated processing.
• Includes E-crops with enhanced composition
• Tool kits for plant engineering
• Consolidated processing tied to biofuel systems

-    Tailored deconstruction enzyme mix

-    Engineered microbial metabolic systems

-    Stress and process tolerance

-    Full system control

• Tool kits for rapid manipulation and diagnosis

Feedstock Deconstruction

• Reduce enzyme costs
• Understand enzyme-lignocelluloses interactions

-      Cell-wall recalcitrance

• Survey natural enzyme diversity
• Establish fundamental enzyme limits
• Develop ligninases and hemicellulases
• Develop gene-transfer systems for cellulolytic machines and entire pathways.

Deconstruction

Deploy

• Improved enzymes (rate, specificity)

-      Broadened substrate range

-      Reduced inhibition

-      E-crop concept

• Tools to diagnose and manipulate enzyme substrate interactions
• Tools to design and improve enzymes

Fermentation to Ethanol and Recovery

• Study use of all sugars, including direct cellulose utilization
• Study stress response and inhibitors

-    High-alcohol and –sugar concentrations

• Understand regulation and control
• Survey natural diversity

Fermentation and Recovery

Deploy

• Cofermentation of C-5 and C-6 sugars
• New strains (multiple)

-  Stress tolerance

-  High temperature

• Tools for full regulatory control
• Tools for rapid analysis and manipulation
• Testing of consolidated organisms        possessing celluloytic and        ethanologenic properties