News

Using renewable materials to produce biofuels is an overarching goal of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)’s Joint BioEnergy Institute (JBEI). Plants represent this renewable source since they can be broken down to sugars such as glucose and xylose that microbes can convert to a desired final product.

Jay Keasling, Associate Laboratory Director for Biosciences, and JBEI's Chief Executive Officer, announced that Blake Simmons has accepted the position of Division Director for Biological Systems and Engineering (BSE) effective February 10, 2016. He will retain his positions as Chief Scientific and Technology Officer and as the Vice President of the Deconstruction Division at the Joint BioEnergy Institute.

JBEI's Seema Singh and Blake Simmons led the development of a “high-gravity” one-pot process for producing ethanol from cellulosic biomass that gives unprecedented yields while minimizing water use and waste disposal. “High gravity” means high biomass loading - the higher the biomass loading, the lower the costs for converting it to fuels.

JBEI and GLBRC are are finding ways to convert lignin from an undesirable byproduct into a starting material for advanced biofuels and other lucrative chemicals.

Biofuels Digest covers JBEI's efforts to develop technology that enables the production of DCAs and DCAMMEs with a variety of chain lengths from renewable sources.

Corinne Scown, Director of Technoeconomic Analysis and Sarah Richardson, Post-Doctoral Researcher in Fuels Synthesis Division among the recipients of the Director’s Awards for Exceptional Achievement.

"Women @ The Lab" showcases some of Berkeley Lab's talented and dedicated employees in STEM and Operations.