Wisconsin Researchers Believe Plants Could Transform the Transportation Industry

Tuesday, January 31st, 2023 -- 9:00 AM

(By Gaby Vinick, Wisconsin Public Radio) Plants have already blazed a path for meat alternatives, but they could also transform the transportation industry, Wisconsin researchers say.

According to Gaby Vinick with Wisconsin Public Radio, researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison's Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center are creating carbon-neutral fuels they hope to power the transportation sector through deconstructed, nonfood plant materials.

"We are producing the basic science knowledge on campus to generate the fuels and chemicals that will allow us to have a decarbonized economy and create environmental and economic benefits for the people of Wisconsin and around the United States," said Tim Donohue, principal investigator and director of the Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center.

Researchers like Donohue are generating fuels from non-food plants like switchgrass, sorghum and poplar to produce renewable energy. As one of four federally-funded research hubs, the organization is part of a larger collaboration to curb climate change.

Donohue said they hope to produce hydrocarbon fuels, like gasoline and diesel except with plant material, for shipping industries. He said the team is working to develop biorefineries that function more or less like a petrochemical refinery.

The center has been working on generating decarbonized fuels for the last 16 years through a partnership with Michigan State, Michigan Technological University, Princeton University, Texas A&M and the University of British Columbia.

Founded in 2007, the center has received bipartisan support and federal dollars through the U.S. Department of Energy.

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