WASHINGTON
Michigan State University will receive $50 million in federal grants over five years to conduct basic research on biofuels, officials said Monday.
Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman is expected to announce Tuesday that Michigan State and other universities have been selected to share $375 million in federal funding to develop new bioenergy centers for research on cellulosic ethanol and biomass plants.
The Bush administration has touted the research centers as part of its overall strategy to improve the nation’s energy security and reduce its dependence on foreign oil by developing alternative fuels from sources such as switchgrass and wood chips.
Michigan State and the University of Wisconsin-Madison will share in a $125 million federal grant to establish the Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center, said two officials with knowledge of the grants, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the announcement had not yet been made.
The center is expected to be located in Madison, Wis., and Michigan State’s share of the grant would be $50 million, the officials said.
The center will conduct basic research “to design the microbial and plant systems needed to realize the potential of biofuels,” according to an overview of the project that was drafted earlier this year.
