Cellulosic Feedstock Developments
ID: 3669

Abstract: It is expected that during the coming decade, specialized energy crops will be developed that allow industries to switch from fossil fuel to cellulosic feedstocks. A significant gap exists between current cellulosic feedstock price, availability and suitability and what will be required to meet the needs of the emerging bioeconomy. Companies such as Mendel, Ceres and Performance Plants are dedicated to the improvement of feedstock yield and quality through modern breeding programs and the introduction of new performance traits. These three panel presentations will look at the latest activities related to identifying optimal species, varieties and traits, management practices and what impact these selections will have on the downstream process and overall industry economics. Marker assisted plant breeding and biotechnology offer the opportunity to make game-changing improvements to the high-yielding, low-input crops being developed for next-generation bioenergy and biorefinery applications. Combined with compositional analyses, the suite of new technologies makes it possible to optimize not only yield-influencing traits such as plant architecture, stress tolerance and flowering time, but also composition and conversion characteristics for various process technologies and end uses, including liquid transportation fuels, electricity, syngas and fine chemicals.

Moderator: Martin Warmelink, Performance Plants Inc. (Canada)

Presenter 1: Optimizing Biofuel Feedstocks
Peter Matthewman, Performance Plants, Inc, (Canada)  [Confirmed]

Presenter 2: The Development and Commercialization of Dedicated Energy Crops for Biofuels and Biopower  
Spencer Swayze, Ceres, Inc., (United States)  [Confirmed]

Presenter 3: Advancements in purpose-grown trees for use a sustainable feedstock crop for the wood, fiber, fuel, and energy industries 
Maud Hinchee, ArborGen, LLC, (United States)  [Confirmed]

Presenter 4 (if necessary): Miscanthus Variety Development  
Rasto Ivanic, Mendel Biotechnology, Inc, (United States)  [Confirmed]

Panel Organizer:
Annie Videira, Performance Plants, Inc, (Canada)

Why should your submission should be selected for this year’s program?
The bioeconomy is dependent on new energy crops that are both cost competitive and substitutable for petroleum feedstocks. These companies have made significant progress on establishing the required feedstocks and supply chain.