GoingToMeet

The development, commercialization and proliferation of cellulosic ethanol presents a broad range of challenges across industries and technologies. Sustainable, cost-effective delivery of feedstocks requires the development of suitable harvest, processing and storage techniques and equipment that minimally impact farm practices. Scalable, low-cost conversion technologies need to be developed and optimized. In many cases, new or improved enzymes or fermentative organisms are needed that can function effectively in the environment of the conversion process. Decisions in these seemingly disparate areas are interdependent - for example, how feedstock is stored may impact the effectiveness of the conversion process, or even which conversion technologies are feasible. Developing truly viable solutions therefore requires a holistic approach to the development of cellulosic ethanol technologies, involving collaboration across agricultural science, logistics, biology, chemistry, and engineering.