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Iowa State University’s new Biobased Industry Center is sponsoring its first projects with grants of $40,000 to $50,000. The projects are:

• Develop an economic model to evaluate costs for reducing carbon emissions and analyzing different biofuel-processing technologies;

• Build a model to estimate the greenhouse gas emissions of biofuels and estimate changes under different policy scenarios;

• Develop an economic framework for assessing how land-use changes affect biofuels’ greenhouse gas emissions; and

• Do a techno-economic analysis of corn stover production, harvest, storage and transport.

The Biobased Industry Center is part of Iowa State’s Bioeconomy Institute and is focused on the business and economic sides of the biorenewables industry. Nine corporate and two nonprofit partners have joined the organization, paying fees of $50,000 per year for companies with more than 500 employees and $15,000 for companies with fewer than 500 employees. The advisory board, made up of representatives from industry partners, set the research agenda and will have access to the results of the research projects.

The Biobased Industry Center also is looking for a permanent director, who will hold the Cargill Endowed Chair in Energy Economics at Iowa State. The goal is to fill the position by next fall.