The National Science Foundation has given a $15 million grant to Oklahoma scientists to develop efficient alternative fuels. The grant is part of the NSF’s Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research [EPSCoR], and will be used in the next five years to research more efficient alternative fuels.

“I am extremely proud that our Oklahoma research universities have been so successful when competing for EPSCoR grants,” said Sen. Jim Inhofe, R-Okla. “The success … is a testament to the talented professors and students that are attracted to our highly esteemed universities.”

Scientists from OU, OSU and the Samuel Roberts Noble Foundation will try to increase biomass yield when producing ethanol from non-food crops. The research also will explore biofuel refining techniques, like fermentation by microorganisms and chemical catalysts.

Researchers will study cellulosic biofuels, specifically switchgrass, and will work to bring in-state alternative fuel research to the forefront of the burgeoning national market, said James Wicksted, principal investigator and OSU physics department chair.

Research will be conducted at all three locations and coordinated at monthly meetings, Wicksted said.

In addition to the $15 million being provided by the program, the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education have agreed to provide an additional $1.1 million annually for the duration of the five-year grant.

Research opportunities will extend to college faculty, graduate, and undergraduate students and provide educational initiatives aimed at K-12 public schools.

The grant is part of an overall agenda to usher in a new infrastructure initiative by integrating research and education.

“As a result [of the award], Oklahoma will have a stronger, more diverse scientific workforce prepared to invent and utilize new technologies needed to solve critical problems we face today, such as the need for alternative fuel sources,” said Glen D. Johnson, Oklahoma State Regents of Higher Education chancellor.

This grant is completely separate from the Oklahoma Bioenergy Center, a $40 million collaboration between OU, OSU, and the Samuel Roberts Noble Foundation established in 2007 that includes many of the same researchers and shares a similar biofuel objective.

“It is critical to note that the proposed NSF EPSCoR award will focus on upstream basic research while the OBC targets downstream applied research,” Wicksted said.