"drop-in" biofuels technology

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) today recognized the National Advanced Biofuels Consortium's (NABC) initial selection of two "drop-in" biofuels technology pathways that will advance to the next development stage. Drop-in biofuels are fuels that can serve as direct replacements or supplements to existing gasoline, diesel and jet fuels, without any changes to existing fuel distribution networks or engines. NABC is a consortium funded by DOE with $35 million through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to accelerate development of advanced drop-in biofuels that can reduce our Nation's reliance on imported oil.
The first year of research by the consortium was conducted from August 2010 to July 2011. Stage I efforts focused on determining whether technical and economic barriers could be overcome to develop a pilot-ready process in three years for six biofuels technology pathways. Over the first year, the NABC performed feasibility studies to determine which of the six approaches would move on to the next stage. The second stage will further develop the selected technologies to a pilot-ready state over two years. DOE will continue to invest in research and development of other promising pathways for drop-in biofuels outside of these NABC selections.
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