BP invests in UI, biofuel development
February 2, 2007
A champagne toast celebrated the end of the national teleconference Thursday between the University and the University of California at Berkeley. BP Amoco announced its investment of $500 million in a partnership between the universities for the development of an Energy Biosciences Institute to advance fuels for the future.
The money was awarded to the universities after winning a worldwide contest announced six months ago. The universities beat out other institutions such as MIT, Purdue and Iowa State for the bid. Illinois is a leader in crop biology and the second largest producer of corn and ethanol. The University is expected to receive $100 million, which will go toward research and development of biofuel production, said Chancellor Richard Herman during the press conference.
“The goal of a university is to solve the greater problems of society,” Herman said.
He added that this is the next step in weaning the country off its dependence of foreign oil and shows that BP is at the forefront of corporate responsibility.
“Both universities delivered a track record of ‘big sciences,'” said Robert A. Malone, chairman and president of BP America, adding that these universities are doing some of the best science in the world.
Get The Daily Illini in your inbox!
Speaking from California was Illinois Gov. Rod R. Blagojevich and California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, among many BP executives. The governors spoke of the bipartisan relationship that has gone into this project to work towards a goal bigger than politics: cleaning up the environment and lessening U.S. dependence on foreign oil.
“I’m very ecstatic about (these developments),” said Schwarzenegger. “This is great news for California and great news for America. We will be the world’s center for biofuel research.”
Schwarzenegger added that the partnership was great for both states.
“The University of Illinois … is the jewel of our university system,” said Blagojevich.
Comparing the development of new fuel sources to the innovations of the Wright brothers, Blagojevich added that the University can do for biofuel what NASA did for space.
“This is our generation’s moon shot,” said Robert Birgeneau, chancellor at Berkeley.
Birgeneau said the project looks to provide sustainable, commercially viable and renewable sources of energy.
Keynote speakers at the Urbana conference, held at the Institute of Genomic Biology, 1206 W. Gregory Dr., included Illinois First Lady Patricia Blagojevich, a University alumna.
Stephen P. Long, professor of crop sciences and head researcher for the University, said the partnership between Berkeley and Urbana-Champaign worked from the start. In the development of biofuels, Illinois is able to get from point “A” to point “B,” while Berkeley can take the project from point “B” to point “C,” Long said of the complicated process from start to finish.
Most of the research at the University will be in its feedstock division, Long said. The initial research will involve developing ways to get more crops from the soil, using parts of corn for ethanol that would before be considered waste, and trying different plants for biofuels such as perennial grasses.
Along with these divisions, others at the University will study the environmental impacts of these new techniques and deconstruction for next-generation fuels, Long said.
This research will not replace work currently being done by researchers at the University, he added.