To focus the most advanced biotechnology-based resources on the biological challenges of biofuel production, the Department of Energy (DOE) established three Bioenergy Research Centers (BRCs) in September 2007. Each center is pursuing the basic research underlying a range of high-risk, high-return biological solutions for bioenergy applications. Advances resulting from the BRCs will provide the knowledge needed to develop new biobased products, methods, and tools that the emerging biofuel industry can use.

The Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center (GLBRC) is one of three BRCs established by the Department of Energy Office of Science, and the only one based at an academic institution.

The additional BRCs are the BioEnergy Science Center (BESC) led by Oak Ridge National Laboratory and the Joint BioEnergy Institute (JBEI) led by Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. All three centers are working collaboratively to develop a new generation of biofuels.

Each center represents a multidisciplinary partnership with expertise spanning the physical and biological sciences, including genomics, microbial and plant biology, analytical chemistry, computational biology and bioinformatics, and engineering. Institutional partners include DOE’s world-class national laboratories, universities, private companies, and nonprofit organizations.

Read more about GLBRC’s partner institutions