AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - Dutch chemicals group DSM NV said on Wednesday it and partners have received a grant from the U.S. Department of Energy for research on the production of bio-based products, including biofuels. DSM said in a statement the project will run for four years and its partners for the project include Abengoa Bioenergy New Technologies, Los Alamos Laboratory and Sandia National Laboratory.
AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - Dutch chemicals group DSM NV said on Wednesday it and partners have received a grant from the U.S. Department of Energy for research on the production of bio-based products, including biofuels.
DSM said in a statement the project will run for four years and its partners for the project include Abengoa Bioenergy New Technologies, Los Alamos Laboratory and Sandia National Laboratory.
The U.S. department had not yet determined the amount of the grant, a DSM spokeswoman said.
DSM said it will be the lead partner in the project, which is an enzyme development program focusing on finding applications in cellulose-based biorefineries for the production of bio-based products.
!ADVERTISEMENT!The project is part of DSM's biotechnology strategy to offer solutions to biorefineries which use feedstocks that are not in conflict with food and feed supplies, DSM's biotechnology Vice President Volkert Claassen said in the statement.
Biofuels based on crops such as grains and vegetable oils -- that had become popular as a way of reducing emissions of greenhouse gases -- have raised concerns that they are driving up food prices and could lead to shortages.
(Reporting by Gilbert Kreijger; Editing by Rory Channing)
