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The Regional Feedstock Partnership was formed in 2008 by the United States Department of Energy and the Sun Grant Initiative to address issues associated with the development of a sustainable and projectable supply of cellulosic feedstocks.

Although not inclusive, several key impacts from various projects funded through this award are highlighted below.

• University of Minnesota researchers are developing a web based decision support tool () to allow a broad set of users to make informed decisions about the economic and environmental value of perennial based biomass crop production on the landscape (Figure 1). 

  

• A ³ÉÈËÊÓƵ project created the opportunity for researchers to discover a way to treat soybean meal and dried distillers grains from corn ethanol plants to make a protein-rich fish feed that can fully replace fishmeal in aquaculture diets (Figure 2). This work led to a patented process and a Brookings-based startup company to commercialize the technology - . Prairie AquaTech has grown to 30 employees since its inception and is currently constructing a 300,000 square foot, $60 million commercial facility with plans to hire 35 additional employees once the plant is operational. Prairie AquaTech has the capability to help solve the global problem of high-quality animal feed ingredients, help secure the world’s food supply, and provide a solution to the U.S.’s problem of the largest natural resource trade deficit by starting more aquaculture farms with a locally available feed ingredient. 

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• Researchers at Iowa State University partnered with DuPont, New Holland and AGCO in Sun Grant projects to better understand how feedstock densification and storage can improve conversion of corn stover to biofuels. This research in biomass supply chains has provided guidance for AGCO to set goals for biomass machinery design and allowed their machines to operate at peak efficiency throughout the harvest season (Figure 3). 

  

• ³ÉÈËÊÓƵ researchers developed a novel plasma activation system to efficiently create nano structured porous bio-char suitable for super capacitors. The plasma activation technology developed through this project has attractive potential for commercialization because plasma activation was completed with only 50 watts of power in five minutes, thus greatly reducing the cost of super capacitors.
• Purdue University researchers characterized the opportunities and challenges associated with producing a range of perennial bioenergy crops including miscanthus (Figure 4), switchgrass and mixed prairie grasses, across landscapes which are considered marginal. Specifically, they identified those crops that provide the highest yields as well as the greatest theoretical return to producers, the role of fertilization, costs to the environment (through greenhouse gas emission and nitrate leaching) and establishment and transportation costs.

• Four invention disclosures;
• Eight patents;
• More than 30 jobs created; and
• Training of undergraduate (110), M.S. (39) and Ph.D. (38) students and post-docs (27).

• More than 100 peer-reviewed publications;
• Five book chapters;
• More than 275 presentations to diverse audiences; and
• Nearly 40 outreach publications.

All projects funded through DOE are listed below along with the lead investigator and her or his institution:

1. Optimizing the Logistics of a Mobile Fast Pyrolysis System for Sustainable Bio-Crude Oil Production; S. Capareda; Texas A&M University
2. Evaluation of In-Field Corn Stover Densification and Interaction with Storage Quality, Logistics and Production Costs; M. Darr; Iowa State University
3. Prioritizing Corn Harvest and Biomass Collection Activities; C. Gustafson, North Dakota State University
4. The Logistics of Herbaceous Crop Residue-based Ethanol Production Under Uncertainty; D. Lambert; North Dakota State University and Kansas State University
5. Strategies for Concurrent Wet Storage and Pretreatment of Corn Stover; Y. Li; Ohio State University
6. Improving Handling Characteristics of Herbaceous Biomass; V. Morey; University of Minnesota
7. Transforming and Densifying Biomass in Regional Biomass Processing Centers; K. Muthu; South Dakota State University
8. In-Field Cubing of Cellulosic Biomass; K. Shinners; University of Wisconsin
9. Landscape Scale Lignocellulosic Biomass Production; C. Johnson; South Dakota State University
10. Biofuel Crops in Eastern South Dakota Establishment, Productivity, Biotic Impact and Multiple Use Potential; P. Johnson; South Dakota State University
11. Interactions of Biochar/Bio-ash Source/Properties Impacts on Soil Properties, C Sequestration Potential and Crop Management; D. Malo; South Dakota State University
12. Wind Resource Assessment Network; D. Todey; South Dakota State University
13. Seed Technologies to Secure Rapid and Complete Switchgrass Establishment; B. Baldwin; Mississippi State University
14. Barley Straw Fructanosic Ethanol for On-Farm Biofuel Production; T. Blake; Montana State University
15. Optimization of Biomass Productivity and Environmental Sustainability for Cellulosic Feedstocks: Land Capability and Life Cycle Analysis; S. Brouder; Purdue University
16. Do Nurse Crops Make Miscanthus Giganteus Establishment More Sustainable?; E. Heaton; Iowa State University
17. Sustainable Biomass Production on Marginal Lands Using a Novel legume/Grass Mixture; V. Owens; South Dakota State University
18. Evaluation of Bioenergy Crop Production on Marginal Land in Wisconsin; S. Ventura; University of Wisconsin-Madison
19. Cup Plant as a Potential New Biomass Crop; A. Boe; South Dakota State University
20. Biofuel Feedstock Crops in Sub-Irrigated Lowlands; C. Johnson; South Dakota State University
21. Pyrolysis of Forest Residue; L. Wei; South Dakota State University
22. Using Second-Generation Biofuel Feedstocks to Improve the Carbon Economy of US Agriculture; E. DeLucia; University of Illinois
23. Improving Production, Resilience and Biodiversity of Perennial Grass Mixtures and Monocultures as Biofuel Feedstocks Across Environmentally Heterogeneous Landscapes; C. Johnson; South Dakota State University
24. Production and Economics of Perennials-Based Woody and Herbaceous Biomass Crops Under Alley-Cropping Systems; G. Johnson; University of Minnesota
25. Intensifying the Corn-Soybean Rotation with the Use of Winter Rye Grown for Biomass Energy Production; P. Sexton; South Dakota State University
26. Beneficial Plant Microbe Interactions and Their Potential Application to Increase Biomass Production and Environmental Sustainability of Prairie Cordgrass; H. Bucking; South Dakota State University
27. Develop Solid-stem Triticale as a Feedstock for Biofuel Production; W. Li; South Dakota State University
28. Electrophoretic Deposition of Biochar Nanoparticle Based Films for Energy Storage; Q. Fan; South Dakota State University
29. Developing Gas Stripping-Absorption/Desorption Processes Based on Porous Carbon Adsorbents for Biofuel Purification from Bioreactors; Z. Gu; South Dakota State University
30. Catalytic Fast Pyrolysis Conversion of Corn Stover to Drop-in Quality Hydrocarbons; L. Wei; South Dakota State University
31. Plasma Activation of Biochar for Supercapacitors; Q. Fan; South Dakota State University
32. Engineering Aureobasidium pullulans to Produce and Secrete Beta Glucans and Poly-lysine; J. Gibbons; South Dakota State University
33. Optimize Multifunctional Catalysts for Efficiently Converting Lignocellulosic Biomass to Advanced