CBE researchers are part of a $2.8 million effort to create plant-based “living refineries”

Three University of Wisconsin-Madison researchers in the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering are part of a team selected by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E), for a $2.8 million grant as part of its Vision OPEN 2024 program.

Karen and William Monfre Professor and Vilas Distinguished Achievement Professor Brian Pfleger, Baldovin-DaPra Professor Victor Zavala and Assistant Professor Quentin Dudley are part of the project, which also includes Hiroshi Maeda , a professor of botany in the College of Letters and Sciences and Professor Shawn Kaeppler, Faculty Director of the Wisconsin Crop Innovation Center in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. John Duff, a consultant to the Collaborative Sorghum Marketing Transformation Program is also a partner.

The project is titled “Building Plant Chemical Platforms for Efficient Aromatic Production Directly from CO2.” The goal of the research is to develop plant-based “living refineries” technology that utilize sunlight energy and convert atmospheric carbon dioxide directly into aromatic compounds, essential to modern society. The technology will be applicable to the vast chemical industry, where aromatics serve as essential building blocks for many of society’s most important industrial products, including plastics, fuels, resins, and semiconductor materials. 

The goal of the Vision OPEN 2024 program is to challenge researchers to develop disruptive and ambitious technologies that advance America’s energy future. In total, the program is sponsoring $147 million for 49 projects across the energy spectrum, including primary generation like nuclear fusion and geothermal, infrastructure like power transmission and grid reliability, and new approaches to developing chemicals and fuels.