The University of California was selected earlier this month for a $500-million grant meant for funding research and development of alternatives to petroleum-based fuel, sponsored by global energy conglomerate British Petroleum.

The grant, which will be distributed over 10 years, was awarded to UC Berkeley, the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and the UC-managed Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory after the team submitted a proposal to explore the fuel and energy sources of the future.

BP first publicized its plan for the selective competition in June, with the promise of funding “”radical research aimed at probing the emerging secrets of bioscience and applying them to the production of new and cleaner energy, principally fuels for road transport.””

Five major academic centers were invited to contend for the grant to build the Energy Biosciences Institute, the first project of its kind dedicated to alternative fuel production, as well as converting fossil fuels to usable energy with less environmental damage.

Bioscience, a branch of science that deals with living organisms, has been steadily developing in the recent worldwide search for a new biofuel, a renewable, environmentally friendly energy source, unlike depletable natural resources – such as petroleum, coal and natural gas fuels – heavily relied upon today.

With this grant, Dan Kammen, director of UC Berkeley’s Renewable and Appropriate Energy Laboratory, said he anticipates that UC Berkeley and the University of Illinois will be able to bring at least one socially and economically promising biofuel to market.

The proposal from UC Berkeley and its partners was selected over international competitors, according to BP Group Chief Executive John Brown, “”in large part because these institutions have excellent track records of delivering ‘Big Science’ – large and complex developments predicated on both scientific breakthroughs and engineering applications that can be deployed in the real world.””

California’s recent groundbreaking efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions also helped persuade BP to build the institute within the state, according to Adam Mendelsohn, a spokesman for Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Last month, Schwarzenegger signed the Low Carbon Fuel Standard, the world’s first greenhouse gas benchmark for transportation fuels.

The executive order was issued following a study conducted by UC Berkeley, as well as the California Air Resources Board and the California Energy Commission, to find ways to lower vehicle emissions.

“”California is yet again leading the world on clean energy,”” Mendelsohn said upon hearing that UC Berkeley had received the grant.

Both UC Berkeley and the LBNL have been leaders for decades in research on energy, and feature top-ranked departments of plant and microbial biology, molecular and cell biology and chemistry and chemical engineering, as well as state-of-the-art research facilities.

The University of Illinois was invited to participate in the project because of its expertise in genetics and agronomy – a branch of agricultural science that deals with the study of crops and the soils in which they grow – and will conduct much of the research concerning field tests, harvesting and storage of the plants.

California’s agricultural industry, which specializes in boutique crops, would not be suitable for sustaining the modified plants.

Along with the grant, Schwarzenegger and state Assembly Speaker Fabian Nuñez (D-Los Angeles) proposed last December that California contribute $40 million more than the $30 million already promised – as part of BP’s grant – in state funding to help support project infrastructure.

Kammen said that this is the first time California has provided any significant amount of money for such research, and believes that such “”a vast amount of money will cement this connection.””

UCSD, partnered with Iowa State University, also submitted a proposal to BP that was not selected. However, Vice Chancellor for Research Arthur B. Ellis said that UCSD plans to continue its effort to create new technology that will help convert crops into biofuels.

“”One of the many positive outcomes of this competition for our campus is that UCSD was able to identify and marshal considerable campus expertise and resources, resulting in the creation of a Center for Bioenergy Science and Technology, dedicated to developing and improving biofuels,”” Ellis said.

Like many working in the groundbreaking field, Ellis said he is eager to find an applicable alternative to petroleum.

“”We’ve used the tools of modern biology successfully to improve human health at UCSD,”” Ellis said. “”Now we’re looking for ways to apply them to biofuels.””

Readers can contact Danielle Warren at [email protected].