NSF Engines Development Award: Advancing carbon-neutral crop technologies to develop sustainable consumer goods (AL, GA, NC, TN) (Greening the Southeast) 

Our goal is to create a green, circular bioeconomy for building materials and consumer goods in the Southeast that reduces climate change impacts from manufacturing by eliminating industry reliance on petroleum and environmentally costly fibers. By creating products from locally engineered and grown perennial grasses, we will use underutilized marginal land, improve atmospheric carbon sequestration, reduce imports, create new jobs, and decarbonize industries.

Greening the Southeast will:

• Bring together researchers across plant genetics and genomics, crop breeding, biomass processing, biomaterial development, and manufacturing design to build a pipeline from use-inspired research development of carbon-neutral crops to industry and consumer goods
• Use genetic technology to customize carbon-neutral fiber crops to create optimized biomaterials for use in bioproducts 
• Work with manufacturing industries to determine how to make green products while reducing climate impacts
• Train diverse individuals across STEM disciplines and advanced manufacturing industries

What is a circular bioeconomy?

• A circular bioeconomy is a system that uses renewable biological resources like plants, trees, and microorganisms to create products and services. It’s called “circular” because it is designed to be regenerative and sustainable, with waste and byproducts from one process becoming inputs for another. For example, wood waste from a sawmill can be used to create biofuels, or microorganisms can be used to break down food waste into fertilizer. 
• A circular bioeconomy uses resources in ways that minimize waste and reduce our reliance on fossil fuels. Achieving this goal requires finding new and innovative ways to use renewable resources like wood, crops, and algae to produce everything from food and energy to chemicals and materials. The approach reduces our environmental impact while creating new economic opportunities for sustainable agriculture, forestry, and manufacturing.

Why perennial crops for bioproducts?

• Perennial grasses are sustainable. They require minimal inputs such as fertilizers and pesticides and can grow in areas where other crops cannot. This reduces pressure on valuable agricultural land while utilizing land not otherwise be used for agriculture. Perennial grasses also have deep root systems that help prevent erosion and sequester carbon in the soil, making them a valuable tool for mitigating climate change.
• Perennial grasses are versatile. They can be used to produce a wide range of products, including bioplastics, biofuels, building materials, and even disposable plates and utensils. Unlike traditional plastic products, these bioproducts can be composted or recycled, creating a closed-loop system that reduces waste and conserves resources.
• Farming perennial grasses creates new markets for agriculture and supports rural economies. They can also provide a stable source of income for farmers, as perennial grasses require less maintenance and have longer growing seasons than annual crops.

Why the Southeast?

• The southeastern United States is positioned to make this project a success because of our significant resources in underutilized farmable land, research in plant genomics and breeding, multiple groups engineering novel sustainable biomaterials, startup incubators, a mission to revitalize rural economies, and educational partners to train and inspire the future workforce.

Outcomes and broader impacts:

The ultimate outcome of the proposed ENGINE is a pipeline for a thriving sustainable, circular bioeconomy for building materials and consumer goods in the Southeast that replaces industry reliance on petroleum and environmentally costly fibers.

Specific outcomes within the pipeline include:

• Customized carbon-neutral perennial grasses suitable for thriving on marginal land throughout the Southeast
• Development of best manufacturing practices for green products that reduce climate impacts
• Growing consumer awareness and demand for green products
• Green manufacturing buy-in from industry and government stakeholders across the region
• Creating jobs throughout the Southeast 
• A pipeline of diverse individuals trained to excel in STEM disciplines and advanced manufacturing industries and sustain the regional innovation ecosystem

Key Personnel:

Contact Us: greensoutheast@hudsonalpha.org

This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. 2302898. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.