Tri-Cities Tech Business Update
*Tri-Cities bioproducts and bioenergy gearing up
Dr. Birgitte Ahring, Tri-Cities' Center for Bioproducts and Bioenergy
Recent events are lining up to position the Tri-Cities as one of the Northwest's top locations for bioproducts and bioenergy advancements. With funding for a "star researcher program" from the state of Washington, Washington State University Tri-Cities' Center for Bioproducts and Bioenergy has appointed a new director. Danish researcher Birgitte Ahring will lead the university's new center as the Battelle Distinguished Professor. In addition to her role at WSU, she'll continue as Chief Executive of BioGasol, a firm researching second-generation techniques for ethanol production. Much of the WSU Center's work will be conducted in the new, $24.8 million Bioproducts, Sciences, and Engineering Laboratory. A partnership with WSU and Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, BSEL will open in May on the WSU Tri-Cities campus. There, researchers and students will find new ways to recycle byproducts and other waste into fuel and other beneficial products. In a separate development, PNNL is slated to receive approximately $1 million from the U.S. Department of Energy and the U.S. Department of Agriculture to conduct biomass research. Also see "The future of biomass in Washington and Oregon," below under the section, "Opportunities."
