Biotechnology as a Key Driver for Sustainable Bioenergy Production

The idea that bioenergy will become the white knight of the 21st century is intuitively attractive, and receives much press, across a broad range of political and social agendas. However, on a detailed development level it remains unclear how bioenergy will allow a sustainable platform for continued world economic growth. Einstein said that “problems cannot be solved by the same level of thinking that created them”—solutions to the energy crisis will require different ways of thinking. Shifting from a petro-driven economic base to a bio-based foundation is a significant challenge and success will require more than just “substitution ” strategies. There is a need to clearly understand the magnitude of the problem, to accept that new breakthroughs in technology applications are required for any chance of success, and to acknowledge that acceptance of dramatic change is probably required before we can begin to build a more sustainable future. The problem is straightforward and can be quantified with reasonable accuracy. The world currently utilizes 420 quads/year (quad = 1015 Btu) and the conservative case projection is that within 30 years the world requirement will be 650 quads/year, largely due to economic development in India and China. While energy demand is growing rapidly, fossil fuel reserves are finite. In addition, if the current global temperature elevation is even partly related to anthropogenic gas emissions then what will happen during the projected massive increase in the use of fossil fuels? A conceptually attractive feature of bioenergy is that carbon dioxide release will be at least neutral due to carbon recycling on a relatively short time-scale. Currently, bioenergy and bio-based inputs account for less than 5 % of all basic inputs to the existing Western economy