Jet fuel from poplar trees is on the horizon, thanks to collaborative science
America’s grand challenge to develop sustainable, plant-based jet fuel offers a model for young scientists showing the value of collaboration across disciplines and institutions, a leading biofuels scientist said at the recent UC Davis Plant Sciences Symposium.
Plant geneticist Gerald A. Tuskan, a researcher at Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee, outlined the dramatic advances made in studying poplar trees as a source for plant-based energy, and the challenges ahead for transforming them into 35 billion gallons of jet fuel each year by 2050. This challenge has been set by the Biden Administration to reduce the nation’s reliance on fossil fuels, grow a reliable supply of sustainable fuel demanded by the aviation industry, slash carbon emissions that are causing global warming, and create thousands of new jobs.
