Arcadia Biosciences Inc. has received a grant from the U.S. Department of Energy's Advanced Research Projects Agency – Energy (ARPA-E) worth approximately $950,000 to develop technology that enables plants to produce high levels of oil in their leaves and stems.
The technology could significantly increase the amount of energy produced by plants, making the production of biofuels and other oleochemicals more cost efficient, the company says. The development of plants that produce oil in leaves and stems, as well as in seed, will increase total energy production per acre and significantly decrease the carbon footprint of resulting biofuels. These crops will offer a new source of sustainable transportation fuel, Arcadia Biosciences says.
