BACK TO WOOD

When humans first harnessed fire, it was wood that provided the fuel. Coal, oil and natural gas followed, but as fossil fuels become more scarce, returning to the renewable fuel that literally grows on trees is a natural progression, especially for Maine, the most forested state in the U.S.

So it is exciting news that the effort to extract ethanol from wood byproducts is – pardon the pun – taking root here in Maine.

A joint venture by the University of Maine and Red Shield Environmental in Old Town has been funded with a $30 million grant from the federal Department of Energy. It’s the largest research and development grant in the history of the state, according to UM officials. The money is significant because it represents a down payment on what university officials hope will become a signature R&D niche, turning wood to fuel.

UM spokesman Joe Carr says the department of chemical and biological engineering could grow around this venture, and then in turn land more research investment. This latest grant, which follows grants of $10 million from the National Science Foundation and $500,000 from the Maine Technology Institute, can be understood as a “maturing of the state’s R&D program,” he said, which was launched 10 years ago.

And the private sector partnership is every bit as important. Red Shield is taking a risk by essentially pledging to turn an idea into a product within four years. Without a viable product, the research would stay in the realm of theoretical science. Instead, the goal is to produce an additive to gasoline that will reduce its cost and carbon pollution while not robbing the tree of fibers needed to produce pulp for paper.

With rice shortages leading to food riots around the world, the opportunity to produce ethanol without relying on corn or other food crops is a further benefit to this initiative.

The proof will be in the product, of course, but the ethanol extraction process has the potential to remake Maine’s pulp and paper industry and make the state a leader in the critical quest to replace fossil fuels.

The university also recently received a $13 million federal Department of Defense grant to develop shipping containers made from wood composites. The lighter, yet strong containers can have sensors embedded in them that indicate if they’ve been tampered with after being inspected.

Asking voters to fund R&D through bonds is like going door-to-door selling vegetable seeds on a cold January day – a little imagination and lots of patience are required on the part of both parties. If Red Shield is successful, Maine could reap a substantial economic harvest for decades to come.