Plant Advancements LLC was launched based on research done at URI, is developing alternative biofuel sources to decrease dependence on imported oil, cut down on greenhouse gas emissions, reduce reliance on corn and other food crops as a source of energy and grow the economy. The firm focused attention on Switchgrass, a prairie grass that can grow 12 feet tall in a season, even on marginal soil and requires little in the way of fertilizers, insecticides and irrigation. Switchgrass is also a perennial and can last up to twenty years without being replanted. The firms work centers on the creation of switchgrass that is more tolerant of drought, cold and salt. This switchgrass is sterile so that the altered traits do not make their way into the native population. Switchgrass could potentially be a better source of ethanol than commonly used corn. Most of the $53-billion corn industry is devoted to feed or high-fructose corn syrup. The rest is exported or converted into ethanol. In addition, corn takes a lot of energy to grow and requires tractors, pesticides and water to a much higher degree than switchgrass. Switchgrass, on the other hand, can be grown on marginal land, is inherently pest resistant, and has an extensive root system. It also produces 5 to 10 tons of material that could be converted into ethanol called biomass per acre per year, which could be turned into 400 gallons of ethanol. The firm is working to alter switchgrass so that it would never germinate or flower and so that other genes could be introduced in them without them being replicated in the wild. Additionally, plants that do not use their energy to produce flowers can use it to produce more biomass instead.
