Late one evening David Bransby's home computer signaled that he had new mail in his e-mail inbox. Bransby, a professor of energy crops and bioenergy at Auburn University in Alabama, glanced over at his monitor expecting to spot a piece of junk mail, a note from a university colleague or perhaps a Google Alert regarding his area of study—cellulosic ethanol. Much to his surprise, the subject line read, "Request from the White House." Bransby was even more surprised, upon opening the e-mail, that it was indeed a note from a presidential advisor. The advisor asked if he would be willing to speak with President George W. Bush regarding his expertise on renewable fuels.

 
 After a few more e-mail correspondences, phone calls and an FBI background check, Bransby found himself in the Hoover Public Safety Center in Hoover, Ala., just outside of Birmingham, preparing to update the president on the latest cellulosic ethanol industry developments. The president planned to use Bransby's information in a two-minute speech that would be broadcast on national television. The entire building had been swept by trained German shepherds, and a dry run of the event the day before had gone smoothly. Everything was in place, but the fact that he had been chosen is still a shock to Bransby, who was born in South Africa and moved to the United States when he was a young adult. 
 
 "It was a very great pleasure and privilege, especially for an immigrant, to brief the president on cellulosic ethanol," Bransby says. "He was well-informed and very engaged, and when he shook my hand and I [introduced myself], he said he really wanted to hear from me."
 
 To those who know Bransby, however, it wasn't surprising that he was chosen by the president to inform him on biomass-to-ethanol. He has more than 20 years of research and development on the subject under his belt, most heavily concentrated on switchgrass, which Bush specifically mentioned in his State of the Union address in January 2006. Bransby has earned considerable recognition as an authority on technologies used in the production of cellulosic ethanol. In fact, his name and photo appear in the first entry of a Google search of the word "switchgrass." In February 2006, Bransby was also approached by U.S. Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Ala., and Douglas Faulkner, assistant U.S. secretary of energy for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE). Both were interested in bioenergy sources. 
 
 Simply viewing the seating arrangement for the high-profile meeting confirmed the fact that Bush was intent on hearing what Bransby had to say. With Alabama Gov. Bob Riley, three cabinet advisors, Hoover Mayor Tony Petelos and two other guest speakers completing the circle, he sat directly across from Bush, who had asked if Bransby's presentation could be saved for the end of the meeting. As it happened, there were still 10 minutes remaining when his turn to speak arrived, so the two were able to have a thorough discussion, Bransby said. 
 
 "He asked me if I thought [cellulosic ethanol] was economically feasible, and I said, ‘Without a doubt,'" Bransby recalls. "This country put people on the moon 40 years ago. Just look at the incredible space missions that they're doing today. It's just a case of deciding that you can do it, and then you can do it."
 	
 Telling It Like It is
 Bransby's optimism for the future of biomass-to-ethanol production is shared by others who are equally convinced that economic technologies to convert biomass to ethanol can be developed in the near future. But many of them believe that there's only one way to achieve this goal. They're wrong, Bransby says. There's the sugar platform or biochemical route that utilizes acid hydrolysis or enzymes to break the biomass down, which is where the government has focused its money and efforts because it's similar to the corn-to-ethanol process. There's also the thermochemical platform or process that requires gasification on the front end and has proven to be much more efficient at producing ethanol, and at higher yields, Bransby says.
 
 He was able to explain this to the president with certainty because from August to November of 2006, Bransby and two colleagues were tasked by the Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs' Energy, Weatherization and Technology Division to compile a report examining current cellulosic technologies available, ultimately to determine which one was best. They did as much as they could in terms of attending conferences and interviewing people because that's where the information is, Bransby says. While some information is available on the Internet, most of it is in peoples' heads, and it's hard to get at without meeting face-to-face, he says. Through the research project, which cost $35,000, the team learned that utilizing a thermochemical process is the best choice for producing cellulosic ethanol efficiently and cost-effectively because it doesn't require pretreatment, it can utilize the lignin along with the cellulose and hemicellulose molecules, and there's no need for costly and sensitive enzymes. However, Bransby doesn't rule out other processes. He is the first to admit that his study is flawed because he only determined processes based on their ability to produce ethanol.
 

 "These technologies are very young," he says. "It very well could be that other products that are produced at the same time are even more valuable than the ethanol itself depending on what your technology does."
 
 Despite the study's admitted limitations, it seems news of Bransby's work has traveled far and wide. Two weeks after meeting with President Bush, Bransby received another A-list invitation, this time from Sir Richard Branson, English entrepreneur and owner of Virgin Group, which includes Virgin Atlantic Airways and the Virgin Records label. Branson asked to meet with Bransby in Washington, D.C., and during their conversation, Branson told Bransby that he planned to contribute $3 billion to cellulosic research efforts over the next 10 years, making the U.S. federal government ethanol budget look "teeny," Bransby says. 
 
 He also met with an official from the Brazilian government's development division and learned that the country has assets in the neighborhood of $80 billion with another $20 billion in annual disbursements dedicated to the development of cellulose-to-ethanol processes. The capital is out there for funding these projects, leading him to believe that the U.S. government may not play a large role in developing the technologies to commercialization, Bransby says.
 
 "I didn't want to say this to the president, but it's almost to the point where the government may not matter very much anymore," he says.
 
 It's true that there are many small companies out there already producing cellulosic ethanol on a small scale using technologies that have managed to stay under the radar of even the U.S. DOE, and they just need the capital funding to produce on a larger scale, Bransby says. In fact, he recently learned of two new companies—one in his home state of Alabama and another in the president's home state of Texas—both of which he had no idea existed before. Small companies like these are where the future of energy independence lies, Bransby says.
 
 "I told the president, ‘In your State of the Union address, you said you would like to be commercial with this type of technology in six years by 2012, but I wouldn't be surprised if there were plants up before you leave office in two years time,' and he liked that," Bransby says.
 
 As is the nature of the business, however, using private funding is also somewhat of a setback. As soon as the smaller companies with real, innovative technologies are discovered, they get snatched up and locked up by venture capitalists that want to control the rights and profits, and then the technology isn't available to farmers, Bransby says. "I want these technologies to be available to everyone," he says, adding that they should be deployed as broadly and as quickly as possible once developed.
 
 Whether or not this will be the case, Bransby continues to make trips to conferences and set up meetings around the nation with small, confidential companies in the hopes of finding the technology that will be used in the first commercial-sized plant. In late October 2006, Bransby entertained an audience at the Biofuels Workshop and Trade Show-Eastern Region in Nashville, Tenn., as a guest speaker. He shared an inspiring story of a livestock producer in northeast Alabama, who was fed up with high gasoline prices and engineered a small gasifier to fit in the back of his pickup. The farmer now runs his pickup on wood, paper, switchgrass and pretty much anything that burns, Bransby said.
 
 "This country is full of innovators, and a lot of them are farmers," Bransby said. "I'm not saying that we should all switch to wood, but I just want to demonstrate how when people put their minds to doing something, they really can get it done." 

 
 
 Quick Facts About Dr. David Bransby
 --Born in South Africa and raised on a small dairy farm
 --Received his master of science degree at the University of Missouri and his bachelor of science and doctorate degrees at the University of Natal, South Africa
 
 --Served on the faculty of the University of Natal for 12 years prior to coming to the United States
 
 --Immigrated to the United States in 1987 and became a naturalized American in 1992
 
 --Professor of energy crops and bioenergy at Auburn University
 
 --Given the Award for Excellence in Faculty Outreach in September 2006 by Auburn University
 
 --Has more than 20 years experience in research and development of biomass crops, namely switchgrass
 

 Lindsey Irwin is an Ethanol Producer Magazine staff writer. Reach her at <a href=mailto:"lirwin@bbibiofuels.com">lirwin@bbibiofuels.com</a> or (701) 746-8385.

Bransby, left, looks on as President George W. Bush speaks about switchgrass as a renewable fuel 

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Bransby, right, was able to have a lengthy conversation with President Bush about the technologies that are being developed to commercialize the production of cellulosic ethanol.

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David Bransby has long been known among his industry peers as an authority on switchgrass. In 2006, amidst all the cellulose hype, he became a popular man with those outside of his circle as well, including President George W. Bush and English entrepreneur Sir Richard Branson. Bransby shares his wisdom with EPM regarding the current state and the future of the cellulose-to-ethanol movement.

Briefing the President

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