HydroGreen Biofuel: Reducing the carbon footprint of highly efficient bioethanol production

This project will have a disruptive impact on the sustainability and cost effectiveness of ethanol production for the renewable fuels sector, while improving the environmental footprint and climate-change impact of the entire ethanol industry. It will address multiple economic, social, environmental and political needs. It will achieve this through innovative synthetic biology based, carbon-abatement that significantly reduces the normal concomitant emission of carbon dioxide (CO2) as a by-product of ethanol biosynthesis from crop feedstocks. To achieve this aim we will engineer _Saccharomyces cerevisiae_ (Brewer's yeast) to consume 'green hydrogen' as an energy source in order to allow feedstock carbon (that would normally be emitted as CO2) to instead be redirected to ethanol biosynthesis. The primary goal is a truly net zero ethanol fermentation that emits no CO2\. Global yeast-based bioethanol production in 2019 of 28.6 billion gallons (BioFuel Digest 2020) emitted 77.6 million tonnes of CO2 GHG into the environment. By redirecting carbon from CO2 to ethanol we will lower emissions and crop feedstock requirement per unit ethanol produced, freeing up agricultural land for food and feed production. This will underpin political ambitions to increase bioethanol use in transportation fuels, addressing environmental and economic challenges and supporting UK government legislation to increase fuel-ethanol content from E5 to E10 and beyond. The resulting reduction in crop feedstock requirements (up to 33%) will provide market-leading competitiveness. The efficiency and sustainability gains of the resulting engineered yeast will be applicable to further bio-based products and the project aligns fully with the government's Clean Growth Strategy and net zero emissions targets. This project leverages the expertise and end-user relationships of an established and successful UK industrial biotechnology company to implement a disruptive technology that would establish industry-leading product competitiveness alongside potential annual carbon abatement of 77 million tons to establish a leading position in the provision of industrial yeast to the 30 billion gallons/£29 billion global markets for fuel ethanol.