Awards issued prior to january 20, 2025, were funded under previous administrations and may not reflect the priorities and policies of the current administration.** this project will deliver a…

Awards issued prior to january 20, 2025, were funded under previous administrations and may not reflect the priorities and policies of the current administration.** this project will deliver a sustainable and economically feasible biomass for value-added products system in the mid-atlantic region through implementation of the mid-atlantic sustainable biomass for value-added products consortium (MASBIO). The integrated and transdisciplinary research, education and extension project will facilitate development and commercialization of bioproducts and the rural bioeconomy through collaborations with regional universities, industry partners and national laboratories while building upon existing partnerships with regional stakeholders. The project leverages and strategically utilizes available resources in the mid-atlantic including over 10 million acres of abandoned and surface mined lands that can be used to establish biomass crops, plus 8 million dry tons of forest residues that are produced annually. Together these can form the foundation of a massive regional multi-feedstock biomass supply chain with minimized gate costs, consistent feedstock quality and continuous supply. Short-term milestones include development strategies for feedstock production and harvest logistics optimization, bioproduct manufacture demonstrations, along with business plans, marketing strategies and workforce training to promote bioeconomic development and establish a commercial supply chain with targets of 5 dry tons/acre yield at a cost of $84/dry ton. Mid-term outcomes are to further improve the bioeconomy supply chain with an additional 15% increased feedstock yield from reclaimed and marginal lands and 15% harvest logistics operational cost reduction within 5-10 years. Longer-term impacts are to systematically advance bioproducts industries to produce a bioeconomy with potential of $367 million annual impact from a sustainable biomass to bioproducts system utilizing forest residues and reclaimed and marginal lands in the region.