Corn is king of biofuel — for now.
But a $50-million federal grant to Michigan State University aims to dethrone the kernel and turn tall grasses, trees and other growing things into cheap fuel to power vehicles, possibly within a decade.
Elated MSU officials and Gov. Jennifer Granholm predict the research will spawn thousands of Michigan jobs and put the university at the center of a national effort to wean the country from foreign oil, and oil in general.
“Maybe tomorrow we don’t lower the price of gas, but, over the long haul, you better believe it will,” said Granholm at a news conference at MSU’s grass research center. “And it will make us less dependent on oil in the Middle East.”