A plot of switchgrass grows in the Great Lake Bioenergy Research Center's fields at the Arlington Agricultural Research Station in Arlington, WI. Photo by Matthew Wisniewski

Great Lakes Bioenergy

Great Lakes Bioenergy is a U.S. Department of Energy-funded research center dedicated to developing sustainable biofuels and bioproducts.

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Who We Are

The Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center (GLBRC) is a U.S. Department of Energy-funded Bioenergy Research Center led by the University of Wisconsin–Madison. With Michigan State University and other partners, we are developing resilient bioproducts made from dedicated energy crops grown on marginal lands. Our mission is simple: creating bio-based products that are industry relevant and economically viable.

Research Themes

Sustainable cropping systems

Engineering bioenergy crops to enhance their environmental and economic value

Generating multiple products from plant biomass

Understanding and optimizing the field-to-product pipeline

Invented for bioenergy research, this tool speeds production of life-saving drugs

Seen through a clear lab enclosure, a man in a red sweater and round glasses points to a monitor while a second man in a striped shirt leans over a bench, with shelves of supplies and instruments behind them.

A tool invented to speed up research on bioenergy microbes is now the basis for a UW–Madison spinoff company helping the pharmaceutical industry deliver life-saving therapies.

Machine learning helps pick the best solvents for the job

Four-step workflow diagram for a machine-learning solvent selection method. Steps 1–2 (model development): training a model on property data via a feedback cycle, then identifying phases in solvent mixtures. Steps 3–4 (model validation): predicting partition coefficients for Arizona-series solvents and monomers, then selecting solvents using a 3D solubility-parameter plot.

GLBRC researchers have trained a machine learning model to predict which solvent mixtures will best dissolve a compound based on their physical and chemical properties and demonstrated the framework in two case studies: finding sustainable alternatives for halogenated solvents and identifying solvent mixtures that can be used to separate similar compounds found in deconstructed plant fibers in order to convert them into valuable chemicals.