Welcome to the BioCircular Valley
Schmidt Science’s Virtual Institute on Feedstocks of the Future invests in new innovation partnerships
We’re excited to share the latest major investment in the North San Joaquin Valley’s (NSJV) growing circular bioeconomy courtesy of the Virtual Institute on Feedstocks of the Future, a partnership between Schmidt Sciences and the Foundation for Food & Agriculture Research (FFAR).
The Institute has committed a total of up to $47.3 million over the next five years to five research teams across the country working to transform natural materials into useful and sustainable products, including over $9 million for a project focused on the North San Joaquin Valley co-led by BEAM Circular, Berkeley Lab, and University of California partners.
As a result of this funding, BEAM Circular will be able to catalyze waste reduction and solutions that convert byproducts from the NSJV’s abundant food and agriculture activities into new economic opportunities for local communities.
We embark on this project as part of the new “Building the Circular Bioeconomy in the North San Joaquin Valley” group – or BioCircular Valley. The group is co-led by Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab), UC Berkeley, and BEAM Circular, with partners at UC Merced, UC Agriculture and Natural Resources, the Almond Board of California, and USDA Albany Agricultural Research Station. We’re delighted to continue working alongside long-term and new partners in this effort.
As part of this joint project, BEAM Circular will lead the development of a portal connecting biomass suppliers from the region including farmers and food processors with potential feedstock users, scientists, and project developers.
“Our region has a fantastic combination of diverse and large-scale agricultural activities alongside manufacturing expertise, making this a great place to scale up bioeconomy innovation,” said Karen Warner, our CEO. “Because of the enormous variety of agricultural materials available in the North San Joaquin Valley, the knowledge and technologies advanced through this collaboration will be catalytic not only for our local economy but also for communities around the world looking to unlock new solutions for diverse waste streams.”
“Our region has a fantastic combination of diverse and large-scale agricultural activities alongside manufacturing expertise, making this a great place to scale up bioeconomy innovation.” - KAREN WARNER
“This project is designed to benefit a region that has massive potential but has so far been economically left behind, and to develop a new industry that can provide improvements in air quality, water quality, and greenhouse gas emissions as well as significant opportunities in economic equity and the creation of new jobs,” said Blake Simmons, director of Berkeley Lab’s Biological Systems and Engineering Division and the BioCircular Valley project lead.
In addition to this newest funding for our regional efforts, we look forward to collaborating with other Virtual Institute on Feedstocks of the Future award recipients to share best practices and knowledge to boost the bioeconomy at the national level.
What is the Virtual Institute on Feedstocks of the Future?
The Virtual Institute on Feedstocks of the Future is a partnership between Schmidt Sciences and the Foundation for Food & Agriculture that supports collaboration on research to transform biomass into alternative feedstocks for biomanufacturing.
