Three seed companies have been awarded a five-year, $7.5 million contract by the U.S. Department of Energy to conduct research on the use of grain sorghum in ethanol production. NC+, Orion Genomics and SolviGen will attempt to increase sorghum's starch content from 68 percent to 80 percent to reduce production costs. Ethanol production today accounts for approximately 13 percent of the nation's grain sorghum crop.

For more information on this project go to www.energy.gov/HQPress/releases01/seppr/pr01157_v.htm