A multimillion dollar investment opportunity from energy giant BP Amoco LC is prompting Iowa State, as well as other universities, to make biorenewable fuels a priority.

Last spring BP announced as part of its ongoing effort to finding alternatives to oil and gas, the company would be funding research in biosciences to study a new, more environmentally safe fuel for vehicles.

BP is planning to spend $500 million over the next 10 years to establish a biosciences energy research laboratory, which will be attached to a major university in either the United States or the United Kingdom. According to BP, this would be the first facility of this type in the world.

“The broader areas of using plants is a very high priority. There is no alternative to using plants as sources of industrial fuels and feed stocks in the future,” said Patrick Schnable, professor of agronomy.

Iowa State, as well as several other top research universities, has already expressed an interest in attracting the investment. Robert Brown, director of the Center for Sustainable Environmental Technologies, said invitations will likely go out within the next week for a handful of schools to submit proposals to BP. The company is expected to select a proposal by the end of 2006.

Schnable said although ISU plant sciences and engineering have been researching biorenewable fuels for about 10 years, private interest in the field increased only in the past couple of years.

Although BP originally intended for one university to run the entire research lab, Brown said it is being found that every school has capability gaps, so schools are looking to each other to form partnerships.

Iowa State is considering a number of universities as possible partners, Brown said, including the J. Craig Venter Institute in Australia and the University of California at San Diego.

Last week Brown and Schnable met with UCSD representatives to discuss a possible collaboration.

Brown said the two schools have complementary research interests, which may be useful in attracting the BP investment.

“The University of San Diego has impressive capabilities to complement Iowa State’s,” Brown said. “They are an attractive partner because they have a strong microbial science program, while Iowa State is very strong in plant sciences.”

The release stating BP’s decision as to who has been chosen to receive the grant was scheduled to be announced last week, but BP told Iowa State that the release was delayed and is expected to be announced within the next week.

ISU President Gregory Geoffroy said stiff competition will be a challenge for the university’s proposal.

“ISU believes we are well positioned to be a competitor, but there are lots of other universities involved,” Geoffroy said.

Although the opportunity with BP has been the most visible, Brown said there is tremendous opportunity for Iowa State in this area.

“It’s a wonderful goal,” Brown said. Iowa State has incredible capabilities.”

Iowa State is also exploring possible partnerships for one of the two $125 million bioenergy centers the U.S. Department of Energy will be funding.

No matter the outcome, Schnable said Iowa State is going to keep pursing research in biofuels.

“This is a very exciting concept, the exact kinds of things Iowa State can really contribute to making the world a better place,” Schnable said.