The Biofuels Center of North Carolina is giving the emerging biofuels sector in the state a $2.77 million jolt.

The Center has approved a total of 18 grants to accelerate the technologies and feedstocks needed to develop the state’s biofuels sector.

“The Midwest has corn and Brazil has sugarcane. North Carolina needs to develop conversion technologies for the types of crops and trees the state has in plenty so that we are able to turn this biomass into viable, advanced biofuels,” said Biofuels Center President Steven Burke. “This funding puts North Carolina on the path toward reducing its dependency on foreign oil and liquid fuel imports while putting money back into our state’s economy.”

North Carolina has a goal of growing and producing 10% of its own liquid fuels by 2017 – or about 600 million gallons.