The latest national biofuels research facility opened this week in at Cornell University in Ithaca, NY.

The main focus of the new $6 million, 11,000-square-foot Cornell Biofuels Research Laboratory will be on cellulosic ethanol.

“The Biofuels Research Laboratory catapults Cornell to the forefront of renewable energy research and becomes the centerpiece of the university’s broad portfolio of work on cellulosic biofuel and bioproducts,” said Cornell’s Dean of Agriculture and Life Sciences Susan Lynch during a ribbon cutting ceremony. “Many stand to benefit from the work of the Biofuels Research Laboratory, which holds great promise for transforming our economy and alleviating our nation’s energy crisis,” Henry said. “New York farmers will see new opportunities to grow the plant material used as inputs, workers will see job growth in the bioenergy sector, and we all gain from a more sustainable energy supply.”

Henry is pictured here in a Cornell University photo with professor and principal investigator Larry Walker, New York Agriculture Commissioner Patrick Hooker and Cornell President David Skorton.