Davis-based biotech firm Arcadia Biosciences Inc. said it has received a $950,000 federal grant to develop technology that enables plants to produce high levels of oil in their leaves and stems.
Officials said the technology could significantly increase the amount of energy produced by plants, making the production of biofuels and other oleo chemicals more cost efficient and environmentally friendly.
Production of vegetable oil in plant leaves and stems would create uses for crop parts not normally harvested.
The grant comes from the U.S. Department of Energy's Advanced Research Projects Agency - Energy.
Arcadia noted that researchers at the University of California, Davis, have pioneered the technology that fosters production of oil in plant leaves and stems. Arcadia said it will work in collaboration with UCD to develop new crops, such as sorghum, that have high leafy biomass production per acre.
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