Two suburban Denver companies are sharing in some of the grants U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack has announced to develop biofuels.
Lakewood-based ZeaChem Inc. says it's part of a team led by the University of Washington that won $40 million Wednesday to study turning poplar trees into fuel.
And Englewood-based Gevo Inc. says it is receiving $5 million to develop jet fuel from wood left over from logging and forest thinning. Gevo's grant is part of $40 million awarded to a consortium led by Washington State University to develop aviation biofuels.
Also Wednesday, Gevo announced separately that it had won a contract worth up to $600,000 to supply 7,000 to 11,000 gallons of jet fuel to the U.S. Air Force starting next year.
