The technology is available, though, and the challenge now lies in cost reduction and mass production, said Greg Krissek, director of government affairs for ICM, a producer of ethanol-production technology slated to receive $30 million in DOE grants for a new biorefinery in St. Joseph, Miss.

"It's learning how to do this on a commercial scale and making it economically viable," Krissek told United Press International. "It's feasible today in the lab to make (biofuels) from biomass, but it remains two to three times as expensive (as corn ethanol)."

ICM anticipates reaching full operation at the new plant by the end of 2010 and going to market one year later.

The test plants represent a step toward reaching President Bush's goal of producing cost-competitive advanced biofuels by 2012. But these four biorefineries won't even begin to meet the recently passed advanced biofuels mandate of 21 billion gallons by 2022.

At an expected 2.5 million gallons per year, the production rate of the pilot plants will be only 10 percent of a commercial biorefinery. Going from production rates today to the mandated rate in 2022 will require a Herculean effort, said Brent Erickson of the Biotechnology Industry Organization, which represents biotechnology companies.

"It is a huge investment," Erickson said. "We estimate to build 300 of these commercial-scale biorefineries to meet (the mandate) is equal to the Apollo project and the Manhattan project together."

And it's not just building the biorefineries that presents a challenge.