The "ProBio3" project began last July with financing from a French economic stimulus program. The effort aims to use straw to create a "biofuel" that can be mixed with kerosene in a 50/50 blend. Biofuels are a type of combustible matter holding potential energy in the form of carbon that was chemically bonded in the "recent" past (when considered on a geologic time scale). They usually come from plant materials.
The new fuel would put agricultural waste to work, instead of diverting food crops to make biofuels. The program will also look at using sawdust and wood shavings to power aviation.