Although the production of cellulosic ethanol (ethanol from cellulosic biomass) is said to have a good net energy yield and a better carbon balance (relative to other bioenergy feedstocks), there are some hurdles to make large scale production cost competitive. One of these hurdles involves the improvement of cost and performance of “cellulases”, the enzymes necessary to degrade the cellulose from the plant biomass into sugars suitable for ethanol fermentation. In an effort to make its cellulosic ethanol production capability competitive by 2012, the United States Department of Energy (US-DOE) announced an investment of $33.8 million within four years, to improve enzyme systems for cellulosic ethanol production. The four projects that have been identified for funding are: (1) “Development of Commercial Enzyme Systems for Lignocellulosic Biomass Saccharification (DSM Innovation Center, Inc), (2) “Enhancing Cellulase Commercial Performance for the Lignocellulosic Biomass Industry” (Genecor), (3) “Development of a Commercial-Ready Enzyme Application System for Ethanol” (Novozymes, Inc), and (4) “Commercialization of Customized Cellulase Solutions for Biomass Saccharification” (Verenium Corporation)..