Scientists from the Sandia National Laboratories (a “premier science and engineering lab for national security and technology innovation” in the United States) are looking into enzymes produced by microorganisms that survive in harsh environments (“extremophiles”). These enzymes could be harnessed for biofuel (cellulose ethanol) applications. Extremophiles are a class of microorganisms that can survive extreme temperature or extreme acid/alkaline environments. They have the potential to produce robust “extreme enzymes” that could withstand extreme temperature and pH conditions that could be used for industrial applications. The discovery and improvement of “extreme” cellulases (enzymes that degrade cellulose from plant biomass into simple sugars for ethanol fermentation) could contribute to the advancement of low cost cellulose ethanol production technology. A common method for cellulose breakdown is acid treatment, followed by neutralization and addition of cellulases to convert the cellulose to glucose. The neutralization step is needed because conventional cellulases cannot withstand extreme acidic environments after acid treatment. “Extreme cellulose” could make neutralization unnecessary and contribute to reducing the cost of cellulose ethanol production. Sandia researchers are presently using the “computational tools and enzyme engineering’ to develop the biofuel-relevant enzymes produced from extremophiles..