Any improvement in fuel crop yield in terms of quantity and quality will reduce the amount of land required and processing. It may be possible to improve the quantity of biofuels and change the quality using either conventional plant breeding or genetic manipulation. There is an embargo on genetically manipulated plants within the EU at present, but globally there are a number of countries that have grown large quanti­ties of genetically manipulated crops without any obvious problems. It would appear that the non-food crop would be most suitable for genetic manipulation if regulations were relaxed. Some suggest that genetic modifications are essential if biofuels are to be fully exploited. Some of the areas that genetic manipulation may be helpful in the development of biofuels are as follows:

• Improvement in photosynthesis.

• Improvement in salinity and drought resistance.

• Herbicide and pesticide resistance in fuel crops.

• Improvements in the quantity and quality of plant oils.

• Reduction in lignin in lignocellulose to make cellulose more available for digestion.

• Improvement in hydrogen production by microalgae.

• Improvement in conversion of lignocellulose, cellulose, and other sugars to ethanol.