About Cal BioScape
Project Vision
The BioCircular Valley initiative is a strategic effort to cultivate a thriving circular bioeconomy within California's Northern San Joaquin Valley (NSJV), specifically encompassing San Joaquin, Stanislaus, and Merced counties. Our core vision is to transform the region's abundant but often underutilized agricultural waste streams—including crop residues and food processing byproducts like almond shells, fruit peels, and orchard trimmings—into valuable bioproducts, sustainable biofuels, and advanced materials.
Tool Purpose
The Cal BioScape tool is a publicly accessible, data-intensive, web-based platform centered around a user-friendly interactive map and comprehensive database. Its primary purpose is to visualize, integrate, and analyze data critical to the NSJV bioeconomy, thereby supporting informed decision-making by key stakeholders including:
- Feedstock Suppliers - Farmers and agricultural producers seeking economically viable and environmentally sound alternatives to current waste management practices
- Biomanufacturing Companies - Businesses considering establishing or expanding operations within the NSJV, requiring reliable data on feedstock availability, quality, and regional infrastructure
- Policymakers & Community Leaders - Officials and organizations needing data to understand the scale and potential of the regional bioeconomy for development initiatives
- Researchers & Scientists - Academics focused on advancing biomass conversion, feedstock characterization, and bioeconomy modeling
Key Features
Interactive Geospatial Visualization
Explore feedstock locations, infrastructure, and environmental factors through an intuitive map interface.
Comprehensive Data Integration
Access detailed information on agricultural waste feedstocks, transportation networks, and industrial facilities.
Advanced Filtering & Analysis
Filter data by type, location, composition, and perform spatial queries to identify opportunities.
API Access
Programmatic data retrieval for researchers and partner organizations to build integrated solutions. (Currently under development)
Benefits
By providing comprehensive data on feedstock availability, quality, and logistical considerations alongside relevant infrastructure and constraints, the Cal BioScape tool aims to reduce uncertainty and de-risk investment and operational decisions. This positioning makes the tool not only a data repository, but a catalyst for developing the bioeconomy within the Northern San Joaquin Valley.
Project Partners
The BioCircular Valley initiative is a collaborative effort involving key research institutions (Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, UC Berkeley, UC Merced, UC Agriculture and Natural Resources, USDA Albany Agricultural Research Station), industry partners (Almond Board of California), and regional economic development organizations (BEAM Circular), supported by funding from Schmidt Sciences' Virtual Institute on Feedstocks of the Future and the Virtual Institute for Scientific Software at the University of Washington Scientific Software Engineering Center, eScience Institute.
Supported by
