A research program has been initiated to formulate new strategies for efficient low-cost lignocellulosic biomass processing technologies for the production of biofuels. This article reviews results from initial research into lignocellulosic biomass structure, recalcitrance, and pretreatment. In addition to contributing towards a comprehensive understanding of lignocellulosic biomass, this work has contributed towards demonstrated optimizations of existing pretreatment methods, and the emergence of new possible pretreatment strategies that remain to be fully developed.