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Under funding from DOE Office of Biomass Programs, engineers at Forest Concepts are working to apply low-energy comminution methods to produce improved biomass particle geometry and sizes optimal for biochemical and thermochemical conversion to liquid transportation fuels. Designs are constrained to concurrently achieve the DOE Uniform Feedstock Format criteria for bulk handling and flowability. The innovative comminution process independently controls shearing of biomass feedstocks parallel to the fiber orientation and cross-grain. Short-length cross grain shearing opens particles to high mass transport and eliminates fiber balls and other materials handling problems typically associated with hammer milling. The process is currently operating routinely at laboratory scale (200 kg/shift) on woody materials at a roundwood to 2mm cubic particle at a specific energy cost of approximately 150 MJ/odMg.