Visolis, Lygos pick up support via DOE’s Small Business Vouchers Pilot Program, as DOE opens funding Round 2

In Washington, the Bioenergy Technologies Office has allocated $1.9 million for the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Small Business Vouchers (SBV) Pilot.

Meanwhile, DOE has opened Round 2 of the Small Business Vouchers Pilot Program. Request for Assistance will be accepted at the SBV website until Sunday, April 10, 2016 at 11:59pm Eastern Daylight Time.

Over three rounds, DOE will provide up to $20 million to support approximately 100 small businesses by issuing national lab vouchers valued between $50,000 and $300,000 per company for collaborative research projects or to receive technical assistance. Between 50 and 60 vouchers are available in Rounds 2 and 3 combined. Awarded businesses must provide 20% cost share of the projects. Details on cost share requirements are available at the SBV website.

The SBV initiative seeks to help small businesses bring next-generation clean energy technologies to market faster by providing access to expertise and specialized equipment at DOE’s national laboratories. BETO will award vouchers to projects focused on developing and transforming our renewable biomass resources into commercially viable, high-performance biofuels, bioproducts, and biopower.

Vouchers for national laboratory expertise are available in the following opportunity areas: Algal Feedstocks Research and Development (R&D), Analysis and Sustainability, Conversion R&D, and Terrestrial Feedstock Logistics R&D.

During Round 1 (September 2015–January 2016), BETO awarded vouchers to two companies focused in the area of Conversion R&D:

• Visolis, Inc. will work with NREL and PNNL to demonstrate the scale-up potential of their high-efficiency process technology that converts lignocellulosic-derived sugars into intermediates that can be used to produce bio-based commodity products and fuels.
• Lygos will work with NREL and LBNL to test their low-cost microbial fermentation technology for the production of malonic acid—a high-value commodity chemical—from biomass-derived sugars, at a larger scale.

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