DOE to invest $78M in Bioenergy Research Funding Opportunities

In Washington,  U.S. Secretary of Energy Rick Perry announced four funding opportunities totaling up to $78 million to support early-stage bioenergy research and development under the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy’s Bioenergy Technologies Office.

“The Department of Energy is focused on some of the most exciting research opportunities as well as the biggest technological challenges facing our diverse and abundant domestic bioenergy resources,” said Secretary Perry. “Through the funding opportunities announced today, U.S. bioenergy resources, including algae, energy crops, and various waste streams, will be more efficiently and effectively converted into affordable biofuels, biopower, and bioproducts.”

These Funding Opportunity Announcements (FOAs) include:

BioEnergy Engineering for Products Synthesis

This multi-topic FOA for up to $28 million, seeks to develop highly efficient conversion processes for improving the affordability of fuels and products from biomass and waste streams.  The FOA seeks early-stage research proposals that cover several topics pertaining to conversion processes:

• Innovative catalysts for thermochemical processing
• New biological approaches for higher conversion efficiency
• Novel bio-based products that outperform conventional materials (e.g., plastics, polymers, etc.)
• Conversion of wet organic wastes to biofuels, bioproducts, and biopower
• Conversion of carbon dioxide (CO₂) to make fuels and products
• New processes to break down lignin and synthesize higher value biofuels and bioproducts

More on the FOA here.

Efficient Carbon Utilization in Algal Systems

This research funding opportunity for up to $15M seeks proposals in two areas to improve the cost-competitiveness of algae-based biofuels and bioproducts:

• • Increase the productivity of algae by improving uptake and conversion of waste CO₂ emissions, such as from a power plant or industrial facility
  • Develop new, affordable technologies to capture CO₂ directly from ambient air to enhance algal growth

More on the FOA here.

Process Development for Advanced Biofuels and Biopower

This funding opportunity for up to $20 million supports early-stage research to develop integrated processes for:

• Production of cost-competitive drop-in biofuels, including renewable jet fuel and renewable diesel fuel
• Processes to convert municipal solid waste and biosolids into biopower

More on the FOA here.

Affordable and Sustainable Energy Crops

This funding opportunity for up to $15 million supports early-stage research and development related to the production of affordable and sustainable non-food dedicated energy crops that can be used as feedstocks for the production of biofuels and bioproducts. Projects selected under this FOA will seek to:

• Conduct small-scale field testing of new varieties of energy crops
• Measure crop performance and environmental effects relative to traditional cropping and pasture systems
• Define cost-effective methods for planting, harvesting, collecting, and storing biomass

More on the FOA here.

Due dates for letters of intent, applications

Letters of Intent for these FOAs are due May 30, 2018, and full applications are due June 27, 2018. More about these Bioenergy funding opportunities, including a schedule of upcoming webinars.

For more information

For more information and application requirements, please visit the EERE Exchange website. More information about DOE’s Bioenergy Technologies Office can be found HERE.