EERE’s SBIR Selects Bioenergy Phase I Innovation Projects

In Washington, D.C., nine EERE technology offices will fund awards under 12 topics including three for the Bioenergy Technologies Office (BETO). The three bioenergy topic areas are: (1) Cell-Free Biochemical Platforms to Optimize Biomass Carbon Conversion Efficiency, (2) Reshaping Plastic Design and Degradation, and (3) Algae Engineering Incubator.

Cell-free projects support BETO’s interest in using enzymes alongside industrial inorganic catalysts to perform complicated biochemical reactions that upgrade cellulosic sugars, lignin compounds, and other waste streams into biofuels and bioproducts. Projects funded under Reshaping Plastic Design and Degradation will perform R&D that enables a circular carbon economy through new technologies for plastic recycling and the design of new plastics with superior end-of-life properties. Algae Engineering Incubator projects will produce state-of-the-art technologies in the lab and field that spur innovation and drive down costs.

American small businesses got nearly a $22 million boost from the Energy Department’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program.