On July 24, 2020, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) announced its solicitation for comments and feedback on recommendations to update the List of Bioengineered Foods as it pertains to the National Bioengineered Food Disclosure Standard. Comments are due by August 24, 2020.
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Bergeson & Campbell, P.C. (B&C®) is a Washington, D.C., law firm providing biobased and renewable chemical product stakeholders unparalleled experience, judgment, and excellence in bringing innovative products to market.
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On July 10, 2020, DOE EERE announced that it has selected eight projects totaling more than $5 million to conduct R&D needed to accelerate the U.S. biomanufacturing sector. These projects are a part of the Agile BioFoundry (ABF) consortium and will leverage National Laboratory capabilities to address challenges in biomanufacturing. Each of these ABF selected projects has been invited to collaborate with National Laboratory research facilities to conduct their proposed research. The seed awards provide up to $500,000 in DOE funds to the laboratories for up to two years. Full awards, however, will receive up to $2 million for up to three years. The aim is for the projects to develop novel microbial hosts and bioproducts, use artificial intelligence and machine learning in synthetic biology, and address the problem of production heterogeneity in industrial microbiology. Each awardee has committed to a minimum of 20 percent cost-share contribution. On June 3, 2020, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) announced that it will be hosting a public virtual workshop titled “Workshop on Predictive Models and High Performance Computing as Tools to Accelerate the Scaling-up of New Bio-Based Fuels.” The goal is to determine if predictive models and high performance computing can and should be used to reduce biotechnology uncertainty and accelerate scaling-up of biorefinery/chemical production equipment and optimize operations. The virtual workshop will be held from June 9 to June 11, 2020, from 10:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. (EDT) each day. Registration is required by 4:00 p.m. (EDT) June 5, 2020. On May 21, 2020, the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) announced the availability of approximately $21.3 million in funding for 106 Phase I small business innovation projects. The funds, announced by U.S. Secretary of Energy Dan Brouillette, are part of DOE’s $53 million available for Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) research and development projects. The selected small businesses represent 26 states. Most Phase I awards are $200,000 for a performance period of less than one year. Nine EERE technology offices will fund the awards under 12 topics. On May 6, 2020, the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) will host a virtual meeting of the State Energy Advisory Board (STEAB). The virtual meeting will take place from 12:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. (EDT). Interested parties must contact the Board’s Designated Federal Officer, Jay Nathwani, via .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) or phone at 202-586-9410. By Lynn L. Bergeson and Ligia Duarte Botelho, M.A. On March 31, 2020, the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) announced its intention to replace eXCHANGE for a new system for funding opportunity announcements (FOA) and application submissions. Starting in Fiscal Year 2021, parties interested in responding to EERE’s opportunities will use the EERE Program Information Center (EPIC). As DOE EERE transitions into EPIC, it is currently looking for volunteers to test the new system and provide feedback. Pilot testing will be from May through June 2020. Interested parties will have a chance to register early and experience EPIC and how the submission process is changing. According to EERE, the most prominent change to the registration process is that parties must register before their individual applicant accounts can be created. The pilot is open to any organization. Volunteers will be asked to register in EPIC and submit a test application. Training videos will be available, and volunteers will be asked to provide feedback on the new system. Two roles are needed to register for the pilot: (1) the organization’s Government Business Point of Contact (from www.sam.gov), and (2) Technical Points of Contact, such as Principle Investigators or individuals who prepare, review, or submits applications for FOAs. Organizations interested in volunteering for the pilot test should e-mail .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) by May 1, 2020. Further details are available here. Participation is limited and volunteers will be selected on a first-come-first-serve basis. On March 16, 2020, DOE EERE’s Advanced Manufacturing Office and Bioenergy Technologies Office used a joint funding opportunity announcement (FOA) of up to $25 million for plastics recycling R&D. As part of the Department’s Plastics Innovation Challenge, this FOA has been titled “BOTTLE: Bio-Optimized Technologies to Keep Thermoplastics Out of Landfills and the Environment.” The BOTTLE FOA will support the development of new plastics capable of efficient recyclability and improvement of recycling strategies that can break existing plastics into chemical building blocks that can be used in other products. Also as part of the Plastics Innovation Challenge, DOE has launched a new BOTTLE Consortium, which will be led by three of DOE’s national laboratories. The Consortium will work with stakeholders in industry and academia to focus on BOTTLE’s core mission. The three national laboratories in the Consortium currently are the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, and Los Alamos National Laboratory. This BOTTLE FOA includes three topic areas:
Concept papers for the BOTTLE FOA are due on April 22, 2020, and full applications are due on June 18, 2020. Information on how to submit concept papers and applications can be found here. On March 2, 2020, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) announced open meetings of the Biomass Research and Development (R&D) Technical Advisory Committee. Occurring on March 24, 2020, from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. (EDT) and March 25, 2020, from 1:00 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. (EDT), both meetings will take place in Arlington, VA. The purpose of the meetings is to develop advice and guidance that promotes R&D leading to the production of biobased fuels and biobased products. Parties interested in participating in the meeting and/or making oral statements must contact .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) five days prior to the meetings. On February 21, 2020, U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), announced that it will hold a series of workshops to receive input on the approaches and activities for its new initiative, the Energy Storage Grand Challenge (ESGC). Launched in January 2020 by DOE Secretary Dan Brouillette, ESGC was created to accelerate the development, commercialization, and utilization of next-generation energy storage technologies. With the aim to sustain American global leadership in energy storage, ESGC builds on the $158 million Advanced Energy Storage Initiative. Recognizing the challenges associated with the advancement of energy storage technologies, DOE EERE will host four workshops to receive input on ESGC initiative approaches and activities. The workshops’ dates, locations, and registration deadlines are:
Parties interested in registering for one of the workshops may do so here. Seating is limited, and registrations will be accepted in the order they are received. |
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