Posted on April 12, 2022 by Lynn L BergesonBy Lynn L. Bergeson and Ligia Duarte Botelho, M.A.
On March 22, 2022, DOE announced a $34.5 million funding opportunity to improve the science and infrastructure for converting waste streams into bioproducts and biofuels that can benefit the local energy economy. DOE Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), Kelly Speakes-Backman, stated that “through this investment, we see an opportunity to support the bioeconomy and the equitable transition to a clean energy economy.” The FY22 Waste Feedstock and Conversion R&D Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) encourages the development of improved organisms and inorganic catalysts to support the next generation of low-carbon biofuels and bioproducts. This FOA has four topic areas:
- Community Scale Resource and Energy Recovery from Organic Wastes;
- Municipal Solid Waste Feedstock Technologies;
- Robust Catalytic Processes; and
- Robust Microbial Cells.
DOE will accept concept papers for this FOA until 5:00 p.m. (EDT) on April 18, 2022. Applications are due by 5:00 p.m. (EDT) on June 7, 2022. Additional information on this FOA is available here.
Posted on April 02, 2021 by Lynn L BergesonBy Lynn L. Bergeson and Ligia Duarte Botelho, M.A.
On March 10, 2021, DOE EERE issued notices of intent (NOIs) for three sustainable transportation technologies funding opportunity announcements (FOAs). Expected in Spring 2021, these FOAs will focus on innovative research, development, demonstration, and deployment (RDD&D) of technologies that will reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions across the transportation sector. Of particular interest is DOE EERE’s NOI for an FOA in Bioenergy Technologies Office Scale-Up and Conversion, which would be led by DOE’s Bioenergy Technologies Office (BETO). BETO focuses on the development of technologies that convert domestic biomass and other waste resources into low-carbon biofuels and bioproducts that can enable a transition into a clean energy economy. These bioenergy technologies can also create high-quality jobs, support rural communities, and spur renewable energy and chemical production innovation. According to DOE, this particular NOI on the bioeconomy anticipates supporting high-technology RDD&D to improve scientific and engineering knowledge required to produce low-carbon biofuels at lower costs. DOE states that it will allow for partnerships with industry to demonstrate these technologies are relevant at industrial scales.
Posted on January 08, 2021 by Lynn L BergesonBy Lynn L. Bergeson and Ligia Duarte Botelho, M.A.
On December 14, 2020, DOE’s Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Programs Office issued its fiscal year (FY) 2021 Phase I Release 2 Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) for the SBIR and STTR Programs. Participating in the FOA are the following DOE program offices:
- Office of Cyber Security, Energy Security, and Emergency Response;
- Office of Defense Nuclear Nonproliferation;
- Office of Environmental Management;
- Office of Fusion Energy Sciences;
- Office of High Energy Physics; and
- Office of Nuclear Energy.
The FOA is available for qualified small businesses with strong research capabilities in science or engineering in any of the research areas sought in the announcement. Grant applications for Phase I are due by February 22, 2021.
Posted on January 08, 2021 by Lynn L BergesonBy Lynn L. Bergeson and Ligia Duarte Botelho, M.A.
DOE’s EERE announced an FOA of up to $35 million for bioenergy feedstock technologies and algae R&D. This FOA supports the White House’s priority to advance the domestic bioeconomy and DOE’s Bioenergy Technologies Office’s (BTO) goal to improve the performance and lower the cost and risk of technologies that can be used to produce biofuels, biopower, and bioproducts. Topic areas include the characterization of municipal solid waste (MSW) to enable production of conversion-ready feedstocks and algae productivity exceeding expectations (APEX). The application process requires a concept paper and a full application. While concept papers must be submitted to DOE by February 1, 2021, the full applications are due on April 5, 2021.
Posted on December 04, 2020 by Lynn L BergesonBy Lynn L. Bergeson
On November 9, 2020, the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs office issued topics for its Fiscal Year (FY) 2021 SBIR/STTR Phase I Release 2 Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA). Participating in the FOA are the following program offices:
- Office of Cyber Security, Energy Security, and Emergency Response (CESER);
- Office of Defense Nuclear Nonproliferation (NNSA);
- Office of Electricity (OE);
- Office of Environmental Management (EM);
- Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE);
- Office of Fossil Energy (FE);
- Office of Fusion Energy Sciences (FES);
- Office of High Energy Physics (HEP); and
- Office of Nuclear Energy (NE).
DOE will host a webinar on December 18, 2020, to discuss the FOA and application process and changes to the DOE SBIR and STTR programs.
Additional important dates include:
- FOA Issued: December 14, 2020;
- Letter of Intent (LOI) Due Date: January 4 , 2021;
- Non-responsive LOI Feedback Provided: January 25, 2021;
- Application Due Date: February 22, 2021;
- Award Notification Date: May 17, 2021 (subject to change); and
- Start of Grant Budget Period: June 28, 2021 (subject to change).
Posted on April 03, 2020 by Lynn L BergesonBy 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.
Posted on January 31, 2020 by Lynn L BergesonBy Lynn L. Bergeson
On January 23, 2020, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced the availability of more than $96 million in funding for bioenergy research and development (R&D) in support of the U.S. bioeconomy. DOE’s funding efforts also align with its own goal to provide secure, affordable, and reliable domestic energy options for consumers and business. This funding opportunity announcement (FOA) aims to advance DOE’s Bioenergy and Technology Office’s (BETO) objectives of: (1) reducing the price of drop-in biofuels; (2) enabling high-value products from biomass or waste resources; and (3) lowering the cost of biopower. Topic areas within this FOA include:
- Up to $8 million for scalable carbon dioxide (CO2) electrocatalysis technologies for generating chemical building blocks;
- Up to $14 million for algae bioproducts and CO2 direct-air-capture and efficiency;
- Up to $28 million for scale-up of bench applications of biofuel and bioproduct processes;
- Up to $5 million for low-emission, high-efficiency residential wood heaters;
- Up to $18 million for waste to energy strategies for a bioeconomy, including strategies for municipal solid waste, wet wastes, and municipal wastewater treatment;
- Up to $15 million for biopower and products from urban and suburban wastes (North American Multi-University Partnership for Research and Education), with a focus on using plastic waste to make recycled products and to produce low-cost biopower; and
- Up to $8 million for bio-restore -- biomass to restore natural resources -- to quantify the economic and environmental benefits associated with growing energy crops, with a focus on restoring water quality and soil health.
According to DOE’s FOA, the application process will consist of two phases: a concept paper and a full application. Phase one of the process (the concept papers) are due on March 5, 2020, and phase two (full applications) are due on April 30, 2020. Further details are available here.
Posted on July 12, 2019 by Lynn L BergesonBy Lynn L. Bergeson
On June 27, 2019, the Government of Canada’s Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) opened the application process for a grant to develop next generation biobased foam insulation products. Called the Plastics Challenge, this funding opportunity seeks solutions that result in foam insulation products (either spray foam or rigid foam board) that:
- Are predominantly derived from Canadian forest residue;
- Have similar insulation values (within 20 percent) as currently available petroleum-based versions;
- Would have similar cost (within 20 percent) as currently available versions;
- Are less flammable;
- Are fully recyclable at end of life; and
- Would generate less GHG emissions during manufacturing.
Applications must be submitted prior to 2:00 p.m. (EDT), August 27, 2019.
Posted on October 27, 2017 by bbadm
Posted on October 06, 2017 by Lauren M. Graham, Ph.D.By Lauren M. Graham, Ph.D.
On September 26, 2017, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced the selection of an additional project for the Bioenergy Technologies Office’s (BETO) Advanced Algal Systems Program funding opportunity announcement (FOA). DOE is awarding up to $3.5 million to the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) to more than double the productivity of biofuel precursors from algae. Researchers aim to improve productivity by increasing algal cultivation productivity, optimizing biomass composition, and extracting and separating different types of algal lipids to reduce the cost for lipid upgrading to renewable diesel. The project team includes researchers from NREL, as well as Colorado State University, Colorado School of Mines, Arizona State University, Sandia National Laboratories, POS Bio-Sciences, Sapphire Energy, and Utah State University.
In addition to the $3.5 million being provided, DOE provided $15 million in Fiscal Year 2016 for three projects under the Algal Biomass Yield, Phase 2 (ABY2) FOA. BETO expects that projects selected under this FOA will help demonstrate a reasonable and realistic plan to produce 3,700 gallons/acre/year by 2020.
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