Today, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) selected three projects to receive approximately $1 million in funding to leverage the unique computational capabilities at DOE’s National Laboratories. The projects will address technical challenges in bioenergy feedstock handling and logistics, as well as catalyst design and development.

The projects will partner with the Consortium for Computational Physics and Chemistry (CCPC), which is comprised of National Laboratory researchers who use computer simulations for bioenergy research and development. By incorporating high-performance computing, researchers can help reduce the costs and time needed for conversion process scale-up and reactor design.

DOE awarded Directed Funding Opportunity (DFO) awards to the following three projects:

  • Catalyxx Inc., of Chesterfield, Missouri, will work with Oak Ridge National Laboratory to determine optimal reaction conditions for scaling up their process of converting ethanol to high alcohols.
  • Forest Concepts, LLC, of Auburn, Washington, will work with Idaho National Laboratory and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory to model the behaviors of different biomass types undergoing Forest Concepts’ preprocessing technologies as well as the downstream conversion effects.
  • Pyran, LLC, of Madison, Wisconsin, will work with Oak Ridge National Laboratory to produce predictive models of Pyran’s process to produce 1,5-pentanediol to assist with scale up efforts.

A DFO funds competitively selected Cooperative Research and Development Agreements between laboratory consortia and partners from industry and academia. Each of the CCPC DFO awardees will receive between $300,000 and $500,000 of National Laboratory assistance. Additionally, each of the awardees has committed to a 20% cost-share contribution.

The CCPC integrates experimental and computational capabilities to address real-world complexities and enable the advancement of renewable energy technologies. Sponsored by the DOE’s Bioenergy Technologies Office, CCPC partners include Argonne National Laboratory, Idaho National Laboratory, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, the National Energy Technology Laboratory, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, and Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. CCPC is also a part of the Chemical Catalysis for Bioenergy Consortium and provides assistance to the Feedstocks Conversion Interface Consortium.

Learn more about the CCPC capabilities.