This page archives the Bioenergy Technologies Office's (BETO's) past solicitations and awardees—from 2007 to the present. Click the links below to go directly to specific solicitations or years. To view announcements related to BETO projects funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Recovery Act), visit the Recovery Act Web page.
2020
- U.S. Department of Energy Announces More Than $64 Million for Biofuels Research to Reduce Transportation Emissions
- Department of Energy Announces $35 Million for Bioenergy Research and Development
- New Notices of Intent for Sustainable Transportation Technologies Funding Opportunities
- Plastics Innovation Challenge Draft Roadmap and Request for Information
- Joint FY20 Bioenergy and Advanced Manufacturing FOA BOTTLE: Bio-Optimized Technologies to keep Thermoplastics out of Landfills and the Environment – Project Selections
- Bioenergy Technologies Office Fiscal Year 2020 Multi-Topic Funding Opportunity Announcement – Project Selections
- Submission Deadlines Have Been Extended: Department of Energy Announces up to $25 Million for Plastics Recycling Research and Development
- Department of Energy Announces nearly $100 Million for Bioenergy Technologies Research
- New Notice of Intent for Joint Funding Opportunity to Advance DOE’s Plastics Innovation Challenge
- Notice of Intent: FY20 Bioenergy Technologies Multi-Topic FOA
2019
- Bioenergy Technologies Office Fiscal Year 2019 Multi-Topic Funding Opportunity Announcement Selections – Project Selections
- DOE Announces $79 Million for Bioenergy Research and Development
2018
- Bioenergy Technologies Office Fiscal Year 2018 Funding Opportunity Announcement Selections - Project Selections
- Research Projects to Advance Biofuels, Bioenergy, and Biobased Products
- Co-Optimization of Fuels and Engines
2017
- Advancements in Algal Biomass Yield, Phase 2 (ABY2) Additional Selection
- Integrated Biorefinery Optimization
2020
Department of Energy Announces $35 Million for Bioenergy Research and Development
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced up to $35 million in funding for bioenergy feedstock technologies and algae research and development. This funding opportunity announcement (FOA) supports the White House priority for advancing the domestic bioeconomy, as well as the Bioenergy Technologies Office's (BETO’s) goals of improving the performance and lowering the cost and risk of technologies that can be used to produce biofuels, biopower, and bioproducts.
Topic Areas include:
- Characterization of Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) to Enable Production of Conversion-Ready Feedstocks (up to $15M):
(a) Measurement of variability of key MSW characteristics within and across unique MSW streams
(b) Development of novel methods for rapid/real-time measurements.
- Algae Productivity Exceeding Expectations (APEX) (up to $20M):
(a) Improvements in productivity with traditional carbon dioxide (CO2) supply
(b) Improvements in productivity with Direct Air Capture (DAC) of CO2 from ambient air.
The Feedstock Technologies Topic Area will focus on the characterization of MSW streams. Projects will work on understanding MSW variability and informing the steps necessary to produce conversion-ready feedstock. The Advanced Algal Systems Topic Area looks to improve seasonal productivity of algae via a diverse portfolio of strains and improvement approaches. Projects will develop tools to accelerate current and future strain and cultivation improvements.
The application process will include two phases: a concept paper and a full application. Concept papers are due on February 3, 2021, and full applications are due on April 7, 2021.
For more information, please visit BETO’s Funding Opportunity page, the EERE Funding Opportunity Exchange and Grants.gov.
New Notices of Intent for Sustainable Transportation Technologies Funding Opportunities
The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy announced its intent to issue three sustainable transportation technologies funding opportunity announcements (FOAs) in Spring 2021. These potential funding opportunities seek innovative research, development, demonstration, and deployment (RDD&D) in the pursuit of technologies that will help reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions across the transportation sector, the highest source of emissions in the United States[1]
Building a clean energy economy and addressing the climate crisis is a top priority of the Biden Administration. The Administration has laid out a bold plan to lead the world in building a clean energy economy, and to address climate change and achieve net-zero emissions no later than 2050 to the benefit of all Americans. The Department of Energy is committed to pushing the frontiers of science and engineering, catalyzing clean energy jobs through RDD&D, and ensuring environmental justice and inclusion of disadvantaged communities.
The three Notices of Intent (NOI) are for the following potential FOAs:
- Notice of Intent - SuperTruck 3: Improving the vehicle efficiency and safety of freight transportation while minimizing environmental impact is critical to helping the country decrease its petroleum use and reduce emissions as the economy grows. The Vehicle Technologies Office (VTO) and the Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technologies Office (HFTO) are interested in partnering to develop and demonstrate R&D concepts to enable higher efficiency, low-emission medium- and heavy-duty trucks and freight systems. This NOI aims to take advantage of the significant opportunities for the entire freight and truck transportation system to achieve higher efficiency and electrification (battery, hydrogen fuel cell, plug-in hybrid and fuel cell range extenders).
- Notice of Intent - Low Greenhouse Gas Vehicle Technologies Research, Development, and Deployment: VTO funds a broad portfolio of RDD&D projects to develop affordable, efficient, and clean transportation options to tackle the climate crisis and accelerate the development and widespread use of a variety of innovative transportation technologies. This NOI will invite innovative solutions for on- and off-road vehicles to support the reduction of emissions and increased efficiencies in the transportation sector. To achieve this, areas that could be explored include community-level electric vehicle (EV) demonstrations, EV infrastructure and charging, and advanced engines and fuels that reduce emissions.
- Notice of Intent - Bioenergy Technologies Office Scale-Up and Conversion: The Bioenergy Technologies Office (BETO) is focused on developing technologies that convert domestic biomass and other waste resources into low carbon biofuels and bioproducts. These bioenergy technologies can enable a transition to a clean energy economy, create high-quality jobs, support rural economies, and spur innovation in renewable energy and chemicals production—the bioeconomy. This NOI anticipates supporting high-impact technology research, development, and demonstration to bolster the body of scientific and engineering knowledge needed to produce low-carbon biofuels at lower cost. This will involve partnerships with industry to demonstrate these technologies at industrially-relevant scales.
DOE is working to mitigate the climate impact of light-, medium-, and heavy-duty vehicles, and the scope of the RDD&D will not be exclusive to one fuel source or vehicle type. By improving energy efficiency and reducing emissions across the entire transportation sector, DOE can help ensure that the benefits of this work are equitably distributed to all Americans.
For more information, please visit EERE Exchange or Grants.gov.
Learn more about Funding Opportunities at BETO, HFTO, and VTO.
[1] https://www.epa.gov/ghgemissions/sources-greenhouse-gas-emissions
Plastics Innovation Challenge Draft Roadmap and Request for Information
In January, 2021, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) released the Plastics Innovation Challenge Draft Roadmap and a Request for Information (RFI) seeking stakeholder input on the Draft Roadmap. Announced in November 2019, the Plastics Innovation Challenge is a comprehensive program to accelerate innovations in energy-efficient plastics recycling technologies. The Plastics Innovation Challenge will also position the United States as a global leader in design and implementation of advanced plastics recycling technologies and in the manufacture of new plastics that are recyclable by design.
“The Plastics Innovation Challenge leverages the extensive expertise and capabilities of the Department of Energy and our National Labs to think beyond the status quo and make a real impact in addressing our plastic waste issues,” said Deputy Secretary of Energy Mark W. Menezes. “Our stakeholders are an essential source of valuable direction, and we ask for their feedback as we pursue solutions for issues that affect us all.”
The Plastics Innovation Challenge aims to make domestic processing of plastic waste economically viable and energy efficient, develop new and improved plastic materials lacking the same end-of-life concerns as incumbent materials, and ultimately reduce plastic waste accumulation. Four strategic goals define the scope of the Plastics Innovation Challenge:
- Deconstruction: Develop biological and chemical methods for deconstructing plastic wastes into useful chemicals.
- Upcycling: Develop technologies to upcycle waste chemical streams into higher-value products, encouraging increased recycling.
- Recycle by Design: Design new, renewable plastics and bioplastics that have the properties of today’s plastics, are easily upcycled, and can be manufactured at scale domestically.
- Scale and Deploy: Support an energy- and material-efficient domestic plastics supply chain by helping companies scale and deploy new technologies in domestic and global markets, while improving existing recycling technologies such as collection, sorting, and mechanical recycling.
The Plastics Innovation Challenge Draft Roadmap identifies key research needs and opportunities for DOE-sponsored research and development. The Draft Roadmap identifies challenges and opportunities across thermal, chemical, biological, and physical recycling and upcycling methods, as well as material design strategies for recyclability. Additionally, the Draft Roadmap:
- Provides an overview of the plastic waste problem, including the limits of current recycling technologies;
- Identifies the initiative’s 2030 vision, mission, strategic goals, and objectives;
- Details challenges and opportunities identified by previous DOE activities and workshops;
- Lays out key research directions;
- Delivers an outline of current DOE activities, capabilities, and coordination; and
- Describes potential near-, medium-, and long-term targets for each research area.
The Draft Roadmap also serves as a unifying document, providing structure and aligning activities across the DOE offices involved in this effort, including the Offices of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Science, and Fossil Energy and the Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E). This roadmap will guide DOE efforts to meet the Plastics Innovation Challenge 2030 goals by providing alignment within DOE, a framework to focus on select strategies for managing plastic waste, and research directions at every level of technical maturity.
In addition to the Draft Roadmap, DOE also released an associated RFI. The purpose of this RFI is to solicit feedback from stakeholders to ensure the Plastics Innovation Challenge is optimally positioned to address opportunities and challenges for the discovery, development, and deployment of technologies for plastic waste management and reduction. Responses to the RFI are due March 1, 2021.
The complete RFI document can be found on EERE Exchange.
Download the Plastics Innovation Challenge Draft Roadmap below:
Joint FY20 Bioenergy and Advanced Manufacturing FOA BOTTLE: Bio-Optimized Technologies to keep Thermoplastics out of Landfills and the Environment – Project Selections
The project descriptions and factual representations provided in this table are those of the selected awardees and do not constitute the views or opinions of the U.S. Department of Energy, its Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, or its Bioenergy Technologies Office. Neither the United States nor the U.S. Department of Energy, nor any of their employees, makes any warranty, express or implied, or assumes any legal liability or responsibility for the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of any information, apparatus, product, or process disclosed, or represents that its use would not infringe privately owned rights. Moreover, references in the tables to any organization, entity, commercial product, process, or service by trade name, trademark, manufacturer, or otherwise, does not constitute or imply its endorsement, recommendation, or favor by the United States Government or the U.S. Department of Energy.
| SELECTEE & LOCATION | PROJECT TITLE | DOE SHARE | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Topic 1: Highly Recyclable or Biodegradable Plastics 1a: Novel Bio-Based Plastics: Designing Highly Recyclable or Biodegradable Bio-Based Plastics |
|||
| Iowa State University - Ames, IA | Trojan Horse Repeat Sequences for Triggered Chemical Recycling of Polyesters for Films and Bottles | $2,165,000 | |
| University of California, San Diego - La Jolla, CA | Production of high-performance biodegradable polyurethane products made from algae precursors | $2,000,000 | |
| Topic 1: Highly Recyclable or Biodegradable Plastics 1b: Novel Plastics: Designing Highly Recyclable or Biodegradable Plastics |
|||
| University of California, San Diego - La Jolla, CA | Degradable Biocomposite Thermoplastic Polyurethanes | $2,088,114 | |
| The University of Akron - Akron, OH | Highly Recyclable Thermosets for Lightweight Composites | $2,049,242 | |
| Topic 2: Novel Methods for Deconstructing and Upcycling Existing Plastic Waste | |||
| IBM Almaden Research Center - San Jose, CA | Upcycling PET via the VolCat process | $2,495,625 | |
| Battelle Memorial Institute - Columbus, OH | Hybrid Approach to Repurpose Plastics Using Novel Engineered Processes (HARNESS) | $1,999,778 | |
| Iowa State University - Ames, IA | Modular Catalytic Reactors for Single-Use Polyolefin Conversion to Lubricating Oils from Upcycled Plastics (LOUPs) | $2,500,000 | |
| Case Western Reserve University - Cleveland, OH | Hybrid Chemical-Mechanical Separation & Upcycling of Mixed Plastic Waste | $2,498,539 | |
| LanzaTech Inc. - Skokie, IL | Upscaling of Non-Recyclable Plastic Waste into CarbonSmart™ Monomers | $1,890,001 | |
| Topic 3: BOTTLE Consortium Collaborations to Tackle Challenges in Plastic Waste | |||
| University of Delaware - Newark, DE | Circular Economy of Composites enabled by TUFF Technology | $2,499,983 | |
| University of Minnesota: Twin Cities - Minneapolis, MN | BOTTLE – Recyclable and Biodegradable Manufacturing and Processing of Plastics and Polymers based on Renewable Branched Caprolactones | $2,499,997 | |
| University of Wisconsin-Madison - Madison, WI | Designing Recyclable Biomass Biomass-Based Polyesters | $2,500,000 | |
Official notices can be found at EERE Exchange or Grants.gov. To view all current solicitations for the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), see the EERE Funding Opportunities page. This list is for information only—it may not be inclusive of all solicitations. Funding amounts and schedule dates are subject to change.
Bioenergy Technologies Office Fiscal Year 2020 Multi-Topic Funding Opportunity Announcement – Project Selections
The project descriptions and factual representations provided in this table are those of the selected awardees and do not constitute the views or opinions of the U.S. Department of Energy, its Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, or its Bioenergy Technologies Office. Neither the United States nor the U.S. Department of Energy, nor any of their employees, makes any warranty, express or implied, or assumes any legal liability or responsibility for the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of any information, apparatus, product, or process disclosed, or represents that its use would not infringe privately owned rights. Moreover, references in the tables to any organization, entity, commercial product, process, or service by trade name, trademark, manufacturer, or otherwise, does not constitute or imply its endorsement, recommendation, or favor by the United States Government or the U.S. Department of Energy.
| SELECTEE | LOCATION (CITY, STATE) | PROJECT TITLE | DOE SHARE |
|---|---|---|---|
| Topic 1: Scale-Up of Bench Applications | |||
| University of Alabama | Tuscaloosa, AL | Innovation and optimization of the Szego Mill for reliable, efficient, and successful up-scaling of the deacetylation and mechanical refining process for biofuel production | $3,053,043 |
| University of North Dakota | Grand Forks, ND | Scale-Up of the Primary Conversion Reactor to Generate a Lignin-Derived Cyclohexane Jet Fuel | $3,745,000 |
| Earth Energy Renewables, LLC | Bryan, TX | Scale-up and Qualification of Net-Zero Sustainable Aviation Fuels from Wet Waste | $4,000,000 |
| Global Algae Innovations | San Diego, CA | Scale-up of Novel Algae Drying and Extraction Unit Operations | $4,000,000 |
| North Carolina State University | Raleigh, NC | Scaling Up Biocrude Derived Anode Material (BDAM) | $3,999,938 |
| Oregon State University | Corvallis, OR | Microchannel Reactor for Ethanol to n-Butene Conversion | $4,000,000 |
| Research Triangle Institute | Research Triangle Park, NC | Integrated Separations to Improve Biocrude Recovery for Biofuels and Bioproducts | $3,690,002 |
| Georgia Institute of Technology | Atlanta, GA | Conversion of 2,3-Butanediol to Biojet Fuel: Scale-up and Technoeconomic Analysis of Energy-Efficient Separations and Fermentative Diol Production | $3,001,359 |
| Topic 2: Waste to Energy Strategies for the Bioeconomy | |||
| AMP Robotics | Louisville, CO | Artificial Neural Network for MSW Characterization | $1,886,922 |
| Gas Technology Institute | Woodland Hills, CA | Decontamination of Non-recyclable MSW and Preprocessing for Conversion to Diesel | $2,500,000 |
| UHV Technologies | Lexington, KY | Advanced Sensing for Characterization and Sorting of Non-Recyclable Plastics Using Sensor Fusion with Artificial Intelligence | $2,500,000 |
| University of Cincinnati | Cincinnati, OH | High Precision Sorting, Fractionation, and Formulation of Municipal Solid Waste for Biochemical Conversion | $2,089,767 |
| University of Maryland - College Park |
College Park, MD | Innovative Polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA) Production with Microbial Electrochemical Technology (MET) Incorporation for Community-Scale Waste Valorization | $1,985,230 |
| Princeton University | Princeton, NJ | Synergistic Thermo-Microbial-Electrochemical (T-MEC) Approach for Drop-In Fuel Production from Wet Waste | $2,500,000 |
| University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign |
Champaign, IL | Process Optimization and Real-Time Control for Synergistic Microalgae Cultivation and Wastewater Treatment | $2,000,000 |
| Utah State University | Logan UT | Synergistic Municipal Wastewater Treatment Using a Rotating Algae Biofilm Reactor | $1,877,735 |
| Topic 3: Algae Bioproducts and CO2 Direct-Air-Capture Efficiency | |||
| Global Algae Innovations | San Diego, CA | Production of Algae Biofuel and Bioproducts with CO2 Direct Air Capture | $2,000,000 |
| Montana State University | Bozeman, MT | Transforming High pH/High Alkalinity Cultivation through Beneficial Microbiomes and Improved Pond Design | $2,000,000 |
| Arizona State University | Tempe, AZ | ASU’s Polymer-enhanced Cyanobacterial Bioproductivity (AUDACity) | $1,999,051 |
| University of California - San Diego |
La Jolla, CA | Biomolecular Films for Direct Air Capture of CO2 | $2,000,000 |
| MicroBio Engineering Inc. | San Luis Obispo, CA | Microalgae Commodities Production with a Direct Air Capture Process | $1,999,882 |
| Lumen Bioscience, Incorporated | Seattle, WA | Alkaline Carbon Capture and Expression-Streamlined Spirulina Cultivated in Air for Reliable Bioproducts, Oil, and Nutrition | $2,000,000 |
| Duke University | Beaufort, NC | Development of High Value Bioproducts and Enhancement of Direct-Air-Capture Efficiency with a Marine Algae Biofuel Production System | $1,967,473 |
| Topic 4: Bio-Restore: Biomass to Restore Natural Resources | |||
| University of Nebraska - Lincoln | Lincoln, NE | EXCHANGE: Expanding the Conversion of Habitat in the Northern Great Plains Ecosystem | $3,200,000 |
| Mississippi State University | Mississippi State, MS | PoSIES: Populus in the Southeast for Integrated Ecosystem Services | $2,035,602 |
| University of Florida | Gainesville, FL | Evaluation of Energycane for Bioenergy and Sustainable Agricultural Systems (EC-BioSALTS) | $3,992,520 |
| Topic 5: Efficient Wood Heaters | |||
| NTRE Tech LLC | North Canton, OH | Advanced Low-Emission Residential Fluid-Bed Biomass Combustor | $2,431,050 |
| Ohio State University | Columbus, OH | Simulation-Driven Design Optimization and Automation for Cordwood-Fueled Room Heaters | $2,500,000 |
| Topic 6: Biopower and Products from Urban and Suburban Wastes: North American Multi-University Partnership for Research and Education | |||
| University of Michigan | Ann Arbor, MI | Integrated biochemical and electrochemical technologies (IBET) to convert organic waste to biopower via North American research and educational partnerships | $5,000,000 |
| University of Wisconsin at Madison | Madison, WI | Multi-University Center on Chemical Upcycling of Waste Plastics (CUWP) | $10,000,000 |
| Topic 7: Scalable CO2 Electrocatalysis | |||
| Dioxide Materials | Boca Raton, FL | Electrolyzers For CO2 Conversion from BioSources | $2,500,000 |
| University of Delaware | Newark, DE | Electrochemical Production of Formic Acid from Carbon Dioxide in Solid Electrolytes | $2,497,686 |
| Opus 12 | Berkeley, CA | PEM CO2 Electrolyzer Scaleup to enable MW-Scale Electrochemical Modules | $2,500,000 |
Official notices can be found at EERE Exchange or Grants.gov. To view all current solicitations for the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), see the EERE Funding Opportunities page. This list is for information only—it may not be inclusive of all solicitations. Funding amounts and schedule dates are subject to change.
Submission Deadlines Have Been Extended: Department of Energy Announces up to $25 Million for Plastics Recycling Research and Development
The Bioenergy Technologies Office (BETO) and Advanced Manufacturing Office (AMO) within the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy have issued a joint Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) titled “BOTTLE: Bio-Optimized Technologies to Keep Thermoplastics out of Landfills and the Environment.” This FOA supports the Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Plastics Innovation Challenge, a comprehensive program to accelerate innovations in energy-efficient plastics recycling technologies. The FOA will support high-impact research and development for plastics by developing new plastics that are capable of efficient recyclability and by improving recycling strategies that can break existing plastics into chemical building blocks that can be used to make higher-value products.
In addition, the FOA will seek partners for the newly launched National Laboratory-led BOTTLE consortium, focused on designing new plastics and recycling strategies in collaboration with industry and academia.
Topic Areas include:
- Highly Recyclable or Biodegradable Plastics
- Novel Methods for Deconstructing and Upcycling Existing Plastics
- BOTTLE Consortium Collaborations to Tackle Challenges in Plastic Waste
Learn more about the full FOA on EERE Exchange and Grants.gov, as well as through the BETO Funding Opportunity Page and the DOE press release.
Department of Energy Announces nearly $100 Million for Bioenergy Technologies Research
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced an investment of nearly $100 million in funding for research and development of bioenergy technologies. Issued on behalf of DOE’s Bioenergy Technology Office, topic areas within the FY20 Bioenergy Technologies Multi-Topic Funding Opportunity Announcement support the U.S. bioeconomy by reducing the price of drop-in biofuels, lowering the cost of biopower, and enabling high-value products from biomass or waste resources.
The application process will include two phases: a concept paper submission and a full application submission. Concept papers are due on March 5, 2020 and full applications are due on May 14, 2020.
Learn more about the full funding opportunity announcement on EERE Exchange. Additional sustainable transportation research opportunities can be found here.
New Notice of Intent for Joint Funding Opportunity to Advance DOE’s Plastics Innovation Challenge
The U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) has published a notice of intent to issue a joint Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) titled “BOTTLE: Bio-Optimized Technologies to Keep Thermoplastics out of Landfills and the Environment.” This FOA, jointly funded by the Bioenergy Technologies Office (BETO) and Advanced Manufacturing Office (AMO), supports the Department’s Plastics Innovation Challenge, a comprehensive program to accelerate innovations in energy-efficient plastics recycling technologies. This FOA will support high-impact research and development for plastics by developing new bio-based plastics that are capable of efficient recyclability and developing improved recycling strategies that can break down existing plastics into chemical building blocks that can be used to make higher-value products.
Earlier this year, AMO and BETO jointly funded The Bio-Optimized Technologies to Keep Thermoplastics out of Landfills and the Environment (BOTTLE) Consortium, a National Lab-led seed Consortium established to focus on designing new plastics and recycling strategies. This FOA seeks to extend that effort beyond the Consortium and to utilize the resources BOTTLE has developed through partnerships with industry, universities, and others to advance DOE’s Plastics Innovation Challenge.
Notice of Intent: FY20 Bioenergy Technologies Multi-Topic FOA
The U.S. Department of Energy’s Bioenergy Technologies Office (BETO) published a notice of intent to issue a Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) titled "FY20 Bioenergy Technologies Multi-Topic FOA." The FOA will support high-impact technology research and development (R&D) to enable expansion of the U.S. bioeconomy. This FOA will include the highest priority R&D areas from all five BETO Programs:
- Advanced Algal Systems
- Feedstock Supply and Logistics
- Conversion
- Advanced Development and Optimization
- Strategic Analysis and Crosscutting Sustainability
The FOA supports BETO’s objectives to reduce the minimum fuel selling price of drop-in biofuels, lower the cost of biopower, and enable high-value products from biomass or waste resources.
Learn more about BETO funding opportunities.
2019
Bioenergy Technologies Office Fiscal Year 2019 Multi-Topic Funding Opportunity Announcement Selections – Project Selections
The project descriptions and factual representations provided in this table are those of the selected awardees and do not constitute the views or opinions of the U.S. Department of Energy, its Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, or its Bioenergy Technologies Office. Neither the United States nor the U.S. Department of Energy, nor any of their employees, makes any warranty, express or implied, or assumes any legal liability or responsibility for the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of any information, apparatus, product, or process disclosed, or represents that its use would not infringe privately owned rights. Moreover, references in the tables to any organization, entity, commercial product, process, or service by trade name, trademark, manufacturer, or otherwise, does not constitute or imply its endorsement, recommendation, or favor by the United States Government or the U.S. Department of Energy.
|
Selectee |
Location (city, state) |
Project Title |
Federal Share |
|
Topic Area 1: Cultivation Intensification Processes for Algae |
|||
|
Los Alamos, NM |
Optimizing Selection Pressures and Pest Management to Maximize Algal Biomass Yield (OSPREY) |
$4,999,475 |
|
|
San Diego, CA |
Innovations in Algae Cultivation |
$4,500,000 |
|
|
Golden, CO |
Algal Productivity Enhancements by Rapid Screening and Selection of Improved Biomass and Lipid Producing Phototrophs (APEX) |
$3,936,302 |
|
|
Champaign, IL |
Improving the Productivity and Performance of Large-Scale Integrated Algal Systems for Wastewater Treatment and Biofuel Production |
$3,011,601 |
|
|
Tempe, AZ |
Decision-Model Supported Algal Cultivation Process Enhancement |
$3,500,000 |
|
|
Topic Area 2: Biomass Component Variability and Feedstock Conversion Interface |
|||
|
Bozeman, MT |
Enhanced Feedstock Characterization and Modeling to Facilitate Optimal Preprocessing and Deconstruction of Corn Stover |
$1,300,000 |
|
|
Madison, WI |
WIFT: Single-pass, Weather Independent Fractionation Technology for Improved Property Control of Corn Stover Feedstock |
$1,248,748 |
|
|
Lexington, KY |
Sulfur Profiling in Pine Residues and Its Impact on Thermochemical Conversion |
$1,641,922 |
|
|
North Charleston, SC |
Polymer Products from Lignin Through De-aromatization and COOH Functionalization |
$879,000 |
|
|
West Lafayette, IN |
Modeling Feedstock Performance and Conversion Operations |
$1,378,384 |
|
|
Athens, GA |
Machine Learning Based Modeling Framework to Relate Biomass Tissue Properties With Handling And Conversion Performances |
$1,451,342 |
|
|
University Park, PA |
Characterization of Mechanical Biomass Particle-Particle and Particle-Wall Interactions |
$707,323 |
|
|
Topic Area 3: Efficient Wood Heaters |
|||
|
Baltimore, MD |
Swirl Stove: Swirling Combustion for Efficient Wood Burning |
$998,937 |
|
|
South Bend, IL |
Automated Wood Stove UFEC23 |
$1,019,252 |
|
|
Baltimore, MD |
Fire MAPS - Secure Performance Monitoring and User Alerts System |
$989,644 |
|
|
Topic Area 4: Systems Research of Advanced Hydrocarbon Biofuel Technologies |
|||
|
Pinellas Park, FL |
TRIFTS Catalytic Conversion of Biogas to Drop-in Renewable Diesel Fuel |
$2,327,759 |
|
|
North Salt Lake, UT |
Production of Liquid Hydrocarbons from Biomass Generated Carbon Dioxide |
$1,995,389 |
|
|
Research Triangle Park, NC |
Integrated Reactive Catalytic Fast Pyrolysis System for Advanced Hydrocarbon Biofuels |
$2,400,000 |
|
|
Des Plaines, IL |
Integration of IH2 with the Cool H2 Reformer for the Conversion of Cellulosic Biomass to Drop in Fuel |
$1,276,852 |
|
|
Topic Area 5: Optimization of Bio-Derived Jet Fuel Blends |
|||
|
West Lafayette, IN |
Higher Energy-content Jet Blending Components Derived from Ethanol |
$1,774,214 |
|
|
Boulder, CO |
Cellulosic Derived Advantaged Jet Fuel |
$1,791,048 |
|
|
Irvine, CA |
Production Of Renewable Cycloalkanes From Ethanol For Blending With Jet Fuel To Enhance Energy Density And Material Compatibility And Reduce Particulate Emissions |
$1,434,738 |
|
|
Topic Area 6: Renewable Energy from Urban and Suburban Wastes |
|||
|
Fort Collins, CO |
Electro-Enhanced Conversion of Wet Waste to Products Beyond Methane |
$5,067,538 |
|
|
Topic Area 7: Advanced Bioprocessing and Agile BioFoundry |
|||
|
Berkeley, CA |
Tightly Regulated Separation of Growth and Production in a Contamination-Resistant Two-Chamber System for Robust Continuous Bioprocessing |
$2,468,821 |
|
|
Rolling Hills Estates, CA |
Towards Economical Cell-free Isobutanol Production |
$2,078,605 |
|
|
Berkeley, CA |
Accelerating Polyketide Synthase Engineering for High TRY Production of Biofuels and Bioproducts |
$2,500,000 |
|
|
Seattle, WA |
Developing Multi-Gene CRISPRa/i Programs to Accelerate DBTL Cycles in ABF Hosts Engineered for Chemical Production |
$1,815,906 |
|
|
Topic Area 8: Plastics in the Circular Carbon Economy |
|||
|
Evanston, IL |
ResIn: Responsible Innovation for Highly Recyclable Plastics |
$2,499,999 |
|
|
Goleta, CA |
Recyclable Thermoset Polymers from Lignin Derived Phenols |
$2,000,000 |
|
|
Lowell, MA |
Bioconversion of Heterogeneous Polyester Wastes to High-Value Chemical Products |
$1,500,814 |
|
|
Pullman, WA |
Upcycling of CFRP Waste: Viable Eco-friendly Chemical Recycling and Manufacturing of Novel Repairable and Recyclable Composites |
$1,609,883 |
|
|
Topic Area 9: Rethinking Anaerobic Digestion |
|||
|
Albany, NY |
Novel and Viable Technologies for Converting Wet Organic Waste Streams to High Value Products |
$2,698,542 |
|
|
Pullman, WA |
An Advanced Pretreatment/Anaerobic Digestion (APAD) Technology for Increased Conversion of Sewage Sludge to Bio-Natural Gas in Small-Scale Wastewater Plants of Less Than Five Dry Ton Sewage Sludge/Day |
$2,428,281 |
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Topic Area 10: Reducing Water, Energy, and Emissions in Bioenergy |
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Berkeley, CA |
Multi-Input, Multi-Output Biorefineries to Reduce Greenhouse Gas and Air Pollutant Emissions |
$1,000,000 |
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Fort Collins, CO |
Agent-based Modeling for the Multi-objective Optimization of Energy Production Pathways |
$1,000,000 |
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DOE Announces $79 Million for Bioenergy Research and Development
WASHINGTON, D.C. – On May 3, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced over $79 million in funding for bioenergy research and development including biofuels, bioproducts, and biopower. This funding supports DOE’s goal of providing consumers and businesses with a range of domestic energy options that are affordable, reliable, and secure.
“At DOE, we are focused on expanding America’s energy supply, growing the economy, and enhancing energy security, which will all be furthered by the significant advancements made in bioenergy technologies,” said Under Secretary of Energy Mark W. Menezes. “The funding opportunities announced today will help ensure our nation’s competitive advantage in the emerging bioeconomy and allow us to continue to offer U.S. consumers and businesses more homegrown energy choices.”
The FOA topics will advance DOE’s Bioenergy Technology Office’s (BETO) objectives to reduce the price of drop-in biofuels, lower the cost of biopower, and enable high-value products from biomass or waste resources. Topics areas for this funding opportunity include the following:
Cultivation Intensification Processes for Algae: Develop technologies for outdoor algae systems that increase the harvest yield, reliability and quality of algae.
Biomass Component Variability and Feedstock Conversion Interface: Research to lower the cost and improve the reliability of biomass handling and preprocessing.
Efficient Wood Heaters: Develop technologies to reduce emissions and increase efficiency of wood heaters for residential heating.
Systems Research of Hydrocarbon Biofuel Technologies: Integrate new technologies and processes in experimental prototype systems to improve and verify real-world performance and lower the cost of drop-in biofuels.
Optimization of Biomass-Derived Jet Fuel Blends: Identify and develop cost-competitive drop-in renewable jet fuel with improved energy density and lower particulate matter emissions.
Renewable Energy from Urban and Suburban Wastes: Support academic research and educational programs that focus on strategies to produce bioenergy and bioproducts from urban and suburban waste feedstocks.
Advanced Bioprocessing and Agile BioFoundry: Reduce the time and cost of developing biological processes for biomanufacturing fuels and products through the use of synthetic biology, low capital intensity methods, and continuous production systems.
Plastics in the Circular Carbon Economy: Develop biobased plastics with improved performance and recyclability and lower the cost and energy-intensity of recycling existing plastics through enhanced degradation.
Rethinking Anaerobic Digestion: Develop anaerobic processes or alternative strategies to enhance carbon conversion efficiency and lower costs of smaller scale wet waste systems.
Reducing Water, Energy, and Emissions in Bioenergy: Identify biofuels or bioproducts technologies with the greatest potential for reducing water consumption, energy consumption, and/or emissions relative to existing conventional fuels or products.
This FOA also supports the Water Security Grand Challenge, a White House initiated, DOE-led framework to advance transformational technology and innovation to meet the global need for safe, secure, and affordable water. In particular, this funding will support research and development focused on anaerobic digestion, a technology that can help achieve the Grand Challenge’s goal to double resource recovery from municipal wastewater.
2018
Department of Energy Announces 36 Projects for Bioenergy Research and Development
WASHINGTON, D.C. - On September 4, 2018, the U.S. Department of Energy announced the selection of 36 projects totaling $80 million to support early-stage bioenergy research and development (R&D). This R&D will enable cost-competitive, drop-in renewable hydrocarbon fuels, bio-based products, and power from non-food biomass and waste feedstocks. This work supports the Department of Energy’s (DOE) goal of reducing the cost of bio-based drop-in fuels to $3/gallon by 2022 to continue to provide consumers with affordable, reliable transportation energy choices.
“The selections announced today highlight some of the most innovative and advanced bioenergy technologies that have the potential to produce new sources of reliable and affordable energy for American families and businesses,” said U.S. Secretary of Energy Perry. “Developing all of our domestic energy resources is critical to keeping our nation prosperous and secure.”
Today’s selections stem from four funding opportunities:
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BioEnergy Engineering for Products Synthesis (up to $28 million): 16 selectees will create highly efficient conversion processes to increase the affordability of fuels from biomass and waste feedstocks by improving catalysts and new biological systems, identifying ways to better utilize waste streams like carbon dioxide (CO2) and biosolids, and creating high-value co-products that can improve the economic viability of biofuels production.
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Efficient Carbon Utilization in Algal Systems (up to $15 million): 7 selections will improve the efficiency of carbon utilization and productivity of algal systems either through improving uptake and conversion of waste CO2 emissions—such as from a power plant or industrial facilities—or through the development of new, affordable technologies to capture CO2 directly from ambient air to enhance algal growth.
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Process Development for Advanced Biofuels and Biopower (up to $22 million): 10 selections will research integrated processes for the production of biopower from biosolids and cost-competitive, renewable drop-in biofuels and bioproducts from domestic biomass feedstocks and waste resources.
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Affordable and Sustainable Energy Crops (up to $15 million): 3 selections will conduct early-stage R&D related to the production of affordable and sustainable non-food dedicated energy crops that can be used as feedstocks for the production of biofuels, bioproducts, and biopower.
To learn more about the projects selected today and DOE’s work with industry, academia, and national laboratories, visit the Bioenergy Technologies Office website.
Research Projects to Advance Biofuels, Bioenergy, and Biobased Products
- The University of Tennessee (UT), Knoxville, TN – UT will be developing an integrated biorefinery design that combines the production of liquid fuels and renewable chemicals to verify production of affordable cellulosic ethanol.
- Northwestern University (NU), Evanston, IL – NU will be developing a rapid synthesis of next-generation biofuels and bioproducts from lignocellulosic biomass. The project will employ several strategies to reduce the timeframe of discovering biosynthetic pathways to optimize fuel and chemical production, including bottom-up engineering principles, computational models, and cell-free framework systems.
Both these projects will lower the costs of the production of bio-based fuels, as well as co-products for chemicals and other uses. If successful, both projects will help the Bioenergy Technologies Office to meet its goal of less than $3 per gallon gasoline equivalent for advanced biofuels.
Co-Optimization of Fuels and Engines
- Topic 5a: Multi-Mode Optimized Fuel/Engine System Development: The objective of this area of interest is to develop a co-optimized (engine and fuel) prototype light-duty, multi-cylinder reciprocating engine (minimum 150 horsepower). The first topic area will solicit multidisciplinary industry teaming projects to develop a spark-ignition/compression ignition multimode combustion regime over a broad range of engine operating conditions with a suitable co-optimized fuel. Applicant teams must include: 1) a vehicle or engine manufacturer who has produced at least 20,000 vehicles or a Tier I supplier who has provided major componentry for at least 20,000 engines; and, 2) a fuel manufacturer or fuel supplier.
- Topic 5b: Bioblendstocks to Optimize Mixing Controlled Compression Ignition (MCCI) Engines: The objective of this area of interest is to develop and demonstrate single component or multi-component bioblendstocks for use in medium- and heavy-duty mixing controlled, compression ignition engines blended into a base diesel fuel at no less than 5% by volume that achieves greenhouse gas reductions of at least 50% compared to conventional petroleum-derived diesel. Applicant teams should include university and/or industry members and could include a vehicle or engine manufacturer.
- Successful applicant teams for both topic areas will work closely with the national laboratories and universities that are currently a part of the Co-Optima Initiative. Projects awarded under this FOA will complement ongoing work at the national labs and universities and will enable a deeper engagement with industry.
2017
Advancements in Algal Biomass Yield, Phase 2 (ABY2) Additional Selection
NATIONAL RENEWABLE ENERGY LABORATORY, “REWIRING ALGAL CARBON ENERGETICS FOR RENEWABLES (RACER)”
Integrated Biorefinery Optimization
On September 20, 2017, U.S. Secretary of Energy Rick Perry announced that the Department of Energy (DOE) has selected eight projects to negotiate for up to $15 million in total DOE funding to optimize integrated biorefineries. These projects will work to solve critical research and developmental challenges encountered for the successful scale-up and reliable operations of integrated biorefineries (IBRs), decrease capital and operating expenses, and focus on the manufacture of advanced or cellulosic biofuels and higher-value bioproducts. These investments support the development of bioproducts, a workforce in bioenergy, and help to spur the creation of a sustainable domestic bioeconomy.
The selected projects include the following:
- Thermochemical Recovery International Inc. (Baltimore, Maryland)—Thermochemical Recovery International (TRI) will study and improve feedstock and residual solids handling systems targeted to commercial pyrolysis and gasification reactors. TRI’s work in these systems will promote feedstock flexibility and enable the processing of low-cost feedstock to enhance IBRs’ economic viability.
- Texas A&M AgriLife Research (College Station, Texas)—Texas A&M will work on achieving a multi-stream integrated biorefinery (MIBR), where lignin-containing IBR waste will be fractionated to produce lipid for biodiesel, asphalt binder modifier, and quality carbon fiber. The MIBR will improve IBR sustainability and cost-effectiveness.
- White Dog Labs (New Castle, Delaware)—White Dog Labs’ project will use the residual cellulosic sugars in cellulosic stillage syrup to produce single-cell protein (SCP) for aquaculture feed. Currently, the syrup content is used for biogas production and as the solid fuel for boilers. The SCP is a higher-value product that could be generated from an existing stream and could enhance the economic feasibility of IBRs.
- South Dakota School of Mines (Rapid City, South Dakota)—The South Dakota School of Mines will demonstrate the cost-effective production of biocarbon, carbon nanofibers, polylactic acid, and phenol from the waste streams generated from the biochemical platform technology. These products will generate revenue for IBRs and help lower the fuel cost from these facilities.
- National Renewable Energy Laboratory (Golden, Colorado)—The National Renewable Energy Laboratory will leverage and extend state-of-the-art modeling and simulation tools to develop integrated simulations for feed handling and reactor feeding systems. The experimentally validated simulation toolkit will be generalized to aid in optimizing and de-risking biomass conversion processes that use these common feed handling and reactor feeding units. The toolkit will also provide correlations to adjust optimal operating conditions based on feedstock parameters.
- Clemson University (Clemson, South Carolina)—Clemson University will develop analytical tools to identify an optimal IBR process design for the reliable, cost-effective, sustainable, and continuous feeding of biomass feedstocks into a reactor.
- Purdue University (West Lafayette, Indiana)—Purdue University aims to develop strong, innovative computational and empirical models that rigorously detail the multiphase flow of biomass materials. Purdue University will characterize physical, structural, and compositional properties of biomass feedstocks, and compare results of these models with actual flow behavior of biomass materials within a biorefinery.
- Forest Concepts (Auburn, Washington) —Forest Concepts proposes to develop robust feedstock handling modeling and simulation tools based on systematic analysis. The team will develop and validate a comprehensive computational model to predict mechanical and rheological behavior of biomass flow to enable reliable design of biomass handling systems.