Informational Webinar: Wood Heater Phase 2 Cooperative Research and Development Agreement

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The Wood Heater Phase 2 CRADA informational webinar was held on August 23, 2024 to learn more about the CRADA call, the application process, and national laboratory capabilities. 

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Bioenergy Technologies Office (BETO) funded a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) to accelerate wood heater innovation, reduce wood heater pollutants and develop the next generation of efficient and clean wood heaters. Up to $2 million will be available for Phase 2 of this competitively selected CRADA call, administered by Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) and Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL). 

Approximately 11 million homes in the United States use wood pellets or cordwood for space heating. Although these heaters are considered a renewable energy source, they produce harmful pollutants and contribute to about 7% of the nation’s total annual PM2.5 emissions.

Applicants will work with DOE national laboratories LBNL and BNL to develop a scope of work and budget, and leverage their unique expertise to develop and validate the performance of innovative wood heater technologies. Applicants’ scope of work should include their technology advancement goals, the laboratory’s capabilities being leveraged (e.g., real-time emissions measurements, domain expertise), SMART milestones, and a Go/No-Go decision point. 

Research projects may include:

  • Improving performance of commercial wood heaters through design optimization/modifications.
  • Developing and validating performance of wood heater retrofit devices.
  • Developing and validating performance of post-combustion wood heater technologies (e.g., catalysts, ESPs).
  • Supporting field testing to better quantify heater performance, including advising on data collection of best practices and equipment, interpreting data collected, and understanding how collected data could be used to improve heater performance.

Up to four projects will be selected with a project duration of 12–24 months, and applicants are expected to provide 20% cost share of the requested funding. Concept papers were due September 13, 2024 and final proposals are due November 25, 2024. For more information on how to apply, please visit the Wood Heater Innovation Collaboration or contact woodheater@lbl.gov if you have further questions.