The U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy’s Bioenergy Technologies Office (BETO), has announced three Directed Funding Opportunities (DFO). A DFO funds competitively selected Cooperative Research and Development Agreements between laboratory consortia and partners from industry and academia.
1. The Agile BioFoundry (ABF) National Laboratory consortium is overseeing a DFO to accelerate innovation and adoption of new biomanufacturing approaches, as well as foster growth of the bioeconomy. The DFO is an opportunity for industry partners to utilize ABF capabilities to develop novel microbial hosts and bioproducts, as well as to develop new capabilities and approaches that will advance all aspects of the Design-Build-Test-Learn biomanufacturing cycle
Up to $5,700,000 will be available. ABF anticipates a total of 8 to 15 projects will be selected, with a project duration of two years.
2. The Consortium for Computational Physics and Chemistry (CCPC) integrates experimental and computational capabilities to address real-world complexities and enable the advancement of renewable energy technologies. CCPC is overseeing a DFO to apply their expertise and tools in partnership with external partners to accelerate progress toward these goals.
For this DFO, teams may submit proposals under two topic areas:
- Projects related to biomass feedstock pre-processing, feeding, or deconstruction/conversion
- Projects related to catalyst design and optimization and/or catalytic upgrading processes
Up to $2,500,000 will be made available and CCPC anticipates a total of 2 to 5 projects will be selected with a project duration of two years.
3. The Co-Optimization of Fuels & Engines (Co-Optima) National Laboratory consortium is jointly sponsored by the Bioenergy Technologies Office and Vehicle Technologies Office. Co-Optima focuses on developing new high-performance fuels that, when combined with advanced combustion approaches, can boost engine efficiency and cut emissions. This DFO seeks proposals that overcome key technical challenges to accelerating adoption of new fuel blendstocks from renewable resources, enabling higher efficiency and lower emissions in on-highway vehicles.
For this DFO, topics of interest include:
- Foundational knowledge at the fuel-engine interface
- Applied research and development advancing Co-Optima goals
Selected projects are anticipated to range from $200,000 up to $300,000 of Co-Optima National Laboratory assistance over the project duration of 12–18 months. Up to $2,000,000 will be available and Co-Optima anticipates a total of 7–10 projects will be selected.