Energy Dept. Flags Intent to Fund Biofuel, Bioproducts Research
WASHINGTON — The Department of Energy’s Bioenergy Technologies Office on Monday announced its intent to issue funding to support “high impact” research and development in two priority areas.
The first is sustainable propane and renewable chemicals. In this case the funding opportunity would support R&D of domestic chemicals and fuels from biomass and waste resources to help secure domestic supply chains and support the growth of rural economies.
Together, these would grow the nation’s competitiveness in the biotechnology and biomanufacturing industries, the department said.
The second is algal system cultivation and preprocessing. Here the department would support applied algal system R&D to improve the affordable production of biofuels and bioproducts.
Funding Opportunity 1
The U.S. is currently the world’s second-largest chemicals producer, with the chemical industry directly employing over half a million people.
In addition, 4.2% of U.S. households and 7.8% of Midwest homes use propane or liquid petroleum gas as their primary heating fuel, with rural households using 80% of all domestic propane consumption.
Producing chemicals and propane/LPG from domestic renewable feedstock resources could help fortify domestic supply chains, advance the sustainability of the industry by increasing energy efficiency and reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and, ultimately, result in lower energy costs for householders.
The SPARC notice of funding opportunity is expected to be released in January 2025, and could include up to $23 million in federal funding.
Funding Opportunity 2
According to the Department of Energy, R&D on advanced algal systems presents an opportunity to sustainably expand biomass resource potential here in the United States.
Algae, an abundant and renewable biofuel source, have unique properties that can be converted to produce biofuels and bioproducts, reducing net emissions from domestic transportation and industry, the department said.
While algal systems can be highly productive, there are technical barriers that limit the expansion of algae as a domestic bioenergy feedstock.
The Maximizing Algal System Yield funding opportunity aims to address these challenges by focusing on algal system cultivation and preprocessing R&D to advance affordable and reliable development of innovative algae technologies that can support algae developers bringing these new bioproducts to market.
The potential Maximizing Algal System Yield funding could include up to $10 million in federal funding and is also expected to be released in January 2025.
The two planned funding opportunities support government-wide targets of DOE’s Clean Fuels and Products Shot and Sustainable Aviation Fuel Grand Challenge.
They also align with the Bioenergy Technologies Office’s strategic goals to produce fuels and chemicals from domestic biomass resources and to advance algal systems that will grow domestic energy supply chains, expand access to renewable feedstocks, and support the U.S. bioeconomy.
The Bioenergy Technologies Office envisions awarding multiple financial assistance awards for R&D activities for each of the funding opportunities in the form of cooperative agreements, lasting approximately three years.
Additional information on program requirements can be found here.
Dan can be reached at [email protected] and @DanMcCue
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