EPA, Energy Dept. Announce Availability of $9.4M in Funding for Biofuel Projects
WASHINGTON — The Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Energy are making $9.4 million available to support “high impact” technology projects in the advanced biofuels space.
The funding is being made available through the Inflation Reduction Act and will be administered by the Energy Department’s Bioenergy Technologies Office.
In broad strokes, the money is intended for projects that will improve the performance and reduce the cost of biofuel production technologies, scale up production systems in partnership with industry and accelerate the nation’s bioeconomy.
U.S. businesses, educational institutions and nonprofits are all invited to apply for a portion of the funding.
Applicants will be required to explain how their proposed project meets EPA’s Renewable Fuel Standard definition of an advanced biofuel — essentially any fuel that’s derived from cellulosic or advanced feedstocks.
This may include sugarcane or sugar beet-based fuels; biodiesel made from vegetable oil or waste grease; and renewable diesel co-processed with petroleum.
The DOE and EPA envision awarding one or more financial assistance awards in the form of cooperative agreements lasting approximately 36 months.
Applicants must submit a concept paper to the Bioenergy Technologies Office by 5 p.m. EST on March 22, and full applications by 5 p.m. on May 24.
The FOA will fund selected projects in two priority areas:
- Projects aimed at scaling up key process steps in advanced biofuel production.
- Projects to develop and pilot test key technology innovations for processing biointermediates, which are feedstocks that have been partially converted at one facility but are then sent to a separate facility for their final processing into a renewable fuel.
The full funding opportunity announcement can be found here.
The solicitation with additional information on applicant eligibility is also available on Grants.gov.
An informational webinar for potential applicants will be held on Monday, March 4, at 3:00 p.m. Eastern time.
During this webinar, panelists will give a presentation on the topic areas and application process.
The webinar is optional, and attendance is not a requirement to submit a concept paper. After it runs, a recording of it will be posted to the funding opportunity page.
Dan can be reached at [email protected] and @DanMcCue
