Pete HahnloserThe U.S. Department of Energy’s Bioenergy Technologies Office (BETO) has released a Notice of Intent (NOI) to offer two funding opportunities for research and development (R&D) projects in sustainable propane and renewable chemicals, as well as algal system cultivation and preprocessing.
The proposed Sustainable Propane and Renewable Chemicals (SPARC) program is designed to support R&D efforts focused on producing domestic chemicals and fuels from biomass and waste resources, strengthening domestic supply chains, boosting rural economies and enhancing the nation’s biotechnology and biomanufacturing competitiveness. Meanwhile, the planned Maximizing Algal System Yield (MASY) funding initiative seeks to advance applied R&D on algal systems to make the production of biofuels and bioproducts more cost-effective.
SPARC
The chemical sector plays a vital role in domestic manufacturing, contributing to the production of more than 96% of U.S. goods and directly employing more than half a million workers. Additionally, propane or liquid petroleum gas (LPG) serves as the primary heating fuel for 4.2% of U.S. households and 7.8% of homes in the Midwest, with rural households accounting for 80% of domestic propane consumption.
Domestic renewable feedstocks to produce chemicals and propane/LPG could strengthen supply chains, enhance industry sustainability through improved energy efficiency and lower greenhouse gas emissions, and reduce energy costs for households.
The SPARC Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) will potentially offer up to $23 million across two focus areas:
- Biobased Chemicals – Support the development and adoption of innovative methods to produce value-added chemicals from biomass. Priority will be given to chemical products generated in significant volumes from biomass and waste feedstocks. BETO may emphasize interest in 3-hydroxypropionic acid derived from whole-kernel corn feedstock, using existing fermentation infrastructure and hybrid technologies that combine biological and chemical processes.
- Biobased Propane/LPG – Produce sustainable liquefied propane and petroleum gases from a range of biomass and waste resources, including municipal waste, agricultural residues, forest resources, fats, oils and grease. Promising gaseous conversion methods are also encouraged, focusing on pathways that transform intermediates such as biogas, carbon dioxide and syngas into LPG. These readily available intermediates present near-term opportunities for innovation and deployment.
MASY
Algae, a plentiful and renewable biofuel source, possesses unique properties that enable it to be used in the production of biofuels and bioproducts, reducing net emissions from transport and industry. Despite their high productivity, technical challenges currently limit the scalability of algae as a domestic bioenergy feedstock, which the MASY funding opportunity will address by supporting R&D in algal system cultivation and preprocessing. This initiative seeks to foster the development of cost-effective algae technologies, enabling developers to bring new bioproducts to market.
The proposed MASY NOFO could offer up to $10 million in federal funding.
Grant details
BETO plans to provide multiple awards for R&D activities under both the SPARC and MASY NOFOs through cooperative agreements lasting around three years. Details on applicant eligibility and registration requirements are available in the NOI on EERE Exchange. Additional information, including full eligibility criteria, can be found in the complete solicitation on Grants.gov.
BETO also intends to create a Teaming Partner List if either NOFO is issued. A single list will serve both potential NOFOs, including a field to specify the relevant NOFO and Topic Area. This Teaming Partner List, available on EERE Exchange, will be updated periodically until the application period closes to include new Teaming Partners who have submitted their information.
Photo courtesy Robert Couse- Baker, CC BY 2.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
