In the United States (US), the Department of Energy (DOE) Bioenergy Technologies Office (BETO) has announced US$29 million in funding to drive research, development, and demonstration (RD&D) of low carbon intensity, purpose-grown energy crops critical to accelerating a clean energy economy.
The funding opportunity announcement (FOA), Regional Resource Hubs for Purpose-Grown Energy Crops, will advance a domestic supply chain of alternative carbon sources necessary to produce biofuels and bioproducts to decarbonize the transportation and industry sectors, as well as innovate and grow the US agricultural industry.
The FOA will support DOE’s Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) Grand Challenge goal of enabling the production of three billion (US) gallons of SAF annually by 2030 and 35 billion gallons per annum by 2050, enough to meet 100 percent of the projected US aviation fuel demand.
It also aligns with the DOE “Clean Fuels & Products Shot”, launched in 2023.
The Clean Fuels & Products Shot focuses on decarbonizing the fuel and chemical industry through alternative sources of carbon to advance cost-effective technologies with a minimum of 85 percent lower greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 2035.
Investing in and transitioning to an equitable bioeconomy is a top priority for the Biden-Harris administration. Ramping up energy crops, such as switchgrass, provides not only a sustainable supply of domestic feedstocks, but the innovation we need to accelerate affordable and reliable clean fuel production to reduce greenhouse gas emissions said Dr Valerie Sarisky-Reed, Director at BETO.
The FOA supports one topic area focused on the advancement of low carbon intensity, purpose-grown energy crops across varied agronomic and geographic landscapes through the generation of data and research findings.
Topic Area 1 includes:
- Subtopic Area 1a: Algae;
- Subtopic Area 1b: Herbaceous Energy Crops;
- Subtopic Area 1c: Intermediate Energy Crops;
- Subtopic Area 1d: Short-Rotation Woody Crops
These focus areas have been identified through the SAF Grand Challenge Roadmap and the FY23 workshop on Deploying Purpose-Grown Energy Crops for SAF as near-term RD&D needs.
Regional Biomass Resource Hub
Applicants selected for funding will become members of the new DOE Regional Biomass Resource Hub Initiative (RBRH), led by Idaho National Laboratory (INL).
INL will coordinate collaboration amongst awardees to share experimental plans, report data, and collectively achieve the funding objectives.
Awardees will be grouped (by Subtopic Area and by logical geographic regions) to coordinate feedstock data standards and procedures and to collectively overcome regional resource mobilization challenges and barriers.
The RBRH groups will also work alongside a wide range of stakeholders, including national laboratories, universities, regional landowners and farmers, and policymakers, among others, to ensure the RBRH is meeting the needs of the industry and communities they serve.
DOE intends to award two to five financial assistance awards in the form of cooperative agreements lasting from four to 10 years under this FOA.
Required concept papers are due by March 14, 2024, and the full application deadline is due by June 13, 2024.
