The US Department of Agriculture (USDA), in collaboration with the US Department of Energy (DOE), announced June 5 that up to US$9 million in funding will be made available through the Biomass Research and Development Initiative (BRDI) to "increase the nation’s energy independence" by supporting the development of bioenergy feedstocks, biofuels, and biobased products.
According to a statement, the projects funded through BRDI—a joint USDA and DOE program—will help develop economically and environmentally sustainable sources of renewable biomass, increase the availability of renewable fuels and biobased products and diversify the US energy portfolio.
Applicants will be permitted to address any or all of the following three legislatively mandated technical areas:
- (A) feedstocks development
- (B) biofuels and biobased products development
- (C) biofuels development analysis
For Fiscal Year 2017, DOE anticipates funding 1 to 6 awards, and USDA anticipates funding 3 to 14 awards. Anticipated award size ranges from US$500 000 to US$2 million per award. All DOE funding is subject to the availability of annual congressional appropriations.
Full request for applications and details can be found at the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) under reference number DE-FOA-0001637. Concept papers are due by July 7, 2017, and full applications are due by September 22, 2017.
