DOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) Inflation Reduction Act Funding for Advanced Biofuels Funding Opportunity
OPPORTUNITY:
EPA has provided funding to the Department of Energy (DOE) to implement the advanced biofuels investments under IRA Section 60108(b). The Bioenergy Technologies Office (BETO) is issuing this Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA). Potential applicants are advised to read the FOA carefully. The EPA’s RFS program administers biofuel requirements for current commercial-scale activities, while BETO supports research in next-generation activities. To evaluate the life cycle impact of a commercial-scale refinery, EPA’s RFS program defines a fuel pathway as a specific combination of (1) feedstock, (2) production process, and (3) fuel type. This FOA is intended to support EPA’s RFS program, and is different in allowable feedstocks and allowable primary fuels, among other things, compared to other recent BETO FOAs.
DESCRIPTION:
BETO focuses on developing technologies that convert domestic lignocellulosic biomass and renewable organic waste resources into affordable low-carbon biofuels and bioproducts that significantly reduce carbon emissions on a life-cycle basis compared to equivalent petroleum-based products. These bioenergy technologies can enable a transition to a clean energy economy, create high-quality jobs, and support rural economies. The research and development (R&D) activities to be funded under this FOA will support the government-wide approach to the climate crisis by driving the innovation that can accelerate the deployment of clean energy technologies, which are critical for climate protection.
This FOA also supports high-impact technology R&D to accelerate the bioeconomy. BETO is focusing on applied RD&D to improve the performance and reduce the cost of biofuel production technologies and scale-up production systems in partnership with industry. By reducing cost and technical risk, BETO can help pave the way for industry to deploy commercial-scale integrated biorefineries and reduce greenhouse gas emissions from hard-to-decarbonize sectors, such as the aviation industry. Additionally, this FOA will reduce risks in processing or co-processing bio intermediates in legacy refinery infrastructure.
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 bio-intermediates, which are feedstocks partially converted at one facility, but are then sent to a separate facility for their final processing into a renewable fuel
ELIGIBLE APPLICANTS:
- Domestic businesses
- Educational institutions
- Nonprofits
- Foreign Entities in limited circumstances, DOE may approve a waiver to allow a foreign entity to participate as a prime recipient or subrecipient
- State and local governmental entities, and federally recognized American Indian Tribes and Alaska Native entities
MATCHING/COST SHARING FUNDS:
The cost share must be at least 20% of the total project costs for research and development projects. The cost share must come from non-federal sources, unless otherwise allowed by law.
FUNDING AVAILABLE AND APPLICATION WINDOW:
FUNDING AVAILABILITY: $9.4 million
APPLICATION DEADLINE: Submission Deadline for Concept Papers: 03/22/2024; Submission Deadline for Full Applications: 05/24/2024