The U.S. Departments of Energy (DOE) and Agriculture (USDA) announced up to $25 million in funding for research and development of technologies and processes to produce biofuels, bioenergy, and high-value biobased products.
“A robust biofuels industry--focused on the next generation of biofuels--is critical to reducing greenhouse gas emissions, reducing our addiction to foreign oil and putting Americans back to work,” Secretary of Energy Steven Chu said.
USDA and DOE issued a joint funding opportunity announcement (FOA) for several types of projects aimed at increasing the availability of alternative renewable fuels and biobased products.
The FOA will fund projects in the following three technical areas specified in the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act (FCEA) of 2008:
- Feedstocks development
- Biofuels and biobased products development
- Biofuels development analysis
Award amounts are planned to range from $1 million to up to $5 million with project periods up to four years, subject to annual appropriations.
Eligible applicants include institutions of higher education, national laboratories, federal research agencies, state research agencies, private sector entities, non-profit organizations, or a consortium of two or more of those entities.
The closing date for pre-applications, which must be submitted electronically, is March 6, 2009. A minimum recipient cost-share of at least 20% of total project cost for research and development projects and 50% of total project cost for demonstration projects is required.
The FOA is available at the link below.
