Grants / Department of Energy / Golden Field Office

DE-FOA-0002636: FY22 BETO Waste Feedstocks and Conversion R&D

Closed Closed June 7, 2022 Opportunity DE-FOA-0002636 ☆ Save

This grant is closed. A newer notice from the same program is open now: Accelerating Scale-up and Pre-piloting of Emerging Chemical Technologies (ASPECT) (DE-FOA-0003647). Status: Closes December 1, 2026 (24 days left). It is in our archive of Golden Field Office notices from 2022.

• Award ceiling$2.5 million
• Award floor$500,000
• Total funding$34.5 million
• Expected awards27
• Cost sharingRequired
• Funding typeCooperative Agreement

Key dates

Who can apply

This opportunity was open to nonprofits, colleges and universities, state and local governments, tribes, small businesses, businesses and individuals.

For All Topic Areas, DOE/NNSA and non-DOE/NNSA Federally Funded Research and Development Centers (FFRDCs) are restricted from applying for funding as a Prime Recipient but are eligible to participate as a Subrecipient. Each FFRDC is permitted to participate as a Subrecipient with effort equivalent to up to 50% of the total estimated cost of the project; however, in aggregate, total FFRDC effort shall not exceed 50% of the total estimated cost of the project. For Topic Area 4 (Community Scale Resource and Energy Recovery from Organic Wastes), including both Subtopic areas: Applications will be accepted only from the following eligible prime applicants: States (including the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Virgin Islands, American Samoa, and Northern Mariana Islands), local, Tribal, intrastate government agencies and instrumentalities, and non-profit organizations that are not 501(c)(4) organizations engaged in lobbying activities.

More grants for nonprofits, colleges and universities, state and local governments, tribes, small businesses, businesses, individuals.

Is this a realistic fit?

• Past Renewable Energy Research and Development awards averaged $2.8 million; this notice allows up to $2.5 million per award.
• Most of the program's money (30% over five years) went to colleges and universities.
• The notice requires cost sharing or matching funds, so you must contribute part of the project cost.

What the grant funds

Amendment 000002 - The purpose of this amendment is to modify Subtopic Area 2B Metrics to replace “reduction in variability” with “extension of performance”. And under the third bullet in Subtopic Area 2b Specific Requirements, replace “variability” with “duration”. See FOA DE-FOA-0002636/000002 for details. Amendment 000001 - The purpose of this amendment is to modify Appendix G to correct an error to allow the following feedstocks for Topic Area 3: Syngas (derived from other allowable feedstocks). See FOA DE-FOA-0002636/000001 for details. This FOA (Funding Opportunity Announcement) supports two priority areas in the Bioenergy Technologies Office (BETO) research and development (R&D) portfolio. The first of these priority areas addresses new strategies for energy and resource recovery from waste streams. Waste streams including municipal solid waste, animal manure, wastewater residuals and other organic wastes have been identified as a key feedstock for the production of biofuels and bioproducts. These wastes represent significant environmental liabilities in the forms of fugitive methane emissions, air and water quality impacts, and odors, amongst others. These wastes also disproportionately are cited in disadvantaged communities leading to a multitude of health impacts on the surrounding populations. There are also significant costs associated with the management of these waste streams including treatment, hauling, and disposal or tipping fees. These economic factors make these waste streams an economic liability to the communities managing them but also a cost-advantaged feedstock for the production of biofuels and bioproducts. The second priority area addressed by this FOA targets improved organisms and inorganic catalysts. BETO’s Conversion R&D Program has identified process robustness as a key challenge that must be addressed prior to scale-up. This includes the development of more robust organisms and catalytic processes for the conversion of sustainable feedstocks and intermediates into biofuels and bioproducts. Topic Area 2 of this FOA (including subtopics 2a and 2b) seeks technologies to improve the economic viability of microbial production processes by improving the productivity and robustness of the engineered microorganisms. Topic Area 3 focuses on inorganic catalyst development and investigating catalyst robustness and the mitigation of negative impacts or impurities found in bio-derived streams.

Category: Energy.

Applying now

This notice no longer takes applications. Apply under the newer notice, DE-FOA-0003647, which is open now.

The notice on Grants.gov keeps its full text and attachments, which is useful for planning a resubmission.