US DOE announces $30 million for biofuels research

15 December 2010

US Department of Energy (DOE) is accepting applications for $30 million in total funding for small-scale process integration projects that support the development of advanced biofuels that will be able to replace gasoline or diesel without requiring special upgrades or changes to the vehicle or fueling infrastructure.

The Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) provides up to $30 million over the next three to four years to support as many as five projects. The projects will focus on optimizing and integrating process steps that convert biomass into biofuels and bioproducts that will eventually be used to support hydrocarbon fuels and chemicals. These process improvements could include pretreatment methods that alter the biomass to improve the yield of sugars in subsequent process steps, less costly and more efficient enzymes that produce sugars, and fermentation organisms and catalysts that convert the sugars into fuel and chemical intermediates. Successful applicants will demonstrate the research potential to improve the economics and efficiency of their proposed process.

Applications will be accepted by February 7, 2011.

Source: US DOE