This Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) will address research and development (R&D) challenges that were identified at a stakeholder workshop held in December 2011 called “Conversion Technologies for Advanced Biofuels” (CTAB) and from a Request for Information (RFI) conducted in November 2012. This FOA will focus on moving knowledge and understanding of basic or fundamental principles observed at Technical Readiness Level (TRL) 1 into practical, applied research and development at TRLs 2-3 or beyond. The results of the experimental data produced at TRLs 2-3 should validate the researcher’s analytical predictions and lead to inventions or innovations that help overcome key technical barriers to improved yield and economic feasibility of producing biofuels via thermochemical, direct liquefaction pathways (i.e. fast pyrolysis, ex situ and in situ catalytic fast pyrolysis, hydropyrolysis, hydrothermal liquefaction, and solvent liquefaction).
Specifically, this FOA will focus on three barriers repeatedly identified at CTAB and in the RFI: 1) carbon efficiency: developing selective fractionation and separation systems in bio-oil processing; 2) hydrogen efficiency: improving H2 production, use, and transfer in biomass liquefaction and bio-oil upgrading; and 3) separations efficiency: developing technologies for use and mitigation of the aqueous fraction of bio-oil. The experimental data and technology innovations or inventions produced from this research are crucial to realizing the Office of the Biomass Program’s goal of producing bio-oils with desirable qualities for making hydrocarbon transportation fuels in the gasoline, diesel, and jet range at less than $3 per gallon (gasoline equivalent) and that will enable technologies that contribute to the EISA Section 202 RFS goals. In addition to accelerating the commercial scale deployment of biofuels that can contribute to the RFS and beyond, these technologies will enable an economic opportunity for the United States of America. With the ability to produce more than one product, development of these technologies also provides a diversification of risk for the biofuels industry.
Successful applicants will provide an R&D work-plan to address the technical barriers that must be overcome to produce a hydrocarbon fuel blendstock at $3.00/gallon or less (gasoline equivalent), and demonstrate the potential to transfer findings to pilot- and demonstration-scale systems. The Department of Energy (DOE) expects to make 3–5 awards through this FOA. Awards will be in the $3 million range for the total lifetime of the project, and projects are expected to last for up to three years. DOE anticipates that up to $12 million in funding will be available for projects resulting from this FOA.