DOE to hold webinar on $61.4 million FOA for biofuels on April 16

The U.S. Department of Energy’s Bioenergy Technologies Office has announced it will host a webinar on April 16 that will be of interest to those who may apply to topic area one of the agency’s recently announced $61.4 million funding opportunity announcement (FOA) for biofuel and bioenergy projects.

The FOA includes five topic areas. The first is the scale-up of biotechnologies, including support for pre-pilot, pilot and demonstration projects for biofuels and bioproducts. The second topic area focuses on affordable, clean cellulosic sugars for high yield conversion; while the third focuses on separation to enhance biomass conversion; the fourth is dedicated to residential wood heaters; and the fifth focuses on renewable natural gas (RNG).  

The April 15 webinar focuses specifically on the first topic area, which is expected to account for roughly half of the funds awarded under the FOA, or approximately $30.28 million.

For topic area one pre-pilot projects, allowable feedstocks include lignocellulosic feedstocks, algae, organic wet waste, sorted municipal solid waste (MSW), food waste, biogas and waste carbon dioxide. Grain starch and oilseed crops are also eligible for pilot and demonstration-scale projects. Allowable primary products include sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), renewable diesel, sustainable marine fuels and bioproducts.

The FOA indicates that projects selected under the first topic area may leverage first-generation biorefinery infrastructure, supply chains, and resources to integrate technologies to produce fuels from grain starch. Projects may also leverage other existing infrastructure from sister industries, including but not limited to petrochemical and pulp and paper. In addition, projects may leverage certain U.S.-produced oilseed crops.

The DOE has asked webinar attendees to submit question on topic area one prior to the start of the event. Slides presented during the webinar will be available online following the event. Additional information, including a registration link, is available on the DOE website.