The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced on September 4, 2024, that its Bioenergy Technologies Office (BETO) is overseeing a call for industry partnerships to connect industry stakeholders with the capabilities of the Feedstock-Conversion Interface Consortium (FCIC). According to DOE, the funding opportunity will provide resources that allow partners to collaborate with FCIC researchers to address the cost and risk impacts of feedstock and process variability across the bioenergy and bioproducts value chain. Research areas may include biomass supply, handling, transport, storage, preprocessing, and initial conversion. To maximize the likelihood of near-term impact for industrial partners, FCIC seeks to fund projects that leverage existing capabilities within the consortium rather than projects that require the development of new capabilities. The Industry Partnership Call will have three topic areas:

• Topic Area 1 is intended to partner industry stakeholders with one or more FCIC partner national laboratories via a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA);
• Projects in Topic Area 2 are intended to provide rapid technical assistance to an industry stakeholder from one FCIC partner national laboratory with relevant capabilities; and
• Topic Area 3 focuses on supporting current pilot, demonstration, or commercial scale biorefineries with process design or operational troubleshooting support from one or more FCIC partner national laboratories.

The deadline to submit an intent to propose a project is November 1, 2024, and final proposals are due December 6, 2024. An informational webinar will be held September 16, 2024, to provide details about the Industry Partnership Call, the application process, and FCIC capabilities. The webinar is free and open to the public.