/>iThe U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Bioenergy Technologies Office (BETO) announced on December 16, 2024, its intent to fund research and development (R&D) projects in two priority areas, sustainable propane and renewable chemicals, and algal system cultivation and preprocessing:
- Sustainable Propane and Renewable Chemicals (SPARC) Funding Opportunity: According to BETO, producing chemicals and propane/liquid petroleum gas (LPG) from domestic renewable feedstock resources could help fortify domestic supply chains, advance the sustainability of the industry by increasing energy efficiency and reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and result in lower energy costs for householders. BETO expects to release the SPARC notice of funding opportunity (NOFO) in January 2025 and states that it could include up to $23 million in federal funding for the following topic areas:
- Topic Area 1: Biobased Chemicals; and
- Topic Area 2: Biobased Propane/LPG.
- Maximizing Algal System Yield (MASY) Funding Opportunity: According to BETO, “[a]lgae, an abundant and renewable biofuel source, have unique properties that can be converted to produce biofuels and bioproducts reducing net emissions from domestic transportation and industry.” The MASY funding opportunity will address the technical barriers limiting the expansion of algae as a feedstock by focusing on cultivation and preprocessing R&D to advance development of innovative algae technologies that can support algae developers and bring new bioproducts to market. BETO expects to release the MASY NOFO in January 2025 and notes that it “could include up to $10 million in federal funding.”
The SPARC and MASY funding opportunities support government-wide targets of DOE’s Clean Fuels and Products ShotTM and Sustainable Aviation Fuel Grand Challenge. They also align with BETO’s strategic goals to produce fuels and chemicals from domestic biomass resources and to advance algal systems that will grow domestic energy supply chains, expand access to renewable feedstocks, and support the U.S. bioeconomy. BETO states that it “envisions awarding multiple financial assistance awards for R&D activities for each of the SPARC and MASY NOFOs in the form of cooperative agreements, lasting approximately three years.”
