On December 11, 2017, the Feedstock-Conversion Interface Consortium (FCIC) announced its intent to issue a Directed Funding Opportunity (DFO) aimed at accelerating innovation and adoption of new practices and technologies to determine the root cause of biomass handling failures and designing solutions.  FCIC is a collaborative network of eight DOE national laboratories dedicated to understanding and addressing technical risks in developing and scaling up biomass harvest, storage, preprocessing, and conversion technologies.

The DFO is open to industrial and academic partners interested in collaborating with research experts and leveraging unique technology capabilities at the DOE national laboratories to address the most pressing industrial feedstock handling, preprocessing, and conversion challenges related to feedstock chemical, physical, and mechanical variability.  FCIC anticipates awarding between $500,000 and $2,000,000 for a project duration of 12 to 18 months.

FCIC plans to issue the DFO through its website.