Author: Carrie Cox

The Department of Energy’s ARPA-E has announced up to $25 million in funding for the MacroAlgae Research Inspiring Novel Energy Resources (MARINER) program. 

The program will focus on developing advanced cultivation technologies that enable the cost and energy efficient production of macroalgal biomass in the ocean at a scale suitable as feedstock for the production of fuels and chemicals.

The deadline to submit a Concept Paper for MARINER is 5 p.m. ET on February 14, 2017.  

Additional information, including the full FOA and how to find project teaming partners, is available on ARPA-E’s online application portal.

 

The U.S. Department of Energy Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy’s (EERE’s) Bioenergy Technologies Office announced a funding opportunity announcement (FOA) of up to $8 million, subject to appropriations, for innovative technologies and approaches to help advance bioenergy and bioproducts from algae. The FOA is meant to help develop productivity-enhancing algal biology technologies that can enable doubling the current state of technology for seasonal algal biomass productivities.

This FOA, entitled “Productivity Enhanced Algae and Tool-Kits,” has two topic areas: (1) algal strain improvements and (2) algal cultivation biology improvements. This FOA will allow the selection of a variety of projects and approaches that overcome species-specific, ecological, and practical challenges to improved algal productivity and biomass composition—two key metrics in achieving high fuel yields.  

Learn more about this funding opportunity and apply on the EERE Exchange.

The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) is stepping up its support for programs that can include algae-based solutions. The agency  is launching a new water protection program called Clean Lakes, Estuaries and Rivers (CLEAR), which includes assistance with the cost of building bioreactors that can filter nitrates and other nutrients from cropland. CLEAR may cover up to 90 percent of the cost to install these new practices through incentives and cost-share.

Early estimates indicate that CLEAR could help to reduce nitrate runoff by as much as 40 percent over traditional conservation methods.

More information can be found in USDA’s press release. 

Here’s another notice from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy that will be of interest to ABO members. The notice is an intent to issue a funding opportunity announcement (FOA) entitled “Integrated Biorefinery Optimization,”  targeting research and development to “increase the performance efficiencies of biorefineries resulting in continuous operation and production of biofuels, bioproducts, and biopower at prices competitive with fossil-derived equivalents.”

The areas of interest that the FOA is targeting will likely include waste products, industrial separations within an integrated biorefinery, analytical modeling of solid materials and handling of solid materials.

The deadline for applications has not yet been issued (as of 12/13/2017).

For more details, visit the U.S. Department of Energy’s website.

We have another potential algae funding announcement to share. The U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) intends to issue a funding opportunity announcement (FOA) to support algae innovations.

The FOA, entitled Productivity Enhanced Algae and Tool-Kits (PEAK), is focused on innovations that will contribute to cost reductions in the production of algal biofuels. Specifically, they are looking for innovation in biomass productivity, biomass composition, predation and pathogen resistance, halotolerance, heat and cold tolerance and high-intensity light tolerance.

The FOA will be divided into two areas of interest: strain development and cultivation improvement.

The purpose of the notice of intent is to provide interested parties with advance notice of EERE’s intent to issue the FOA shortly. Notably, the funding opportunity is for up to $8 million.

For more details, visit the EERE website.