Process Development for Advanced Biofuels and Biopower Funding Opportunity Announcement | DE FOA 0001926

Opportunity Information: Apply for DE FOA 0001926

The Department of Energy (DOE), through its Golden Field Office, issued a competitive funding opportunity titled "Process Development for Advanced Biofuels and Biopower" (Funding Opportunity Number DE-FOA-0001926) to move promising bioenergy technologies out of the lab and into integrated, engineered processes that can be scaled toward pilot operations. The central aim is to fund projects that test and validate real-world engineering principles and unit operations needed to produce two categories of transportation fuel blendstocks, along with certain waste-to-energy pathways. In practical terms, the FOA targets the gap between scientific proof-of-concept and the kind of process integration, operating data, and engineering design needed for industry to confidently design, build, and run pilot-scale facilities.

The opportunity is organized around three topic areas. Topic Area 1 focuses on drop-in renewable jet fuel blendstocks, meaning fuels intended to be compatible with existing aviation fuel infrastructure and end-use requirements when blended appropriately. Topic Area 2 focuses on drop-in renewable diesel fuel blendstocks, again emphasizing compatibility with existing diesel specifications and infrastructure. Topic Area 3 shifts to biopower and waste-to-energy, specifically encouraging proposals that convert wet waste feedstocks into electricity or into intermediates that can be used to produce biopower. The FOA explicitly calls out wet wastes such as municipal solid waste and biosolids, reflecting an interest in pathways that can manage challenging, high-moisture feedstocks while generating usable energy products.

Across all three topics, DOE is looking for applications that do more than propose isolated experiments. The FOA emphasizes integrated process research and development that connects multiple unit operations, demonstrates how the pieces work together, and produces the operational and engineering information needed for scale-up. The expectation is that applicants will propose clear research, development, and execution plans that support technology verification at an engineering-relevant level, rather than purely exploratory science. The overall theme is de-risking: generating data, validating performance, and proving that a pathway can be engineered into a reliable process.

For projects under Topic Areas 1 and 2 (jet and diesel blendstocks), DOE includes several specific expectations tied to market readiness. Applicants are required to verify that the resulting fuels meet or exceed relevant industry and market specifications, which implies meaningful fuel characterization and performance validation rather than just reporting yields or conversion rates. In addition, these applicants must complete basic engineering packages that support preliminary cost estimation and techno-economic analysis. In other words, the government is not only funding chemistry or conversion performance; it is also pushing teams to produce the early engineering design basis and cost-relevant information that would inform future investment decisions and facility planning.

In terms of award structure and scale, the FOA uses cooperative agreements as the funding instrument, which typically means DOE expects substantial involvement during project execution (for example, active project management, milestones, and federal input). The opportunity falls under the Energy funding activity category (CFDA 81.087). The maximum award amount listed is $3,000,000, and DOE anticipated making about 11 awards under this announcement, indicating a moderately sized portfolio intended to advance multiple pathways or approaches in parallel.

Eligibility is described as unrestricted, meaning a wide range of entity types can apply, subject to any additional clarifications in the full FOA. Administrative compliance requirements are highlighted as non-negotiable. Applicants must be registered in the System for Award Management (SAM) prior to submission and must provide a valid DUNS number in the application; failure to meet these prerequisites could lead to disqualification and the award being made to another applicant. This is a common federal gatekeeping requirement, but the FOA stresses it because incomplete registrations can easily derail otherwise strong technical applications.

The submission process runs through DOE's EERE Exchange portal, which is the official online application system for the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy. The full FOA, detailed instructions, and points of contact for questions are posted on the EERE Exchange website (https://eere-exchange.energy.gov). For this specific opportunity, DOE set a Letter of Intent deadline of May 30, 2018 at 5:00 pm Eastern Time, followed by a full application deadline of June 27, 2018 at 5:00 pm Eastern Time. The FOA was created on May 3, 2018, with the original closing date aligned to the June 27, 2018 submission deadline.

Taken together, this funding opportunity is best understood as an engineering-focused push to validate and integrate advanced biofuel and biopower processes so they can credibly progress to pilot scale. DOE is signaling that successful projects will combine technical performance with practical engineering deliverables: integrated unit operations, verified product quality (for jet and diesel blendstocks), and early-stage engineering documentation that supports cost estimation and techno-economic evaluation.

• The Department of Energy, Golden Field Office in the energy sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Process Development for Advanced Biofuels and Biopower Funding Opportunity Announcement" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 81.087.
• This funding opportunity was created on May 03, 2018.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Jun 27, 2018 Submission Deadline for Letter of Intent 5/30/2018 500pm ET Submission Deadline for Full Applications 06/27/2018 500pm ET. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $3,000,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 11 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Unrestricted (i.e., open to any type of entity above), subject to any clarification in text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility.

Apply for DE FOA 0001926

[Watch] Creating a grant proposal using the step-by-step wizard inside the applicant portal: