Funding-NSF – Energy for Sustainability; February 20, 2014

Agency Name

NSF 

Description

This program supports fundamental research and education that will enable innovative processes for the sustainable production of electricity and transportation fuels. Processes for sustainable energy production must be environmentally benign, reduce greenhouse gas production, and utilize renewable resources. Current interest areas in sustainable energy technologies are highlighted below.

NOTE: For proposals involving any aspect of chemistry, including but not limited to biochemistry or physical chemistry, consider making proposal submissions to this program (7644) with the Proposal Title as: ‘SusChEM: Name of Your Proposal'. See SusChEM - New NSF Emphasis Area. Likewise for proposals involving sustainable engineering.

Biomass Conversion, Biofuels & Bioenergy. Photosynthetic processes used by plants or algae use sunlight to convert atmospheric CO₂ to energy-rich metabolites (carbohydrates, lipids, or hydrocarbons) which can be processed into transportation fuels. Fundamental research on innovative approaches for the intensification of biofuel and bioenergy processes is an emphasis area of this program. Specific areas of interest include: biological, thermochemical, or thermocatalytic conversion of lignocellulosic biomass to biofuels beyond cellulosic ethanol; microbial fuel cells for direct production of electricity from renewable carbon sources; process-based, scalable approaches for the biological or bio-mimetic generation of electricity directly from sunlight; hydrogen production from autotrophic and heterotrophic microorganisms; hydrocarbons and lipids from autotrophic or heterotrophic microorganisms.

Photovoltaic Solar Energy. Solar photovoltaic (PV) devices harvest and convert sunlight directly to electricity. Fundamental research on innovative processes for the fabrication and theory-based characterization of future PV devices is an emphasis area of this program. Specific areas of interest include: nano-enabled PV devices containing nanostructured semiconductors, plasmonic materials, photonic structures, or conducting polymers; earth-abundant and environmentally benign materials for photovoltaic devices; photocatalytic or photoelectrochemical processe for the splitting of water into H₂ gas, or for the reduction of CO₂ to liquid or gaseous fuels. The generation of thermal energy by solar radiation is not an area supported by this program, but will be considered by the Thermal Transport Processes program within CBET.

Wind Energy. Fundamental engineering research, supported by modeling and simulation studies, that leads to new processes to efficiently harness wind energy for the production of electrical power is an interest area of this program. Research that focuses on materials science issues associated with wind energy systems will not be considered by this program. Projects involving fluid mechanics components as part of a systems approach to wind energy should be submitted to this program; projects focused on new computational fluid mechanics modeling should be submitted to the Fluid Dynamics program.

Advanced Batteries for Transportation. Radically new battery systems or breakthroughs based on existing systems can move the US rapidly toward a more sustainable transportation future. The focus is on high-energy density and high-power density batteries suitable for transportation applications. Advanced systems such as lithium-air, sodium-ion, as well as lithium-ion with new cathode chemistries are appropriate. Work on commercially available systems such as lead-acid and nickel-metal hydride will not be considered by this program.

Note: Fuel-cell projects previously submitted to this program should be directed to other CBET programs, depending on emphasis: electrocatalysis (Catalysis and Biocatalysis); membranes (Separations and Bioseparations); systems (Process and Reaction Engineering).

The duration of unsolicited awards is typically three years. The average annual award size for the program is $100,000. Proposals requesting a substantially higher amount than this, without prior consultation with the Program Director, may be returned without review.

Innovative proposals outside of these specific interest areas can be considered. However, prior to submission, it is recommended that the PI contact the Program Director to avoid the possibility of the proposal being returned without review.

Announcement Number: PD-14-7644

Due Date: Feb 20, 2014

Link to Full Announcement

http://www.nsf.gov/funding/pgm_summ.jsp?pims_id=501026

Contact Information

NSF grants.gov support
grantsgovsupport@nsf.gov