Funding-DOE biorefinery demonstration grants; deadline Feb. 9, 2009

Limited Submission - U. S. Dept. of Energy – Demonstration of Integrated Biorefinery Operations

The Department of Energy’s Golden Field Office announces a cooperative agreement to select integrated biorefinery projects that have the necessary technical and economic performance data that validates readiness for the next level of scale up. In general, “integrated biorefineries” employ various combinations of feedstocks and conversion technologies to produce a variety of products, with the main focus on producing biofuels. Co- or by-products can include chemicals (or other materials) and heat and power. For the purpose of this FOA, the term “integrated biorefinery” is a facility that uses a feedstock meeting the requirements described in this FOA to produce a biofuel as the “primary product” and may produce other products including chemicals (or other materials) and heat and power. These integrated biorefineries would produce, as their primary product, a liquid transportation fuel to support meeting the advanced biofuels portion of the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 (EISA) Renewable Fuel Standards (RFS)..

DOE encourages applications that propose novel or breakthrough technologies and those that include appropriate collaboration between and among industry, academia, and DOE National Laboratories, FFRDCs (Federally Funded Research and Development Centers) or other government-funded facilities.

This FOA contains two topic areas with the purposes of promoting flexibility for the applicants, encouraging competition, allowing for reasonable levels of scale up, and in recognition that the diverse technologies likely to be submitted may require different volumes to be technically feasible.

Topic Area 1 – applicant’s minimum cost share 30%
Topic Area 1 requests applicants to operate an integrated pilot-scale biorefinery in order to validate the technology. For the purpose of this FOA, a pilot-scale biorefinery project is defined as a facility with a throughput of no less than one (1) dry tonne of feedstock per day. The proposed biorefinery must be located within the United States and use feedstock from a domestic source. The focus of this topic is to validate the performance of the proposed technology and obtain operational information, so, in lieu of constructing a new facility, the applicant may propose the use of an existing pilot-scale biorefinery. Applicants may propose constructing new facilities or modifications to an existing facility (including adding equipment or modules) where it is economically and technically advantageous to do so.

Topic Area 2 – applicant’s minimum cost share 50%
Topic Area 2 requests that applicants design, construct and operate an integrated demonstration-scale biorefinery to validate the technology. The proposed demonstration-scale biorefinery must be designed and constructed for a throughput of at least fifty (50) dry tonnes of feedstock per day. The proposed biorefinery must be located within the United States and use feedstock from a domestic source. The objective of this topic is to support demonstration-scale projects that will validate key process metrics and provide continuous operational data at the scale needed to lower the technical risks associated with the development of a viable future commercial plant. The applicant may propose constructing a new facility or making modifications to an existing facility (including adding equipment or modules) where it is both economically and technically advantageous to do so.

Addition details are provided in the full announcement: http://e-center.doe.gov/iips/faopor.nsf/UNID/63F9F91D2EA7865A85257527005EC91A/$file/GO99038_FOA_FINAL1.pdf

Because the Department of Energy only allows one application per institution, the University of Kentucky has established an internal selection process. Individuals interested in submitting to this program are to send the following information electronically to the Office of the Vice President for Research at vpr@email.uky.edu and a copy to their Associate Dean for Research by Monday, February 9, 2009:

• Names and departments of the Project Director/Principal Investigator, key personnel, and collaborating institutions
• Project narrative (2-3 pages) – Specify if project addresses Topic 1 or Topic 2; project objectives, description including methods, and potential impact
• Estimated cost of the project (identify potential source of the required match)

The Vice President for Research will appoint a committee to review this material and make a recommendation. All applicants will be notified in time to prepare and submit the required Letter of Intent by February 20, 2009 and the full application and supporting material electronically through Grants.gov for the April 30, 2009 deadline.