The U. S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), in collaboration with the U. S. Department of Energy (DOE), announce that up to $9 million in funding will be made available through the Biomass Research and Development Initiative (BRDI) to increase the nation’s energy independence by supporting the development
of bioenergy feedstocks, biofuels, and biobased products.
The projects funded through BRDI—a joint USDA and DOE program—will help develop economically and environmentally sustainable sources of renewable biomass, increase the availability of renewable fuels and biobased products, and diversify our energy portfolio.
Both DOE and USDA have been given statutory authorities to support the development of a biomass-based industry in the United States, under the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008 (FCEA) and the Energy Policy Act of 200 5. USDA and DOE will make up to $9 million available through BRDI in Fiscal Year (FY) 201 7. Applicants will be permitted to address any or all of the following three legislatively mandated technical areas:
(A) feedstocks development, (B) biofuels and biobased products development, and (C) biofuels development analysis.
In support of these goals, USDA and DOE are soliciting applications from all interested parties, including for-profit entities, universities, nonprofits, and national laboratories.
For FY 2017, DOE anticipates funding 1 to 6 awards, and USDA anticipates funding 3 to 14 awards.
Awards are anticipated to range from $500,000 to $2 million per award.
All DOE funding is subject to the availability of annual congressional appropriations.
The full Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) is posted on the EERE eXCHANGE website at https://eere-exchange.energy.gov.
Applications must be submitted through the EERE eXCHANGE website to be considered for award.
The applicant must first register and create an account on the EERE eXCHANGE website.
A User Guide for the EERE eXCHANGE can be found on the EERE website https://eere- exchange.energy.gov/Manuals.aspx after logging in to the system.
Information on where to submit questions regarding the content of the announcement and where to submit questions regarding submission of applications is found in the full FOA posted on the EERE eXCHANGE website.