DOE Funding Opportunity for Cellulosic Feedstock Systems Development

On March 19, the Department of Energy (DOE) released a Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) for the Feedstock Logistics Industrial Partnership. DOE will make awards for one- to three-year projects, subject to annual appropriations. The partnership is intended to stimulate the development of comprehensive systems to handle the harvesting, collection, preprocessing, transport, and storage of sustainably produced cellulosic feedstocks, which is key to the development of next generation, advanced biofuels. Awards will be given to projects that define, design, fabricate, and demonstrate a comprehensive, industrial-scale feedstocks logistics handling system capable of supplying high impact feedstocks to support production of cellulosic biofuels. ("High impact" feedstocks have the ultimate agronomical sustainable potential for at least 100 million dry metric tonnes per year.) DOE is seeking applications from consortia that include at least one original equipment manufacturer (OEM) of industrial/agricultural equipment used in harvest, collection, preprocessing, transport, and storage of lignocellulosic feedstocks. Other consortia participants would include growers, transport companies, universities, national laboratories, and biorefineries or conversion facilities.