The US Department of Energy’s Bioenergy Technologies Office (BETO) in the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) and the Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management’s (FECM) Carbon Utilization Program has announced up to US$19 million in federal funding for the advancement of technologies that utilize waste carbon to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and produce reliable feedstocks for biotechnologies.
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The funding opportunity announcement (FOA), entitled “Carbon Utilization Technology: Improving Efficient Systems for Algae,” specifically aims to increase the capability of algal systems to capture carbon dioxide (CO2) and put it to productive use.
Capturing this waste carbon then allows for algae to be cultivated into a variety of biofuels and bioproducts. The deployment of algal technologies in these projects will help lower algal system costs while decreasing GHG emissions.
This funding opportunity is a great example of the Department’s offices working together on a holistic approach to GHG management and reduction. Algae technology provides not only an exceptional carbon sink, but a versatile material product which offers solutions to sustainability challenges from fuel to plastics, said Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for EERE, Kelly Speakes-Backman.
The FOA has two topic areas:
- Topic Area 1: Carbon utilization efficiency from biomass- or atmospheric-based sources of CO2
- Topic Area 2: Algae-based technology to utilize anthropogenic CO2 from utility and industrial sources
The FOA combines the complementary objectives in algal research of both funding offices (EERE and FECM) to further the government-wide approach to the climate crisis by driving the innovation that can lead to the deployment of clean energy technologies by utilizing waste CO2.
These technologies will work towards achieving the Biden Administration’s goal of net-zero carbon emissions by 2050.
Concept papers for this FOA are due by March 18, 2022, with applications due by May 27, 2022.
This FOA follows the recent announcement of the new AlgaePrize competition from BETO, a competition that encourages students to pursue innovative ideas for the development, design, and invention of technologies within the commercial algae value chain.
