DOE and USDA issue notice of intent for Biomass Research and Development Initiative
15 January 2017
The US Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy’s (EERE’s) Bioenergy Technologies Office, in coordination with the US Department of Agriculture’s (USDA's) National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA), announced its intent to issue a Request for Applications (RFA) through the Biomass Research and Development Initiative. (DE-FOA-0001711)
Projects funded through this RFA, titled “Fiscal Year 17 Biomass Research and Development Initiative (BRDI),” will help develop economically and environmentally sustainable sources of renewable biomass, and increase the availability of renewable fuels and biobased products. The BRDI program requires that funded projects address at least one of the following three legislatively mandated technical areas:
Feedstocks development. The intent of this Topic Area is to address research, development, and demonstration (RD&D) activities regarding feedstocks and feedstock logistics (including harvest, handling, transport, preprocessing, and storage) relevant to production of raw materials for conversion to biofuels and biobased products. The BRDI program is designed to support near-term commercial systems. Projects should emphasize development and optimization of existing feedstocks that will be available for testing and demonstration during the life of the project. Proposals that include breeding or genetic improvement of feedstocks should reconcile this work with the Program’s emphasis on near-term impacts.
Biofuels and biobased products development. The intent of this Topic Area is to address RD&D activities to support (i) development of diverse cost-effective, innovative technologies for the use of cellulosic biomass in the production of biofuels, bioenergy, and biobased products; and, (ii) product diversification through technologies relevant to the production of a range of biobased products (including chemicals, animal feeds, and cogeneration power) that potentially can increase the feasibility of fuel production in a biorefinery.
Biofuels development analysis. The intent of this Topic Area is to apply systems evaluation methods that can be used to optimize system performance and market potential and to quantify the project’s impact on sustainability; therefore, successful applications will consider the lifecycle (cradle-to-grave) impacts including environmental, social, and economic implications that are attributable to the project. Successful projects should include these sustainability data in engineering process models and be used over the life of the project to improve the system and quantify sustainability impacts.
USDA intends to issue the RFA in February 2017. Once the RFA has been released, NIFA will provide an avenue for potential applicants to submit questions.
This biological revolution were within is amazing. Also, several more technologies that will rapidly change our needed raw material and energy supplies. You can see much change and improvement on the horizon. The biorefinery, farm and forestry technology. For a couple examples of what's possible. A new tech startup is changing basic forestry practices that haven't changed in hundreds of years. They have a drone that can ID, measure, and analyse the forest bed for maximum benefit of wildlife and or timber production. Also, it has a seed gun to propel seed bullets for replanting. It marks trees for harvest or removal just like the old and expensive manual system. How, about the International corporation GreenTree (something like that) out of Oregon. They bought the popular hybid developed for biomass production. The company has an extremely profitable farm system to maximize popular tree growth. They have a R&D department to investigate the most efficient harvesting and growing of popular tree stock. They manage trees like a farmer would manage his corn crop. The processing center is located within the center of thousands of their farm managed forest acres. Minimal trucking required. Logging is done with efficient equipment upon a forest designed to make it so. Genetic hybrid trees grow at a phenomenal rate with optimum fertilizer and watering. They first harvest starts at 7 years. They always attempt to work with municipality waste systems as they have a very good use for the waste. My guess the robotic and drone technology will have a big impact on our farms and forests management. It will be a multiple factor of producing valuable biomass. This will improve wildlife habitat as well.
Posted by: Trees | 16 January 2017 at 02:58 AM