As part of the ongoing effort to increase the use of domestic renewable fuels,
U.S. Secretary of Energy Steven Chu Tuesday announced plans to provide
$786.5 million from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to
accelerate advanced biofuels research and development and to provide
additional funding for commercial-scale biorefinery demonstration
projects.
The DOE biomass program will leverage DOE’s national
laboratories, universities, and the private sector to help improve
biofuels reliability and overcome key technical challenges, with the
goal of creating third-generation biofuels like green gasoline, diesel,
and jet fuels.
The $786.5 million in Recovery Act funding is a mix of new
funding opportunities and additional funding for existing projects. It
will be allocated across four main areas:
$480 million solicitation for integrated pilot- and demonstration-scale biorefineries
Projects selected under this Funding Opportunity Announcement
will work to validate integrated biorefinery technologies that produce
advanced biofuels, bioproducts, and heat and power in an integrated
system, thus enabling private financing of commercial-scale
replications.
DOE anticipates making 10 to 20 awards for refineries at various
scales and designs, all to be operational in the next three years. The
DOE funding ceiling is $25 million for pilot-scale projects and $50
million for demonstration scale projects.
These integrated biorefineries will reduce dependence on
petroleum-based transportation fuels and chemicals. They will also
facilitate the development of an "advanced biofuels" industry to meet
the federal Renewable Fuel Standards.
$176.5 million for commercial-scale biorefinery projects
$176.5 million will be used to increase the federal funding
ceiling on two or more demonstration- or commercial-scale biorefinery
projects that were selected and awarded within the last two years.
The goal of these efforts is to reduce the risk of the
development and deployment of these first-of-a-kind operations. These
funds are expected to expedite the construction phase of these projects
and ultimately accelerate the timeline for start up and commissioning.
$110 million for fundamental research in key program areas
The Biomass Program plans to use $110 million to support
fundamental research in key program areas, distributed in the following
manner:
- Expand the resources available for sustainability
research through the Office of Science Bioenergy Research Centers and
establish a user-facility/small-scale integrated pilot plant ($25
million) - Create an advanced research consortium to develop
technologies and facilitate subsequent demonstration of
infrastructure-compatible biofuels through a competitive solicitation
($35 million) - Create an algal biofuels consortium to
accelerate demonstration of algal biofuels through a competitive
solicitation ($50 million)
This funding will help to develop cutting-edge conversion technologies,
including generating more desirable catalysts, fuel-producing microbes,
and feedstocks.
$20 million for ethanol research
The Biomass Program is planning to use $20 million of the
Recovery Act funding in a competitive solicitation to achieve the
following:
- Optimize flex-fuel vehicles operating on high octane E85 fuel (85 percent ethanol, 15 percent gasoline blend)
- Evaluate the impact of higher ethanol blends in conventional vehicles
- Upgrade existing refueling infrastructure to be compatible with fuels up to E85
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