US DOE eyes commercial-scale biorefineries with latest funding announcement

The US Department of Energy June 1 announced plans to award $59 million to accelerate production of biofuels and bioproducts that can reduce emissions from marine, aviation and other hard-to-decarbonize sectors.

The funding opportunity announcement (FOA) is intended to leverage the applied research, development and deployment expertise of the DOE to cut costs and technical risks associated with biofuel production technologies, in partnership with industry efforts to scale up biofuel production systems.

The department ultimately hopes to pave the way for deployment of commercial-scale integrated biorefineries as well as enable breakthroughs that advance bioenergy usage and make biofuels cost competitive, according to a press release.

The so-called Scale-Up of Integrated Biorefineries FOA seeks to fund between four and 20 projects, and gives potential applicants until July 8 to submit a concept paper to become eligible to submit a full application.

The grants "will advance biorefinery development and feedstocks improvement projects in alignment with a broader DOE strategy to support biorefinery projects that can produce sustainable renewable diesel and aviation, marine, and rail fuel at every stage of development," the DOE said.

The department added that the solicitation will also support the Biden administration's Sustainable Aviation Fuel Grand Challenge. That initiative aims to boost SAF production to at least 3 billion gallons/year by 2030 and wean the sector off petroleum-based jet fuel completely by producing 35 billion gallons/year of SAF by 2050.

This is the second in a series of "Scale-Up" FOAs backed by the DOE, with the first awarding $64 million to 22 projects in September to develop technologies and processes that produce low-cost, low-carbon biofuels.

"Energy harnessed from plants and waste presents a huge opportunity to reduce emissions from hard-to-decarbonize sectors such as aviation, rail, and shipping, while supporting high-quality jobs across rural America," Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm said in a statement.

The aviation, marine and rail sectors cannot turn to electrification to slash emissions as they require higher energy densities to make it through long flights, international shipping routes and cross-country rail trips without frequent stops for refueling.

The DOE has identified biofuels as a sustainable, strong alternative for those hard-to-decarbonize sectors.

"DOE's investment in biofuels is a key component of the Biden administration's effort to support clean energy technologies that increase our energy independence and move us closer to a net-zero carbon economy," Granholm said.

The Environmental Protection Agency is expected this week to issue long-overdue annual biofuel blending requirements that will set the amount of renewable fuel that must be mixed with gasoline and diesel for the 2020 through 2022 compliance years.