AFFO Announces Intent to Fund the Advancement of Novel, High-Impact Chemical Technologies
On July 14, 2026, the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Alternative Fuels and Feedstocks Office (AFFO) announced its intent to fund the advancement of novel, high-impact chemical technologies. According to AFFO, the proposed funding opportunity, Accelerating Scale-up and Pre-piloting of Emerging Chemical Technologies (ASPECT), will advance technologies for producing chemicals from alternative and waste feedstocks. AFFO notes that more than 96 percent of manufactured goods rely on products from the U.S. chemical sector, which directly employs more than half a million Americans. AFFO states that the ASPECT funding opportunity will reinforce domestic manufacturing and chemical supply chains by expanding the use of alternative feedstocks. Funding will target chemical technologies that improve performance, reduce costs, and show large market growth potential.
AFFO expects to issue a notice of funding opportunity (NOFO) in August 2026, making up to $58 million available for projects that address the following topic areas:
- Topic Area 1: Bench ASPECT: Topic Area 1 will support the development and adoption of new technologies for producing chemicals from alternative feedstocks, moving beyond proof-of-concept to bench and pre-pilot scale. Applicants can choose between two sub-topic areas:
- Topic Area 1a (Bench Only): This sub-topic area is intended for technologies currently beyond proof-of-concept and ready for additional bench scale research and development (R&D) work. Funding in this sub-topic area will support process development and optimization at the bench scale for promising early-stage chemical technology development.
- Topic Area 1b (Bench Scale and Unit Operation Pre-Piloting): This sub-topic area will allow for both the R&D work in sub-topic area 1a and will lower scale-up risk by pre-piloting one or more unit operations at the successful completion of the initial R&D work.
Topic Area 2: Pre-pilot ASPECT: Topic Area 2 will aim to accelerate the development and market entry of strategically valuable, domestically produced chemicals. This topic area will seek proposals to design, construct, and operate pre-pilot scale facilities that convert alternative feedstocks into chemicals. Applicants can choose between two sub-topic areas: - Topic Area 1a (Bench Only): This sub-topic area is intended for technologies currently beyond proof-of-concept and ready for additional bench scale research and development (R&D) work. Funding in this sub-topic area will support process development and optimization at the bench scale for promising early-stage chemical technology development.
- Topic Area 2a (Unit Operation Pre-Piloting and Pre-Pilot System Integration): This sub-topic area will support the development of technologies that require testing of one- or two-unit operations at scale before an integrated pre-pilot facility can be designed. Upon successful completion of these tasks, projects funded in this sub-topic area will then design, construct, and operate an integrated pre-pilot system.
- Topic Area 2b (Pre-Pilot System Integration Only): This sub-topic area will support the development of technologies that have prior-scale data and are ready for pre-pilot system integration. Projects funded in this area will design, construct, and operate an integrated pre-pilot system.
Following the NOFO announcement, AFFO intends to host an informational webinar to discuss a new, streamlined application and review process.