All Knowledge & Insights By Date

On June 14, 2016, DOE's Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), through UT-Battelle, LLC, published a report determining that bioenergy crops do not impact food security. The report, "Reconciling food security and bioenergy: priorities for action," was put together by experts from ten institutions, including ORNL, the International Food Policy Research Institute, the World Bank, and Imperial College London. The report determined that previous studies finding bioenergy crops to blame...

On June 17, 2016, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced an open teleconference of the State Energy Advisory Board (STEAB) in the Federal Register. STEAB advises DOE and the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) on the operation of its energy efficiency programs, renewable energy programs, and grant programs for research and deployment in energy efficiency and renewable energy fields. The tentative agenda includes: "Receive STEAB Task Force updates on action items...

On May 25, 2016, DOE published a Notice For Solicitation of Nominations in the Federal Register to fill vacancies on the Biomass Research and Development Technical Advisory Committee (Committee). The Committee advises DOE and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) on technical and direction issues related to the Biomass Research and Development Initiative. The Committee meets quarterly, typically for two days at a time, in Washington, D.C. and other locations. This round of applications is...

On June 2, 2016, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced an extension for the abstract submission deadline for the Bioenergy 2016 poster session. Abstract submissions were originally due June 3, 2016, but have been extended through June 10, 2016. Poster submitters will still be notified of acceptance by June 17, 2016. Abstracts must fit the following guidelines: Not exceed the maximum of 300 words;   Explain validity and technical merit of the approach;  ...

On May 25, 2016, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) published a notice in the Federal Register announcing an open meeting of the Biomass Research and Development Technical Advisory Committee. The purpose of the meeting is to develop advice and guidance that promote research and development (R&D), leading to the production of biobased fuels and biobased products. The tentative agenda covers: An update on U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Biomass R&D activities;   An update...

? Energy.gov, "Energy And Commerce Departments Announce Lab Partnership Opportunities for U.S. Small Businesses and Manufacturers" ? EPA, "EPA Awards 18 Grants For Environmental Workforce Development and Job Training" ? The New York Times, "Biofuels Plant in Hawaii Is First to Be Certified as Sustainable" ? The Motley Fool, "Can The U.S. Military Afford to Run on Biofuels?" ? Quad-City Times, "Guest View: for the Farmers, the Biofuel Bubble Has...

In May of 2016, the DOE's Advanced Research Projects Agency – Energy (ARPA-E) awarded the University of Illinois and the University of Florida $300,000 to continue researching ultra-productive biofuel crops. The research project is called Plants Engineered To Replace Oil in Sugarcane and Sweet Sorghum (PETROSS), and this is the third round of funding that it will receive from ARPA-E. PETROSS is engineering sugarcane and sorghum to produce 20 percent oil, compared to the 0.05...

On May 16, 2016, the DOE's BETO invited applications for abstracts for the poster session of the ninth annual conference Bioenergy 2016: Mobilizing the Bioeconomy through Innovation. Poster abstracts are due by June 3, 2016, and must fit the following guidelines: Not exceed the maximum of 300 words;   Explain validity and technical merit of the approach;   Discuss how the poster will be used to engage Bioenergy 2016 attendees;   Highlight applicability to BETO...

On May 16, 2016, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced that up to $10 million in funding is being given to six projects that are creating innovative solutions to advance bioenergy development. The work will support the Bioenergy Technologies Office's (BETO) goal of developing non-food biomass competitive biofuels with reduced technical investment risks. The selected projects are: Arizona State University, a project engineering cyanobacteria to produce ethyl laurate;   Arizona...

? Energy.gov, "Co-Optimized Fuel-Engine Systems to Transform Our Nation's Vehicles" ? USDA Blog, "Bringing Up Better Biofuel" ? Biofuels Digest, "What is the Worst Waste?" ? Labiotech, "How the UK Is Engineering Bacteria to Produce Propane for Greener Fuels" ? Plastics Today, "Mars Goes for Bioplastic Candy Bar Wrappers" ? AkzoNobel, "AkzoNobel and Royal Cosun to Develop Sustainable Cellulose Products from Sugar Beet Processing" ?...

On May 6, 2016, DOE announced the $90 million Project Development for Pilot and Demonstration Scale Manufacturing of Biofuels, Bioproducts, and Biopower. As previously reported by BRAG, this funding opportunity is intended to support the construction of bioenergy infrastructure that utilizes advanced pretreatment, process, and convergence technologies. "The domestic bio-industry could play an important part in the growing clean energy economy and in reducing American dependence on imported...

On May 9, 2016, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), and the National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) announced the recipients of up to $10 million in funding through the Biomass Research and Development Initiative (BRDI). BRDI is a joint program through DOE and USDA that helps develop sustainable sources of biomass and increase the availability of biobased fuels and products. DOE selected two of the grant winners...

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Biomass Research and Development (R&D) Board Operations Committee is hosting a bioeconomy listening session entitled "Building a Billion Ton Bioeconomy in the United States." The event will encourage attendees to share their thoughts on the future of the national bioeconomy, and will specifically solicit input on opportunities and challenges that can be addressed to achieve a focused and successful bioeconomy vision for the U.S. The recently...

On April 15, 2016, DOE's Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) announced a Notice of Intent (NOI) to issue a Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) entitled "Project Definition for Pilot and Demonstration Scale Manufacturing of Biofuels, Bioproducts, and Biopower (PD2B3)." The FOA would be managed by the Bioenergy Technologies Office, and will support technology development plans for drop-in hydrocarbon biofuels, bioproducts, or biopower manufacturing. Applicants...

On April 21, 2016, DOE and IEA Bioenergy (IEA) presented a webinar, Bioenergy – Is It Good for the Climate?, which discussed the climate benefits of bioenergy and the impact of bioenergy on atmospheric CO2 levels. The webinar featured Annett Cowie, principal Research Scientist in New South Wales' Department of Primary Industries, and Task Leader of the International Energy Agency Bioenergy research network "Climate Change Effects of Biomass and Bioenergy Systems." Archives of...

On April 8, 2016, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced a Save the Date for the upcoming Algal Biology Toolbox Workshop. The workshop is intended to gather experts on algal biology to discuss the current state of algal biological tools, challenges to developing and applying biology tools to improve algae performance, and strategies to work towards commercializing algae biofuels. The workshop will occur on May 24-25, 2016, in San Diego, California. DOE states that...

? DOE, "[Save The Date] Bioenergy 2016: Mobilizing the Bioeconomy through Innovation" ? Environmental Leader, "Moving from Green Cleaning to Cleaning Sustainability" ? LanzaTech, "Aemetis Acquires License from LanzaTech with California Exclusive Rights for Advanced Ethanol from Biomass including Forest and Ag Wastes" ? Bioindustrial Innovation Canada, "Cellulosic Sugar Producers Cooperative Collaborating with Comet Biorefining to Develop Agricultural Biomass...

On March 10, 2016, the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy's (EERE) Bioenergy Technologies Office (BETO) announced a Request for Information (RFI) on integrated biorefinery optimization. The RFI covers information on the technical and financial challenges that biorefineries run into in order to run continuously and reliably. BETO is primarily interested in stakeholder input on systems that use between one and 1,000 dry tonnes per day of...

DOE's Bioenergy Technologies Office (BETO) has announced the extension of the response deadline for a request for information (RFI) about public and private sector capabilities in pilot scale verification of biofuels and bioproducts processes. The RFI, originally posted on February 12, 2016, with a due date of March 4, 2016, requests information on facilities that have the "capability to perform process verifications for biomass conversion pathways to biofuels, bioproducts, or...

On March 3, 2016, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Bioenergy Research Centers (BRC) announced the 500th invention disclosure since 2007. The BRCs, which consist of the BioEnergy Science Center (Oak Ridge National Laboratory), the Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center (University of Wisconsin-Madison and Michigan State University), and the Joint BioEnergy Institute (Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory), work to develop advanced biofuels technologies to bring to the marketplace. Created in...