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Media contact: Sally Gifford, 202-720-2047
WASHINGTON, D.C. June 5, 2017 – The U.S.
Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) National Institute of Food and Agriculture
(NIFA) today announced up to $6 million
in available funding for research to support the next generation of sustainable
biofuels and biomaterials. Funding is made through USDA’s Biomass Research
and Development Initiative (BRDI), a joint initiative with the Department of
Energy.
“Renewable energy is an important contributor to
our nation’s economic prosperity,” said NIFA Director Sonny Ramaswamy. “These
investments help develop more options for producing energy and biobased
industrial products.”
Biomass feedstocks are plant and algal materials
that can be used to create biofuels,
renewable chemicals, and other biobased products. Perennial grasses,
woody plants, and non-food oil seeds are just some of the feedstocks that
provide the basis of renewable energy and other materials. The Biomass
Research and Development Initiative
(BRDI) RFA supports the development of sustainable biofuels and biobased
products, helping to create jobs, new market opportunities, and rural
prosperity by diversifying the nation’s energy choices. Projects may focus on
feedstocks development, biofuels and biobased products development, and
biofuels development analysis.
Eligible
applicants include higher education institutions, national laboratories,
federal research agencies, state research agencies, private sector entities,
nonprofit organizations, or consortia of two or more of the entities described
above.
The
application process will include two phases: a concept paper phase and a full
application phase.
The concept paper deadline is July 7, 2017. The full application deadline is
Sept. 22, 2017.
See the request
for applications for details.
Previously funded projects include a State University of
New York analysis of the economic and environmental
impacts of willow and forest biomass for use in
heat and power. A University
of Florida project
investigated the use of sorghum for biofuels and chemicals.
NIFA invests in and advances agricultural research, education, and
extension and promotes transformative discoveries that solve societal
challenges. NIFA support for the best and brightest scientists and extension
personnel has resulted in user-inspired, groundbreaking discoveries that combat
childhood obesity, improve and sustain rural economic growth, address water
availability issues, increase food production, find new sources of energy,
mitigate climate variability and ensure food safety. To learn more about NIFA’s impact on agricultural science, visit www.nifa.usda.gov/impacts, sign up for email updates or follow us on Twitter @USDA_NIFA, #NIFAimpacts.
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