DOE Invests $4 Million to Reduce Wood Heater Pollutants and Accelerate Innovative Technology
Approximately 11 million homes in the United States use cordwood or wood pellets for space heating. Although these heaters are considered a renewable energy source, they produce harmful pollutants and contribute to about 7% of the nation’s total annual PM2.5 emissions.
To reduce these pollutants, Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL) and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), funded by the U.S. Department of Energy Bioenergy Technologies Office (BETO), will oversee a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) to accelerate wood heater innovation and develop the next generation of efficient and clean wood heaters. At least $4 million will be available for this competitively selected CRADA call, and up to four projects will be selected with a project duration of 12-18 months. Applicants are expected to provide 20% cost share of the requested funding.
Applicants will work collaboratively with BNL and LBNL to develop a scope of work and appropriate budget and to leverage their unique expertise to develop and validate the performance of innovative wood heater technologies. Applicants’ scope of work should include their technology advancement goals, the laboratory’s capabilities being leveraged (e.g., real-time emissions measurements, domain expertise, etc.), SMART milestones, and a Go/No-Go decision point.
Research projects may include the following:
- Improving performance of commercial wood heaters through design optimization/modifications,
- Developing and validating performance of wood heater retrofit devices,
- Developing and validating performance of post-combustion wood heater technologies (e.g., catalysts ESPs), and
- Supporting field testing to better quantify heater performance, including advising on data collection of best practices and equipment, interpreting data collected, and understanding how collected data could be used to improve heater performance.
The deadline to submit a concept paper is August 11, 2023, and final proposals are due November 3, 2023. For more information on how to apply, please visit the Wood Heater Innovation Collaboration website and register to attend the informational webinar on June 16, 2023. If you have further questions, please contact woodheater@lbl.gov.
BETO supports technology research, development, and demonstration to accelerate greenhouse gas emissions reductions through the cost-effective and sustainable use of biomass and waste feedstocks across the U.S. economy. BETO is part of DOE's Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy.
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