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U.S. Department of Energy Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy

Newsletter

In May 2011, the Biomass Program began sending out a monthly "News Blast," highlighting Progam events, solicitations, publications, related blogs, and other relevant information. This page recaps the most recent news blast and archives the past blasts by month.

If you would like to receive the Biomass Program's monthly news blast, along with periodic Biomass Program notifications via email, please enter your email address below to subscribe.

March 2012 Blast Recap

Below are some highlights from the March 2012 News Blast.

Obama Administration Announces New Funding for Biomass Research and Development Initiative
On March 22, 2012, the White House announced up to $35 million over three years to support research and development in advanced biofuels, bioenergy, and high-value biobased products. The projects funded through the Biomass Research and Development Initiative (BRDI)—a joint program through the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the U.S. Department of Energy—will help develop economically and environmentally sustainable sources of renewable biomass and increase the availability of renewable fuels and biobased products that can help replace the need for conventional gasoline and diesel in vehicles and diversify our energy portfolio. Applicants seeking fiscal year 2012 BRDI funding must propose projects that integrate science and engineering research in the following three legislatively mandated technical areas: feedstock development; biofuels and biobased products development; and biofuels development analysis.

A description of the solicitation, eligibility requirements, and application instructions are available at https://www.fedconnect.net/  and http://www.grants.gov/ under Reference Number DE-FOA-0000657. Applications are due April 23, 2012, and must be submitted electronically.

Program to host Educational Opportunities in Bioenergy Webinar in April
Next month, the Biomass Program will host a webinar on Educational Opportunities in Bioenergy. This webinar will feature opportunities at two Department of Energy national laboratories: National Renewable Energy Laboratory and Oak Ridge National Laboratory. Presenters will include current leaders in bioenergy, as well as students who will provide information on their respective programs and their experiences. The webinar will conclude with a Q&A session.

Undergraduate, graduate, and post-doctoral students, as well as the public are welcome to attend this informational webinar highlighting opportunities in the bioenergy industry. For more information regarding the webinar, registration, and agenda, please contact Ashley Rose at Ashley.Rose@ee.doe.gov.

BIO World Congress Opens April 29 in Orlando
The World Congress on Industrial Biotechnology and Bioprocessing is the world's largest industrial biotechnology event for business leaders, investors and policy makers in biofuels, biobased products, and renewable chemicals. Entering its ninth year, the event will be held in April 29–May 2 in Orlando, Florida, and will bring together more than 1,000 attendees. The Congress offers unique networking opportunities, an overview of the latest technological developments, and real world scenarios for bringing technological solutions to market.To register and for more details, visit the BIO World Congress website: http://www.bio.org/events/conferences/attendees-1.

Register for the 34th Symposium on Biotechnology for Fuels and Chemical
The 34th Symposium on Biotechnology for Fuels and Chemicals, hosted by Oak Ridge National Laboratory, will be held April 30–May 3, 2012 in New Orleans, Louisiana, at the Sheraton New Orleans in the French Quarter. The symposium chairs have assembled a technical program that includes 19 sessions plus a special session on international bioenergy center progress. There will be two poster sessions. Technical topics include new biomass sources and sustainability; biomass recalcitrance and pretreatment; enzyme and microbial advances; algae; new types of biofuels and infrastructure issues; bioprocessing; biorefineries; and the Bioenergy Research Center update. Reduced rate registration ends March 30, 2012, so register today at http://www.simhq.org/sbfc/sbfc-registration/.

BIO World Congress Opens April 29 in Orlando
The World Congress on Industrial Biotechnology and Bioprocessing is the world's largest industrial biotechnology event for business leaders, investors and policy makers in biofuels, biobased products, and renewable chemicals. Entering its ninth year, the event will be held in April 29–May 2 in Orlando, Florida, and will bring together more than 1,000 attendees. The Congress offers unique networking opportunities, an overview of the latest technological developments, and real world scenarios for bringing technological solutions to market. To see the program or register, click on http://www.bio.org/events/conferences/welcome-2012-bio-world-congress.

Biomass 2012 Registration Now Open
We invite you to register for the U.S. Department of Energy Biomass Program's fifth annual networking and informational conference, Biomass 2012: Confronting Challenges, Creating Opportunities – Sustaining a Commitment to Bioenergy. This year's conference will be held July 10–11, at the Washington D.C. Convention Center. Prominent members of the Congress and the Administration have been invited to deliver keynote speeches. The conference will also feature panel discussions with policy-makers and critical players in the bioenergy industry, as well as nine breakout sessions focused on financing strategies, state and local policy issues, breakthrough conversion technologies, aviation biofuels, and much more. For the first time, the Biomass Program has also issued a call for posters to be presented at this year's conference.

Visit the Biomass 2012 Web page to find out more information about the conference, review the draft agenda and sponsorship opportunities, and learn about this year's poster session.

Funding Opportunities

  • BRDI Fiscal Year (FY) 2012: The FY 2012 solicitation was released on March 22, 2012. Subject to annual appropriations, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) plan to contribute up to $35 million over three years for this year's BRDI solicitation. A description of the solicitation, eligibility requirements, and application instructions are available at https://www.fedconnect.net/ and http://www.grants.gov/ under Reference Number DE-FOA-0000657. Applications are due April 23, 2012 and must be submitted electronically.
  • Biomass Advancements in Sustainable Algal Production: The U.S. Department of Energy is requesting applications to support outdoor phototrophic algae research and development in two areas: 1) nutrient and water use in algal production systems and 2) the development of algal technology test bed facilities. This research will support the Biomass Program's goals to model pathways for significant (>1 billion gallons per year) volumes of cost-competitive algal biofuels by 2022.
  • Biomass Research and Development Initiative: In partnership with United States Department of Agriculture, full proposals are being reviewed, and an announcement has been targeted for the first quarter of 2012. The fiscal year 2012 Solicitation is anticipated for release in coordination with the selections from the previous year.

Bio News Updates

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News Blast Archive

Click on a link below to view a PDF version of the blast from the corresponding month:

2012

2011

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