U.S. Energy Department Announces $52 Million to Support Clean Energy Bioeconomy

The U.S. Energy Department on Dec. 10 announced $52 million in funding for six university and industry projects to develop purpose-grown energy crops with low carbon intensity intended for biofuels like Sustainable Aviation Fuel, or SAF, and other bioproducts. These initiatives will bolster the domestic supply chain of alternative carbon sources vital for producing biofuels and bioproducts, helping to reduce net emissions in transportation and industry. Additionally, the projects aim to drive innovation and growth in the U.S. agricultural sector, contributing to a cleaner energy bioeconomy.

The projects will focus on various purpose-grown energy crops such as microalgae, switchgrass, miscanthus, high biomass sorghum, carinata, camelina, pennycress, and shrub willow. The Bioenergy Technologies Office will oversee the funding and projects. This research investment aligns with the department’s long-term goal of advancing technologies that harness renewable carbon resources to boost the production of bioenergy, as well as renewable chemicals and materials.

The selected projects will become a part of the office’s Regional Biomass Resource Hub Initiative. The initiative, led by Idaho National Laboratory, will facilitate collaboration among awardees in data reports and experimental methodology to collectively achieve research objectives. The participants will also engage with a variety of stakeholders such as policymakers, farmers, landowners, universities, and national laboratories to ensure research incorporates the needs of local communities.

These projects will support the Sustainable Aviation Fuel Grand Challenge, a nationwide goal to achieve an annual SAF production capacity of 3 billion gallons by 2030 and 35 billion gallons by 2050, which will cover 100 percent of the projected aviation fuel demand in the U.S. by 2050.

The funding opportunity also underscores one of the department’s core Earthshots initiatives, the Clean Fuels and Products Shot, which aims to decarbonize the transport and fuel sectors that contribute heavily toward domestic carbon emissions. The initiative aims to develop economical, low-carbon fuels and technologies that produce at least 85 percent less greenhouse gas emissions by 2035.

To achieve these production targets, the department created several funding opportunities to incentivize and expand the production of domestic biofuels. Last month, the department announced over $20 million to develop algae and seaweed feedstocks for low-carbon biofuels.