USDA and USDOE Announce Research Grants for Advanced Biofuels Development

The United States Departments of Agriculture (USDA) and Energy (USDOE) recently announced the availability of research grants worth US $30 million over the next three to four years, for the development of advanced biofuels, bioenergy and high-value biobased products. The research grants will support the country's target of reducing its oil imports by about 30% by the year 2025. Funding will be through the Biomass Research and Development Initiative (BRDI).

Under the BRDI program, competitive grants, contracts, and financial assistance are granted "to eligible entities to carry out research, development, and demonstration of biofuels and biobased products, and the methods, practices and technologies for their production". For the fiscal year 2011, applications for research funding will be considered in the following areas: (1) Feedstock Development: improvement in biofuel feedstock properties, supply, harvest and postharvest processing, (2) Biofuels and Biobased Products Development: cost-effective technologies for the utilization of cellulosic biomass for biofuels and biobased co-products (including animal feeds and chemicals) which can help boost economic viability of biofuel production, (3) Biofuels Development Analysis: development of analytical tools for assessing/improving biofuel sustainability, environmental quality, cost effectiveness, security, and rural economic development of renewable biomass technologies. The funds are expected to support five to ten projects over three to four years.