FCIC FY25 Industry Partnership Call

Materials of construction:

• Wear and surface damage analysis, lab screening, and evaluation of new materials.
• Particle-particle and particle-wall friction measurement for granular biomass feedstock materials.

Predictive modeling and analyses:

• Predictive modeling and analyses pipelines for new strains (with fully sequenced genomes without divulging any proprietary engineering) and processes from industry. Learn what ranges of material attributes and process parameters may prove problematic (aka, ‘are critical’) using/converting sugar or lignin streams from agricultural or municipal solid wastes. Short, targeted workflows could produce a matrix of material attributes or process parameters to avoid in the timeframe anticipated for the Technical Assistance Programs (TAPs).

Greenhouse gases, Regulated Emissions, and Energy use in Technologies (GREET) model life cycle analysis (LCA):

• GREET LCA to address and guide sustainability of technology development/deployment by the industry.

Advanced torrefaction and carbonization studies:

• Basic feedstock performance (mass loss vs. temperature) properties and their approximate costs.  
   

Biomass comminution and deconstruction:

• Performing studies of milling performance, either one mill under several conditions or several mills under one condition.
• Performing tests of multiple scales of hammer or knife milling and approximate costs.
• Testing the relative strength properties of materials to understand the impacts of pre-treatments.
• Calibration of a population balance model for a piece of comminution equipment.
   

Biomass flowability:

• Benchtop characterization including detailed size and shape analysis, shear testing for flow properties, and wall friction. 
• Compressibility, void ratio parameters, and bulk Poisson's ratio.
• Pilot scale flow testing in hopper and screw feeder. 
   

Biomass densification:

• Palletization and densification test with biomass or waste materials, testing achieved pellet density, pellet durability, and process energy consumption.
   

Biomass Feedstock National User Facility (BFNUF):

• BFNUF pilot-scale preprocessing.
   

Mechanical fractionation and separation:

• Perform separations of materials and/or removal of contaminants based on physical properties and differential characteristics, using diagnostic and instrumented equipment, and help design processes. 
   

Failure Modes and Effects Analysis (FMEA):

• Work with engineers and operators to perform a FMEA of biomass preprocessing and handling systems to identify risks within the system that affect process efficiency, product quality, economic performance, and/or sustainability. 
   

Techno-economic analysis (TEA) and supply chain evaluations:

• TEA and supply chain evaluations can be completed for specific processes and regions to examine the economic viability of a proposed system for a given set of performance measures and assumptions.
• Perform first-plant analysis to examine the performance of preprocessing and logistics systems in relation to known biomass variability and equipment performance.
   

Chemical processing of biomass materials:

• Preparation of up to two tons of chemically treated pine to remove inorganics, contaminants, and toxins can be performed.

• Analysis (high-performance liquid chromatography, gas chromatography–mass spectrometry, liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry, Bomb Calorimeter, advanced imaging such as scanning electron microscope and PXRD through the Molecular Foundry and Advanced Light Source) and Omics.
• Fermentation technology transfer and scale up: 12x250 mL, 4x2L, 1x10L, 1x50L, 2x300L 
• Downstream processing (DSP) development and scale-up (highly scope-dependent costing) with capabilities of solid liquid separation, filtration, wiped film, upgrading, and preparative chromatography (DSP, collectively) technology transfer.
• Biomass deconstruction and enzymatic hydrolysis process development and scaling up: 6x50mL, 2x1L, 3x10L and 1x210L.
• Technical guidance and consulting.
• Basic TEA.
• Advanced Biofuels and Bioproducts Process Development Unit (ABPDU) capabilities.

Elemental analysis of bio-oils/solids byInductively coupled plasma optical emission spectroscopy (ICP-OES):

• Samples will be digested by microwave and analyzed for elemental content. Our methodology produces excellent recoveries of the NIST 1575a standard, milled pine needles, using yttrium as the internal standard. The following elements can be quantified:  Al, B, Ba, Ca, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, Ga, K, Li, Mg, Mn, Na, Ni, P, S, Si, Sr, and Zn.

Determination of water/ash content of biosolids: 

• Using standard methodologies, sponsor provided samples (100mg to 100g) will be analyzed for water (range: 0.1%–99%) and ash content (0.5%–100%).

3D particle size/shape/surface area: 

• Samples in the range of 20 μm–30 mm can be binned based on size/shape/surface area.

Biosolids flow characterization:

• Samples up to 6 mm in nominal diameter will be subjected to shear, wall friction, bulk density, compressibility, and permeability tests; analyzed using industry standard continuum mechanics modeling; and benchmarked against previously analyzed FCIC samples or dried sponsor samples as appropriate. Time dependent characterization (flow after consolidation/caking/sample decay simulating storage)

Bench scale fuel property test:

• Following ASTM International Standardization (only requires 1–2 mL of fuel samples to save screening time and efforts), including cloud point, distillation curves, density, viscosity, and heating values (Calorimeter).

High pressure and high temperature reactor:

• High pressure and high temperature stirring batch reactor and a series packed bed flow reactors for biomass and bio-intermediates conversions to fuels and chemicals in gas and liquid phases. 

Biomass conversion strategies:

• Biomass conversion chemistry strategies development and execution capabilities. 

TEA:

• Chemical engineering process design and class 3 TEA with case design and report.

Thermochemical conversion:

• 2-inch Fluid-Bed Reaction System (2-FBR): A 2-inch continuous flow reactor for pyrolysis or gasification.
• Fluid-bed Research Gasified (NRG): A compact, fully automated gasification system that consists of biomass feeding, gasification, solids removal, tar and hydrocarbon reforming, liquids condensation, CO₂ removal, gas compression, and syngas storage for future use. The individual sub-systems of the NRG can be manipulated for individualized research. 
• Fuel Chemistry and Characterization Laboratory: Characteristic analysis of fuels and fuel blends utilizing various ASTM methods.
• Fuel Synthesis Catalyst Laboratory: Evaluation of catalysts to upgrade intermediates to fuel. 
• Davison Circulating Riser Reactor System: Evaluate catalytic fast pyrolysis and refinery co-processing with petroleum feedstocks using fluid catalytic cracking (FCC)-type catalytic materials for a range of renewable and waste feedstocks. 
• Hydrotreater:  Catalytic hydrotreatment of pyrolysis oil to petroleum. 
• Single Particle Reactor (SPR): Enables the study of pyrolysis and gasification on a single particle and enables mass closure.
• Thermal and Catalytic Process Development Unit (TCPDU): Used to test biomass pyrolysis, gasification, and catalytic technologies at the pilot scale. The TCPDU also includes online analytical capabilities to calculate mass closure. Partners can also provide their own skid to attach to the TCPDU system.

Biochemical conversion:

• Integrated Biorefinery Research Facility (IBRF): 1-tonne per day pilot plant for biomass pretreatment, enzymatic hydrolysis, and fermentation.
• Fermentation laboratory: Bench scale bioreactors to produce biofuels, bioproducts, and fuel intermediates.
• High-throughput biochemical conversion assays: High-throughput and low volume biochemical screen on pretreated intermediates.
• Anaerobic digestion (AD): Bench scale anaerobic digestion for Biological Safety Level 1 and 2 operations.

Modeling and analysis:

• TEA and LCA on various conversion technologies.
• Air emission and regulatory analysis for biorefinery designs: Analysis of air emissions various biorefinery designs for regulatory analysis.
• Feedstock Production Emissions to Air Model (FPAEM): Analysis of the environmental effects of bioenergy and bioproduct technologies or feedstocks.

Biomass compositional analysis:

• Compositional analysis on raw biomass as well as various pretreated intermediates.

TEA and LCA:

• TEA and LCA sensitivities for feedstock supply chains to assess impacts of proposed process changes or improvements against the baseline TEA and LCA (including feedstock production, harvest/collection, storage, and transportation).

Biomass physical characterization:

• Physical characterization of biomass particle size and shape (with 3D dynamic image analysis).
• Bulk and particle envelope densities.
• Flowability (flow energy and index, compressibility, mixing, segregation, and shear).

High-temperature conversion reactor modeling:

• A multiscale, predictive computational fluid dynamic (CFD) modeling framework to simulate, optimize, and scale up reactors for the thermochemical conversion (pyrolysis and gasification) of biomass and municipal solid wastes. Our pyrolysis model has been well-validated for wide-ranging biomass types for pyrolysis (e.g., forest residues, loblolly pine, corn stover) and gasification (high-density polyethylene, low-density polyethylene wastes, eucalyptus, loblolly pine).
• Reduced order models for predicting the lumped yields of biomass pyrolysis products (bio-oil, pyrolytic gases, and biochar).

Characterization, modeling, and mitigation of tool wear in biomass preprocessing and biomass fouling-induced feedline clogging:

• Characterization of wear-critical components to determine the wear/failure mechanisms correlated to feedstock properties (morphology/topography, microstructure, composition, and mechanical properties).
• Modeling of key contact interfaces of worn components (contact mechanics, heat transfer, chemical reactions, flow dynamics).
• Characterizing and modeling thermal decomposition-induced fouling on the screw feeder used in high-temperature biomass conversion reactors.
• Development of advanced coatings and surface treatments for mitigating the tool wear and biomass fouling issues.

Biochemical conversion and fermentation:

• Bench-top reactor operations, process characterizations, and fermentation operation for a range of microbial systems and products.

TEA and LCA: 

• TEA and LCA sensitivities for chemical processes and test proposed process changes or improvements against the baseline TEA and LCA.

Hydrotreating testing capabilities:

• Hydrotreating testing capabilities to evaluate catalytic upgrading (5ml catalyst bed) of a bio-oil or bio-crude to hydrocarbon fuel blendstock for 100h on stream. 

Pyrolysis oil and biocrude characterization:

• Pyrolysis oil and other biocrude characterization for a range of analyses. These can include one or more of: thermal stability, inductively coupled plasma (ICP) analysis, gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GCMS), Elemental CHNS, Elemental oxygen, Density/Viscosity, carboxylic acid number and total acid number (CAN-TAN), CO titration, Karl Fischer titration (water content), ion chromatography (IC) for anion analysis, liquid chromatography (LC) to analyze aqueous phase organics.

Data management strategy:

• Help early-stage companies develop a data management strategy and select and deploy commercial cloud-based solutions for meeting their data needs. Such solutions may include a Laboratory Information Management System (LIMS), Scientific Data Management System (SDMS), or an Industrial Analytics suite of tools for time series pilot plant data.  Services may include defining business and technical use cases, configuring security and access controls, developing workflows for ingestion of instrument or unit operation data into a database, sample management, and data integration and analysis.

There is a four-step application process:

1. Applicants must submit an intent to propose no later than 11:59 p.m. MT on Nov. 1, 2024. 
2. Applicants for Topic Areas 1 and 3 must meet with FCIC researchers and provide a 20-minute presentation covering the proposal, allowing the FCIC researchers to provide feedback on feasibility and relevance. Applicants will be encouraged or discouraged from applying within a week of their presentation.
3. Applicants must develop a proposal in collaboration with a national laboratory partner using the appropriate proposal template.
4. Applicants must submit full proposals no later than 11:59 p.m. MT, Dec. 6, 2024. Reviewers will not consider submissions after that time; there is no appeals process. 

• Complete submitted proposals, accompanied with the applicants’ acknowledgement of the application requirements, will be reviewed by a team of independent reviewers and selected for subject matter expertise and independence from Industrial Partnership Call (IPC) applications.
• The applicant, by submitting its application, consents to the use of non-federal reviewers. Non-federal reviewers must sign conflict of interest (COI) and non-disclosure acknowledgements (NDA) prior to reviewing an application. 
• The review team will score and make recommendations for each project proposal. 
• The DOE’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) will then select from the list of recommended projects, based on strategic priorities and the available resources. 
• The FCIC will communicate to all applicants the results of the proposal selection process and next steps for selected applicants.

Only for-profit or non-profit companies and organizations are eligible to apply. Universities and federally funded research and development centers (FFRDCs) are not eligible. Companies and organizations based outside of the United States must have a U.S. subsidiary.

No. All awarded funds will be spent within the participating national laboratories, with applicants directing how resources and expertise within the FCIC are applied within the collaboration.

Two of the three IPC topics require cost share contributions from the applicant.

For projects that require cost share, the cost share is calculated as a percentage of the total project budget. 

Most substantive contributions to the project will count as cost share, such as but not limited to labor, travel, materials, equipment, data, or cash. Cost-share may not be derived from U.S. federal government funding streams. Please see the Code of Federal Regulations 200.306 for more details on what is considered allowable cost-share.

There are no additional accounting requirements for the proposal beyond the completion of the industry tasks/deliverables and cost estimates listed. If selected, the normal DOE requirements for accounting for in-kind cost share will apply.

Successful applicants to Topic Area 1 will have the option to disclose background intellectual property, where disclosure does not grant to any Party any option, grant, or license to commercialize, or otherwise use another Party’s Background Intellectual Property. Further, per the non-negotiable CRADA terms, the successful applicant shall have the option to select from an exclusive license or a non-exclusive license to IP developed as part of the project. For details, please review the CRADA Multilab SingleParticipant template document and Statement of Work document.

Projects that propose activities beyond the time limits for each Topic Area can be proposed, but in such cases the review team will concentrate on what is proposed for the anticipated project period.

This will be assessed on a case-by-case basis and will refer to the challenges and risks specifically called out in the proposal submission. For instance, where a negative impact of a perceived risk is identified as a potential showstopper, this may necessitate a go/no-go milestone. The deliverables in the proposal should be used to enable proactive project management with clearly defined goals, metrics, and timelines.

Yes, please email [email protected]. 

Yes, provided that each application describes a unique, scientifically distinct project and otherwise meets the application requirements. Applicants can submit multiple applications to multiple topic areas or within the same topic area.

No. All proposal material must be contained within the page limit. 

Proposals should be well-aligned with the missions of DOE, BETO, and FCIC to support the research, development, and demonstration to enable the sustainable use of domestic biomass and waste resources to produce biofuels and bioproducts. For more information, visit the BETO website. 

Public disclosure of the key results of each project is mandatory, and dissemination plans will contribute to the overall proposal score. This disclosure could take many forms, such as a peer-reviewed journal article, an article in a trade journal, or a technical report published by the FCIC personnel working on the project. It is not the intention to require public disclosure of applicant’s proprietary data, but the share enough information to allow external stakeholders to benefit from the work performed. For example, if a project develops a new feedstock characterization tool, the details of the tool will be disclosed, but not data on the specific feedstock used by the applicant. Similarly, if a computational modeling tool is developed to predict the flow behavior of an applicant’s feedstock stream in a hopper, the model must be disclosed, but not the proprietary applicant data used to parameterize and validate it.

The topic areas are described above along with representative projects in each area. However, neither the topic areas nor the example projects are meant to be exhaustive. Any project that will identify, characterize, or mitigate the impact(s) of the variability in an eligible feedstock or eligible process on overall process economics or risk is acceptable.

Applicants without a UEI can request one here.