ChemCatBio Phase II Directed Funding Assistance

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Proposal Submission Deadline: 5 p.m. MST on Friday, November 22, 2019 (send to [email protected])

To accelerate the development of catalysts and related technologies for the commercialization of biomass-derived fuels and chemicals, the ChemCatBio consortium is offering a Phase II Directed Funding Opportunity (DFO). The DFO allows industry to request research and development (R&D) assistance from U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) national labs for developing and evaluating catalysts for biofuel and bioproduct applications. This Phase II DFO is open to all industry partners involved in awarded Phase I projects, and the proposed Phase II projects must build upon the progress in Phase I to further advance the technology.

Submission Instructions

To apply, teams composed of both industry partners and ChemCatBio researchers will submit a short proposal that identifies the technical challenge and describes how leveraging existing ChemCatBio capabilities or developing new ChemCatBio capabilities will help overcome this challenge and accelerate the catalyst and process development cycle. All submissions should be no more than five pages in length. The proposal should be single spaced with 12-point Calibri font. Proprietary and sensitive information should not be included in the proposal.

Required criteria for proposal submissions include:

  1. Phase I Outcomes (35% of total score)
  2. Phase II Project Description (35% of total score)
  3. Impact of Proposed Research on ChemCatBio, DOE Bioenergy Technologies Office (BETO), and the Bioeconomy (20% of total score)
  4. Key Personnel and Resources, Requested Budget, Milestones, and Appropriateness of Government Funding (10% of total score)

Proposals will be reviewed and scored by BETO and the ChemCatBio leadership team, with final project approval and funds authorized to the national laboratories by DOE. ChemCatBio anticipates one to two funded projects as part of this Phase II DFO call. Project terms are limited to no more than two years with up to $400,000 of federal funding per project. Federal funds are allocated to DOE national laboratories for providing ChemCatBio resources only and are subject to available ChemCatBio budget. Industry cost share (in-kind or cash) is required to be 30% of the total project budget (total project budget is the sum of DOE funds plus industry cost share). All projects will be subject to DOE reviews and reporting requests.

Requirements

To be considered, submitting organizations must certify that they will adhere to the following:

  • Unique Lab Capabilities: Request assistance that is not reasonably available in the private sector. Projects are intended to make available the specialized expertise and equipment at the national labs, not compete with the private sector.
  • Cost Share: Commit to at least a 30% cost share, which can be in-kind. Examples: labor, travel, materials, equipment, data, or cash. Federal funds may not be used as cost share.
  • Agreements: Sign a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) that governs intellectual property and other terms. This agreement will be negotiated with the lead laboratory.
  • Reporting: Commit to providing results during the project and for up to ~5 years after the project start date.
  • Release of Information: Agree to allow non-proprietary information about your business and the success of the assistance to be featured in publicly available stories by DOE and the labs.
  • Acknowledgements: Agree to recognize ChemCatBio and DOE support during external presentations.

Download the proposal template for this opportunity. Each section of this template is aligned with specific review criteria for ChemCatBio directed funding assistance projects.

Important Dates

  • Proposal Submission Deadline: 5 p.m. MST Friday, November 22, 2019 (send to [email protected])