GO0000096 FOA ARRA Final 050509

FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE

FUNDING OPPORTUNITY ANNOUNCEMENT

U.S.Department of Energy

Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy

Golden Field Office

Innovative Pilot and Demonstration Scale Production of Advanced Biofuels

Funding Opportunity Announcement Number: DE-FOA-0000739

Announcement Type: Initial

CFDA Number: 81.087 Renewable Energy Research and Development

Issue Date: June 15, 2012

Concept Paper Due Date: July 16, 2012, 5:00 PM Eastern Time

Applicants must submit a Concept Paper by the due date to be eligible to submit an Application.

Application Due Date: August 13, 2012, 5:00 PM Eastern Time

REGISTRATION REQUIREMENTS

There are several one-time actions that must be completed before submitting an Application in response to this Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA), as follows:

This account will then allow the user to register for any open EERE FOAs that are currently in EERE Exchange. It is recommended that each organization or business unit, whether acting as a team or a single entity, use only one account as the contact point for each submission.

The applicant will receive an automated response when the Concept Paper andApplication are received. This will serve as a confirmation of receipt. Please do not reply to the automated response. The applicant will have the opportunity to re-submit a revised Concept Paper or Application for any reason as long as the relevant submission is submitted by the specified deadline. The Users’ Guide for Applying to the Department of Energy EERE Funding Opportunity Announcements is found at

The EERE Exchange registration does not have a delay; however, the remaining registration requirements below could take several weeks to process and are necessary in order for a potential applicant to receive an award under this announcement. Therefore, although not required in order to submit an Application through the EERE Exchange site, all potential applicants lacking a DUNS number, or not yet registered with CCR or FedConnect should complete those registrations as soon as possible.

Questions related to the registration process and use of the EERE Exchange website should be submitted to:

Obtain a Dun and Bradstreet Data Universal Numbering System (DUNS) number

(including the plus 4 extension, if applicable) at

Designating an Electronic Business Point of Contact (EBiz POC) and obtaining a special password called an MPIN are important steps in CCR registration. Please update your CCR registration annually.

account, your organization’s CCR MPIN is required. For more information about the CCR MPIN or other registration requirements, review the FedConnect Ready, Set, Go! Guide at

Register in Grants.gov to receive automatic updates when Amendments to this FOA are posted. However, please note that applicationsand concept paperswill not be accepted through Grants.gov.
As oflate July 2012 the Central Contractor Registration (CCR) along with several other Federal procurement systems is being incorporated into a single website called the System for Award Management (SAM). The SAM site is located at the migration of CCR into the SAM website is currently in process, should you be unable to find the CCR website ( at its previous location, please use the SAM website in this paragraph.

Table of Contents

NumberSubject Page

SECTION I – FUNDING OPPORTUNITY DESCRIPTION

A. Introduction and Background

B. Description

C. Topic Area Descriptions

SECTION II – AWARD INFORMATION

A. Type of Award Instrument

B. Estimated Funding

C. Maximum and Minimum Award Size

D. Expected Number of Awards

E. Anticipated Award Size

F. Period of Performance

G. Type of Application

H. Contingency

I. National Environmental Policy Act

SECTION III -ELIGIBILITY INFORMATION

A. Eligible Applicants

B. Cost Share 50% for All Applicants

C. Other Eligibility Requirements

D. Multiple Principal Investigators

E. Questions Regarding Eligibility

SECTION IV – APPLICATION AND SUBMISSION INFORMATION

A. Address to Request Application Forms

B. Letter of Intent, Pre-Application, and Concept Paper

C. Content and Form of Application

D. Submissions From Successful Applicants

E. Submission Dates and Times

F. Intergovernmental Review

G. Funding Restrictions

H. Submission and Registration Requirements

SECTION V -APPLICATION REVIEW INFORMATION

A.Criteria

B. Review and Selection Process

C. Anticipated Notice of Selection and Award Date

SECTION VI - AWARD ADMINISTRATION INFORMATION

A. Notice of Selection

B. Administrative Requirements, National Policy Requirements, and Applicant Representations and Certifications

C. Reporting

SECTION VII -QUESTIONS/AGENCY CONTACTS

A. Questions

B. Agency Contact

SECTION VIII - OTHER INFORMATION

A. Amendments

B. Government Right to Reject or Negotiate

C. Commitment of Public Funds

D. Proprietary Application Information

E. Evaluation and Administration by Non-Federal Personnel

F. Intellectual Property Developed under this Program

G. Notice of Right to Request Patent Waiver

H. Notice Regarding Eligible/Ineligible Activities

I. Notice of Right to Conduct a Review of Financial Capability

J. Notice of Potential Disclosure under Freedom of Information Act

K. Lobbying Restrictions

Appendix A – Definitions

Appendix B - Relevant Sections of EPAct 2005, EISA 2007 and DOE, USDA, and Navy MOU

Appendix C – Cost Share Information

Appendix D – Personally Identifiable Information

Appendix E - Typical Award Structure

Appendix F – Petroleum Displacement Analysis

Appendix G - Points of Clarification Regarding Algae

SECTION I – FUNDING OPPORTUNITY DESCRIPTION

1. U.S.Energy Information Administration. 2012. U.S. Government, March 15, 2012. <

A. Introduction and Background

In a speech on March 30, 2011, President Obama directed the Department of the Navy, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), and the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to work with industry to produce advanced hydrocarbon-based biofuels, which will provide alternative sources of liquid transportation fuels that are of interest to the Department of Defense and the private sector. In response to this directive, the Department of Defense (DoD), USDA, and DOE signed aMemorandumofUnderstanding(MOU) on August 30, 2011 (Appendix B). The MOU states that the three agencies will jointly support the design, construction, and operation of integrated biorefineries (IBRs) that produce hydrocarbon-based biofuels from a wide variety of lignocellulosic biomass feedstocks and algae. In support of this MOU, DOE seeks to use its annual appropriated budget authority to fund innovative IBRs that are: (1) capable of producing hydrocarbon-based advanced biofuels that meet military specifications (2) in geographically diverse locations, with (3) no significant impact on the supply of agricultural commodities for the production of food.

A robust advanced biofuels industry is an essential element of our national energy security strategy. Energy security requires unrestricted access to affordable energy sources to provide liquid transportation fuels for our economy and military. Fossil-based petroleum products come from limited, unevenly distributed sources. Our dependence on foreign sources of crude oil undermines foreign policy objectives and creates enormous trade imbalances. It is estimated that the United States transfers approximately $340 billion each year1 (nearly $1 billion per day) to foreign nations to purchase crude oil and refined products. Advanced, biomass-derived transportation fuels that use a domestic, renewable feedstock can provide a secure alternative that reduces the risk associated with our dependence on foreign sources of petroleum. Industry, however, will not assume all of the risks associated with constructing and operating commercial scale advanced biofuels facilities. Therefore, the Federal government intends to reduce these associatedrisks by providing funding for innovative pilot and demonstration scale facilities to produce hydrocarbon-based biofuels from lignocellulosic biomass, algae, or other waste or non-food feedstocks.

DOE’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), announces a Funding Opportunity Announcement for financial assistance from the Office of the Biomass Program. DOE has funded integrated biorefinery technology development projects since FY 2002 to meet two of EERE’s performance goals: 1) dramatically reduce dependence on imported oil, and 2) spur the creation of the domestic bioindustry.These activities and the current funding opportunity support the Administration’s goals of: innovating our way to a clean energy future, developing and securing America’s energy resources, and providing consumers with choices to reduce costs and save energy. It is anticipated that technologiesdeveloped as a result of this funding opportunity will also help to stabilize the cost of transportation for the American consumer, at or near $3 per gallon of gasoline, while improving the environmental impact of transportation fuel use, reducing dependence upon imported petroleum, and increasing U.S.employment in the production of fuels and chemical products from renewable resources.

B. Description

2Integrated biorefineries are discussed further in the following reference

The intent of this FOA is to identify, evaluate, and select innovative pilot or demonstration scale integrated biorefineries[1]that can produce hydrocarbon fuels that meet or are likely to meet military specifications for JP-5 (jet fuel primarily for the Navy), JP-8 (jet fuel primarily for the Air Force), or F-76 (diesel). The pilot- or demonstration-scale biorefinery must be integrated from biomass input to fuel output such that the finished product can be used directly as a fuel. Integrated biorefineries proposed for this funding opportunitymayemploy various combinations of feedstocks and conversion technologies to produce a variety of products, but the primary focus must be on producing biofuels. For the purpose of this FOA, the term “integrated biorefinery” is a facility that uses an “acceptable feedstock” (as more specifically described and defined in Sections I.C.2 and I.C.3 below), to produce a biofuel as the “primary product” (as defined below and in Appendix A) and may produce other products including additional fuels, chemicals (or other materials), and heat and power as co-products. The primary product from an integrated biorefinery is measured by the relative energy content of any solid, liquid, or gas sold or exported from the integrated biorefinery (i.e. the primary product must contain greater than 50% of the energy content exported or sold).

DOE requires applications that propose novel or breakthrough technologies and encourages those thatinclude appropriate collaboration to handle all aspects of the proposed project. This FOA will allow the funding of new (green-field) pilot or demonstration scale facilities, or the retrofit of existing pilot or demonstration scale facilities, or the continued operation of an existing innovative pilot- or demonstration-scale facility.

Applicants should note that the technology for producing heat and power by conventional means

(e.g. stoker or fluidized bed boilers, co-firing with coal, etc.) is an established technology, and this FOA is designed to address the high technical risks associated with converting biobased feedstocks to biofuels, not heat and power. Hence, for this FOA, applications that propose biorefineries producing heat and power as the primary product will be considered non-responsive and will not be included in the review and selection process. Applicants may, however, propose projects producing heat and power resulting from an integrated biorefinery if the production of an acceptable liquid transportation biofuel is the “primary product.”

Applicants are allowed to submit ONLY one application per topic area, but may apply to both topic areas if they choose. Each application must propose one, and only one, integrated biorefinery technology. Applicants must identify the topic area to which they are applying in the Project Narrative Cover Sheet.

C. Topic Area Descriptions

Topic Area 1: Lignocellulosic Feedstock Topic Area 1 requests applicants to designconstruct and/or operate an integrated pilot- or demonstration-scale integratedbiorefinery in order to validate the proposed technology using an Acceptable Lignocellulosic Feedstock, as defined in Section I.C.2, to produce an AcceptableBiofuel as defined in Section I.C.4.

Novel and highly innovative technologies are strongly encouraged. For example, under Topic Area 1, processes are eligible that can utilize advanced technology approaches for the efficient conversion of carbon dioxide (CO2) (rather than direct conversion of lignocellulosic biomass) directly to liquid transportation fuels. In cases such as this where non-algae-based processes propose to use CO2 as a feedstock, the process will be classified as pilot or demonstration scale as discussed in I.C.3

Topic Area 2: Algal Topic Area 2 requests applicants to design, construct, and/or operate an integrated pilot- or demonstration-scale integratedbiorefinery in order to validate the proposed technologyusing an Acceptable Algal Type, as defined in Appendix A and subject to the discussion in I.C.3, to produce an AcceptableBiofuelas defined in Section I.C.4.

For the purpose of this FOA, a pilot-scale integrated biorefinery is defined as a facility with a throughput of no less than one (1) dry tonne of feedstock per day. A demonstration-scale integrated biorefinery is defined as a facility with a throughput of no less than fifty (50) dry tonnes of feedstock per day. See Section I.C.3 for additional clarification of pilot or demonstration scale as pertains to algae-based technologies.

Requirements and Limitations for both Topic Areas

The proposed integrated biorefinery project must be located within the United States and use a feedstock from a domestic source. The focus of this FOA is to validate the performance of the proposed technology, obtain operational information, validate key process metrics, and/or provide continuous operational data at the scale needed to lower the technical risks associated with proceeding to the next development step, ultimately culminating in the development of a viable commercial plant. Therefore, in lieu of constructing a new facility, the applicant may propose the use of an existing pilot-scale or demonstration-scale integrated biorefinery as appropriate to the Topic Area. Applicants may propose constructing new facilities or modifications to an existing facility (including adding equipment or modules) where it is economically and technically advantageous to do so.

To support DOE’s goals, it is expected that the projects proposed under this FOA will be operational as soon as possible after award. For pilot-scale integrated biorefineries,conversion technologies and systems are sought that have the capability to proceed rapidly through piloting and on to demonstration. For demonstration-scale integrated biorefineries,conversion technologies and systems are sought that can proceed rapidly to commercial-scale operation following successful completion of the proposed project. DOE expects that the successfully completed projects under this FOA willultimately lead to commercialization after further development. Only those applicants willing and able to diligently pursue taking the integrated technology to the commercial scale and have a sound business and technology strategy to deploy and/or license and market the technology commercially should apply.

Although it may only be conceptual in nature, applicants must provide preliminary design and economic projections for an envisioned first commercial integrated biorefinery using the technology validated as a result of the proposed project.Applications that fail to include the technical and financial forecast data on the forms referenced in Section IV.C. will be considered non-responsive and will not be included in the review and selection process. The forecast data will be evaluated by the Merit Review Committee, with the emphasis for scoring applicationsbased on the reasonableness and thoroughness of the discussion of the planning, methodology, and assumptions that support the data. Applicants proposing demonstration-scale biorefineries are expected to have more concrete and well-developed commercialization strategies than applicants who are proposing pilot-scale facilities.

The applicant must demonstrate successful completion of sufficient prior work to justify the basis for using the proposed technology and the scale-up factors for the proposed project scale. That is, applicants proposing a pilot-scale integratedbiorefinery must have obtainedlaboratory or bench-scale data using the proposed feedstock. Similarly, if proposing a demonstration-scale integratedbiorefinery the applicant must have sufficient integrated pilot-scale data, or non-integrated demonstration-scale data using the proposed feedstock. The collected data must justify the basis for the selection of the technology and the scale-up factor for the proposed demonstration-scale integrated biorefinery. For example, demonstration-scale data could be from a non-integrated demonstration facility or from selected unit operations from an integrated facility.

A limited amount of preparatory Research and Development (R&D) work to support the design of a proposed pilot- or demonstration-scale project will be allowed within the scope of the project. Typically up to 20% of the total project budget (total allowable budget) may be proposed for the preparatoryR&D, but the amount is subject to negotiation after notification of selection for negotiation of an award. Preparatory work may include limited R&D including expenses for equipment, salaries, and supplies.

Acceptable Lignocellulosic Feedstocks

Acceptable feedstocks must be domestically available and compliant with the definitions provided in this section and Appendix A. The acceptable feedstocks proposed in response to this FOA must be shown to be domestically available in sufficient quantities to contribute meaningfully to the needed volumes of fuel as required for military purposes, or as described in the Renewable Fuel Standard(RFS) goal of 21 billion gallons of advanced biofuels by 2022 established by the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 (EISA 2007).

For purposes of this FOA, DOE has established the following acceptable feedstocks using the definitions of “renewable biomass” as stated in the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (EPAct 2005, EISA 2007, and the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008, Title IX, Sec. 9001, as guidance:

(A) materials, pre-commercial thinnings, or invasive species from National Forest System land and public lands (as defined in section 103 of the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1702)) that –

(i) are byproducts of preventive treatments that are removed –

(I) to reduce hazardous fuels;

(II) to reduce or contain disease or insect infestation; or

(III) to restore ecosystem health;

(ii) would not otherwise be used for higher-value products; and

(iii) are harvested in accordance with –

(I) applicable law and land management plans; and

(II) the requirements for

i. old-growth maintenance, restoration, and management direction of paragraphs (2), (3), and (4) of subsection (e) of section 102 of the Healthy Forests Restoration Act of 2003 (16 U.S.C. 6512); and