Cooperative Agreement DEAR0000440

This National Science Foundation Project Grant award of $382,376 supports research at Texas A&M Engineering Experiment Station to develop synthetic methane fixation cascades based on engineered membrane vesicles for biofuel cell applications. The three-year award under the NSF Engineering program (CFDA 47.041) will fund the creation of artificial enzyme cascades to completely oxidize methane to carbon dioxide, generating electrons that can power fuel cells. Researchers aim to conjugate...

This Project Grant from the National Science Foundation's Technology, Innovation, and Partnerships program, CFDA 47.084, provides $550,000 to develop an advanced membrane-contact reactor system for fuel alcohol production from distributed biomass and natural gas resources. The awardee, Power Environmental Energy Research Institute of Covina, California, will design a highly efficient methanol production process using a sweep liquid-facilitated membrane contact reactor. This integrated reactor...

Molten Industries Inc. received a $256,000 National Science Foundation Project Grant under the NSF Technology, Innovation, and Partnerships program to develop a novel method for tuning the production of high-quality solid carbon using methane pyrolysis. The company will conduct research to better understand carbon precipitation and formation in methane pyrolysis reactors. This will include developing an improved thermo-chemical model and reactor design to enable better control over producing...

The National Science Foundation awarded a $716,898 Project Grant to the University of North Texas under the Biological Sciences federal grant program (CFDA 47.074) to develop advanced biocatalyst tools and resources to enable biogas-based biomanufacturing from August 15, 2022 to July 31, 2025. Specifically, the University of North Texas will utilize genetic engineering and metabolic modeling to advance methanotroph-based biotechnologies for the sequestration and utilization of methane and carbon...

This National Science Foundation (NSF) grant under the Engineering program (CFDA 47.041) provides $360,000 to the University of Tennessee to develop innovative microbial communities capable of converting organic waste into renewable biogas through a process known as electro-methanogenesis. The key objectives are to: Build robust electro-methanogenic microbial communities by continuously switching the direction of electricity, enabling both organic-consuming and biogas-producing microorganisms to...

This National Science Foundation (NSF) Early-Concept Grants for Exploratory Research (EAGER) award under the NSF Engineering program (CFDA 47.041) provides $150,000 to researchers at the City University of New York (CUNY) City College to investigate using hydrogen peroxide, a toxic waste product generated by certain bacteria, as an energy source for efficient biofuel and biochemical production. The key objectives are to: 1) develop an E. coli strain platform to control and monitor hydrogen...

The National Science Foundation (NSF) Directorate for Engineering (CFDA 47.041) awarded a $200,000 EAGER grant to Auburn University to develop and validate a novel multi-tray dry biofilm reactor that can directly capture methane (CH4) from the air. The goal is to convert the captured CH4, a potent greenhouse gas, into valuable single-cell proteins for animal feed. This research aims to advance understanding of biofilm-based conversion of atmospheric CH4 and provide a quantitative assessment of...

The National Science Foundation (NSF) awarded a $256,000 Technology, Innovation, and Partnerships (CFDA 47.084) project grant to Sofi Tec, LLC, a woman-owned small business, to develop affordable and efficient new chemical processes for the conversion of natural gas to alcohols. The project aims to reduce methane emissions and mitigate carbon dioxide emissions by capturing and converting methane from flaring and venting, which is expected to have environmental benefits and provide a commercially...

This three-year, $390,261 National Science Foundation project grant will fund research at The Washington University to advance the production of volatile fatty acids from organic wastes through anaerobic digestion. Specifically, the university will investigate using hydrogen peroxide generated via bioelectrochemical conversion to inhibit methanogenesis and maximize valuable chemical yields. Researchers will study inhibition mechanisms, evaluate membrane separation systems, and explore...

This $2,526,095 cooperative agreement was awarded on May 1, 2025 by the National Science Foundation (NSF) under the Technology, Innovation, and Partnerships (CFDA 47.084) program. It was granted to Arzeda Corp, a biotechnology company in Seattle, WA, to develop a cell-free enzymatic system that can use electricity to convert carbon dioxide into methanol, a valuable fuel and industrial chemical. The project aims to achieve energy efficiencies exceeding 70% by integrating AI-driven enzyme...