Federal Cooperative Agreement Award Summary

UC Berkeley, under the leadership of Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, received a $1.52M Cooperative Agreement from the Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E, CFDA 81.135) awarded on May 15, 2026, to develop biological nitrification inhibitors for reducing nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions in sorghum production. The project, titled "Developing Biological Nitrification Inhibitors to Reduce N2O Emissions in Sorghum," will leverage plant-microbe interactions to create a sustainable approach that simultaneously reduces agricultural greenhouse gas emissions, enhances soil nutrient retention, and decreases nitrogen fertilizer dependency. The three-year research initiative, concluding May 14, 2029, aligns with ARPA-E's mission to advance high-potential, high-impact energy and emissions reduction technologies that address climate change mitigation and agricultural sustainability challenges.

The research deliverables will focus on fundamental and applied research outcomes including the identification and characterization of biological compounds capable of inhibiting nitrification processes in soil, demonstrated performance data in sorghum cultivation systems, and potentially commercializable technologies or methodologies for reducing synthetic nitrogen's environmental impact. As a merit-selected cooperative agreement within ARPA-E's competitive portfolio, this award represents the agency's commitment to supporting transformative innovations in agricultural emissions reduction and sustainable crop production practices.