New award to university of southern california control number 3505-1501 nofo DE-FOA-0003505 project title synth-on: an autonomous synthetic framework to power the refinery of tomorrow proposed…

The Department of Energy Advanced Research Projects Agency awarded a $2,037,750 cooperative agreement to the University of Southern California on August 20, 2026, to develop SYNTH-ON, an autonomous synthetic framework designed to bridge the commercialization gap between catalyst discovery and industrial refinery deployment. The award funds the integration of an AI-driven workflow that combines a discovery-to-production continuous parallel flow synthetic platform with rapid catalyst production capabilities, creating a generalizable framework to power refinery operations of the future. The period of performance runs through August 19, 2029, with work performed in Los Angeles, California. This award is made under the Advanced Research Projects Agency - Energy program (CFDA 81.135), which supports high-potential, high-impact energy technologies at an early stage inappropriate for private-sector investment.

New award to university of southern california control number 3505-1501 nofo DE-FOA-0003505 project title synth-on: an autonomous synthetic framework to power the refinery of tomorrow proposed synth-on platform seeks to create a generalizable framework that spans the valley of death separating catalyst discovery from industrial commercialization. The core innovation lies in its integrated, AI-driven workflow that marries an innovative discovery-to-production continuous parallel flow synthetic platform with rapid, state-of-the-art technical catalyst production capabilities.