Project Grant 200910006059302

This $275,000 federal Project Grant award from the National Science Foundation (NSF) Technology, Innovation, and Partnerships (CFDA 47.084) program supports the development, modeling, and validation of a novel technology to enhance the efficiency of anaerobic digestion for biogas generation from organic waste. The project, led by Elif Environmental LLC, aims to leverage microwaves and electromagnetic fields to improve anaerobic fermentation efficiency by at least 20% across a range of...

Via Biofuels Inc. received a $175,000 Project Grant from the Institute of Bioenergy, Climate, and Environment under the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Program (CFDA 10.212) effective September 1, 2025, with a completion date of April 30, 2026. The award supports development of a genetically engineered yeast strain capable of converting lactose from whey permeate—a dairy industry waste product—into 3-methylanisole (3-MA), a versatile molecule suitable as a gasoline replacement and...

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 $300,000 Project Grant awarded by the USDA's Agriculture and Food Research Initiative (CFDA 10.310) aims to demonstrate the feasibility of producing chirally pure (R)-3-hydroxybutyrate (R-3HB) from plant waste materials, such as wood and crop leftovers, by modifying Clostridium pathways. The research will create and test two different R-3HB production pathways in Clostridium, then combine and further optimize the approaches to boost R-3HB yields in the bacterium. If successful, this work...

The University of California, Davis will demonstrate a system for biomass recycling and creation of ammonia fertilizer to optimize its existing digester system under a $299,627 cooperative agreement from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The project addresses the EPA's Solid Waste Management Assistance Grants program, which promotes integrated solid waste management solutions. UC Davis will accept food waste to test innovative infrastructure for renewable natural gas conversion and...

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...

The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Rural Business Cooperative Services awarded a $10,000,000 Project Grant to Allotrope Cellulosic Development Company LLC in Orinda, California under the Biobased Market Development and Access Grant Program (CFDA 10.376). The grant supports the development of advanced biomanufacturing technologies, including anaerobic fermentation, yeast microbe modification, and cellulosic biorefinery facilities. The project aims to build or operate an Integrated Demonstration...

The U.S. Department of Energy's Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) awarded a $2,073,897 Cooperative Agreement to the Georgia Institute of Technology, in partnership with the University of California, Berkeley, and Princeton University, to develop a transformative modular chemical manufacturing process that efficiently converts carbon dioxide (CO2) and intermittent electricity and hydrogen (H2) into a liquid hydrocarbon/low-oxygen organic mixture. The overall goal is to create a...

Integrated Lipid Biofuels LLC was awarded a $650,000 Project Grant from the US Department of Agriculture National Institute of Food and Agriculture under the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Program. The two-year award will support the company's efforts to develop a process for converting organic waste into biopolymers by synergizing anaerobic digestion and synthetic biology techniques. The SBIR Program aims to stimulate technological innovation through the investment of federal...

The Department of Energy's Office of Science has awarded a $250,000 Project Grant to Quasar Energy Group LLC to support the "Integration of Biogas Upgrading and Enzyme-Boosted CO2 Mineralization for Eco-Friendly and Cost-Effective Production of Synthetic Aggregates" project. This 1-year project, which began on July 22, 2024, aims to develop innovative technologies that transform organic waste into valuable resources. Key objectives include advancing biogas upgrading processes and...