Project Grant 200933610198831

This $300,000 award from the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) under the Agriculture and Food Research Initiative (CFDA 10.310) will fund the development and field testing of elite poplar tree varieties with reduced lignin content for more sustainable and efficient wood fiber production. The project aims to establish a short-rotation agroforestry system utilizing these genetically engineered poplar trees with enhanced traits for increased pulp yield and reduced carbon...

This Project Grant award from the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Program is supporting Poplar Innovations Inc. in developing improved hybrid poplar varieties for the bioeconomy. The $175,000 award, provided from August 2025 to April 2026, aims to breed new hybrid poplar strains that maintain high biomass productivity while also demonstrating durable resistance to a recent outbreak of Melampsora...

This federal Project Grant award from the U.S. Department of Agriculture's National Institute of Food and Agriculture (CFDA 10.212 Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Program / Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Program) provides $174,929 to Poplar Innovations Inc., a small disadvantaged business, to develop endophyte-mediated disease resistance technology to combat pathogens affecting hybrid poplar, a key cellulosic feedstock for the bioeconomy. The objectives are to: 1) identify...

This $2,841,262 federal Project Grant awarded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) Biological Sciences program (CFDA 47.074) supports research at Oregon State University (OSU) to leverage the natural diversity of Agrobacterium bacteria to enhance genetic transformation and regeneration capabilities in woody plant species, with a focus on the economically important poplar. The key objectives are to screen ~100 novel Agrobacterium strains, analyze the genetic factors underlying high...

This $649,929 federal Project Grant from the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) Agriculture and Food Research Initiative (AFRI) program will fund research at the University of Maryland, College Park to investigate the molecular and genetic basis of seasonal nitrogen cycling in poplar trees. The research aims to advance understanding of how perennial plants like trees efficiently acquire and utilize nitrogen, which is a critical nutrient for plant growth and productivity....

The U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) awarded a $175,000 Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Program grant to Forest Concepts LLC, a for-profit limited liability company based in Auburn, Washington. The objective of this 20-month project grant is to optimize the entire size reduction and drying system for producing micronized biomass feedstock, with the goal of reducing energy consumption while enhancing feedstock performance for...

The U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Science awarded a $200,000 Project Grant to Forest Concepts LLC, a for-profit limited liability company based in Auburn, Washington. The grant, titled "PARTICLE-LEVEL DENSIFICATION OF BULK BIOMASS MATERIALS TO REPLACE PELLETIZED FUELS AND FEEDSTOCKS," aims to support research and development into advanced biomass densification technologies. The project, which will run from July 22, 2024, to March 21, 2025, seeks to transform bulk biomass...

This $866,598 federal Project Grant award, funded under the United States Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Agriculture and Food Research Initiative (AFRI) CFDA 10.310 program, supports research to develop cost-effective and environmentally friendly pathways to upgrade lignocellulosic biomass into a bioplastic precursor (3-hydroxypropionic acid) and biopolymers. The key objectives of this 4-year project, led by Kansas State University, are to: (1) identify integrated biomass pretreatment...

This $256,000 Project Grant was awarded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) under the Technology, Innovation, and Partnerships (CFDA 47.084) program. The award to Terragia Biofuel Inc., a for-profit organization, aims to develop innovative bioprocessing technologies for converting lignocellulosic biomass into hydrocarbon fuels and products. Specifically, the project is focused on demonstrating the feasibility of a technique called Continuous Evolution with Multiplex Natural Transformation...

This $591,500 federal Project Grant award from the USDA's Agriculture and Food Research Initiative (CFDA 10.310) aims to develop two energy-efficient and atmospheric-pressure biomass fractionation platforms that can stabilize and functionalize carbohydrates and lignin from lignocellulosic biomass. The principal awardee, Michigan State University, is conducting research to advance technologies for utilizing forestry and agricultural biomass in bioenergy, chemicals, and bioproducts. MSU will...