Project Grant 201133610310421

This Project Grant award for $275,000 from the National Science Foundation's (NSF) Technology, Innovation, and Partnerships (CFDA 47.084) program supports the development and validation of a biodegradable biopolymer platform to replace conventional plastic and PFAS-based coatings for paper-based packaging. The awardee, Retrn Bioworks Inc., is utilizing a novel fermentation process to produce high-performance poly-4-hydroxybutyrate (P4HB) copolymers from lignocellulosic waste feedstocks. The...

This Project Grant award from the National Science Foundation's (NSF) Integrative Activities program (CFDA 47.083) provides $118,143 to the University of Alabama to develop sustainable, functional paper-based packaging materials as an alternative to plastic. The project aims to improve the barrier properties of cellulose-based packaging by impregnating it with bio-derived compounds extracted from agricultural waste, using supercritical carbon dioxide technology. Key activities involve studying...

The National Science Foundation (NSF) awarded a $111,777 Project Grant through their Integrative Activities program (CFDA 47.083) to the University of Mississippi to develop sustainable, bio-based alternatives to plastic packaging. The grant will fund research to impregnate cellulose-based packaging materials with functional, agricultural waste-derived compounds to improve barrier properties and end-of-life characteristics, providing a renewable substitute for plastic packaging. Key activities...

TD Polymers LLC received a $304,633 Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I award from the National Science Foundation (NSF) Technology, Innovation, and Partnerships (TIP) program (CFDA 47.084) effective October 1, 2025, through September 30, 2026. The company will develop and validate compostable multilayer polymer films with programmable biodegradation profiles engineered through multilayer coextrusion technology. The core deliverable addresses the gap between current biodegradable...

Grant Award Summary Green Materials LLC received a $175,000 Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I award from the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) under CFDA 10.212, with an award date of September 15, 2025, and completion target of May 14, 2027. The project aims to develop and validate a novel manufacturing procedure and machine component capable of processing non-meltable, agriculturally-derived polymers through injection-compression molding. This innovation...

This National Science Foundation (NSF) Convergence Accelerator Track M award of $649,990 to Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) supports the development and commercialization of a family of sustainable bio-based plastics derived from hydroxy fatty acids. Key activities include scaling up monomer synthesis, conducting polymer characterization and recycling assessments, and performing techno-economic and life cycle analyses. RPI is collaborating with Danimer Scientific, a bioplastics...

The National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA), an agency of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, awarded $175,000 under the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Program to KSE, Inc. of Sunderland, Massachusetts. The award will support KSE's efforts to develop and scale an integrated process for converting lignocellulosic waste streams into 2,5-furandicarboxylic acid (FDCA) at high selectivity without pre-treatment of biomass compounds. Key activities include improving reactive...

This Project Grant award provided by the National Science Foundation (NSF) Division of Civil, Mechanical, and Manufacturing Innovation (CFDA 47.041 Engineering) will support the development of novel manufacturing principles for high-performance, sustainable packaging films from hierarchically reinforced biopolymers. The $374,160 award to North Carolina State University aims to enable the production of natural material-based films that match or exceed the properties of synthetic polymer films,...

Federal Project Grant Award Summary Transfoam LLC (doing business as Ourobio), a small disadvantaged business based in Richmond, Virginia, received a $175,000 project grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture's National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) under the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Program (CFDA 10.212). The award, dated September 1, 2025, with a completion date of April 30, 2027, supports the development of an innovative fermentation-based technology that...

This $450,000 National Science Foundation Project Grant supports research at Michigan State University to develop high-barrier biodegradable paper as alternatives to plastics and PFAS-coated materials. The two-year award under the Engineering (47.041) program will fund investigation of solvent-free biodegradable polyester latex coating methods and their impact on creating high-barrier biodegradable paper through a dual-layer approach. Researchers will evaluate end-of-life scenarios,...