Project Grant 201633610254931

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...

Advanced Energy Materials LLC received a $256,500 Project Grant award from the Department of Energy Office of Science on June 27, 2022 to develop bioplastic polyethylene (2,5-furandicarboxylate) (PEF) using CO2. The one-year project will be performed in Louisville, KY under the Office of Science Financial Assistance Program (CFDA #81.049), which supports basic research to transform understanding of nature and advance U.S. energy and economic security. Specifically, the company will work 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...

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 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...

Lakril Technologies Corporation received a $256,000 Project Grant award from the National Science Foundation to develop and commercialize a process for producing bio-based acrylic acid and acrylates using lactic acid derived from corn and sugar crops. The grant falls under the NSF Technology, Innovation, and Partnerships program, which seeks to advance science, engineering, and innovation leading to breakthrough technologies and solutions to national challenges. Specifically, Lakril will...

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...

This $300,000 Project Grant awarded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) Division of Chemistry aims to develop novel polymeric materials based on segmented polar-polyolefin copolymers with complex architectures. Professors Eva Harth at the University of Houston and Krzysztof Matyjaszewski at Carnegie Mellon University are collaborating on this 3-year effort, which seeks to advance energy storage materials and plastic upcycling capabilities. The key products and services to be delivered...

This three-year Project Grant from the National Science Foundation's Division of Chemical, Bioengineering, Environmental, and Transport Systems, under the Engineering program (CFDA 47.041), provides $273,000 to Purdue University to develop porous bi-layer catalysts for converting carbon dioxide into valuable C2+ products like ethylene at industrially relevant rates. A collaborative team from Purdue University and University of Wisconsin-La Crosse will engineer novel layered catalyst structures...

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 $181,500 to Sustainable Chemicals LLC to develop a family of renewable and biodegradable bioplastics that can replace large-volume petrochemical plastics like polyethylene and polypropylene. The bioplastics are designed to have a 75% lower carbon...