Project Grant DESC0021836

Forest Concepts LLC received a $175,000 Project Grant award 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) effective September 1, 2025, with completion targeted for April 30, 2027. The grant supports the development and optimization of an integrated size reduction and drying system designed to produce micronized woody biomass feedstock at particle sizes of 200-500 micrometers,...

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...

Qualterra, Inc. received a $174,998 Project Grant award 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), effective September 30, 2025 through May 30, 2027. The award supports the design, assembly, and testing of a 12X scaled biomass processing system capable of converting agricultural and forestry waste into biochar and energy. The system will incorporate re-engineered key...

Mahipapa LLC received a $600,000 Project Grant award on September 5, 2025, from the U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service under the Wood Utilization Assistance program (CFDA 10.674) to automate the wood chipper loading process at a biomass energy plant located in Hawaii. The project will replace manual wood chip loading and existing crane loading equipment with an underpile reclaimer system, with completion targeted for December 31, 2028. This automation initiative is designed to enhance...

This National Science Foundation Project Grant of $198,114 supports collaborative research at Michigan State University to develop a low-energy tandem process for fractionating and reversibly preserving lignocellulose using multifunctional aldehyde sulfonic acids. The research will test the hypothesis that aldehyde sulfonic acids can more effectively and selectively fractionate lignocellulose than current mineral/organic acid and aldehyde combinations under mild conditions. It aims to maximize...

The National Science Foundation's Engineering program (CFDA 47.041) awarded a $3,000,000 project grant to the University of New Mexico (UNM) to develop a groundbreaking new approach for degrading lignin, a key barrier to the full utilization of woody biomass. The project, titled "TRAILBLAZER: Overcoming the Lignin Barrier for Valorization of Forest Biomass-- A New Paradigm for Mitigation of Catastrophic Wildfires", aims to unlock the potential of wood as a green chemical feedstock by...

The U.S. Forest Service Rocky Mountain Research Station awarded Todd Niehoff $317,200 on August 19, 2025, under the Infrastructure and Investment Jobs Act Financial Assistance to Facilities that Purchase and Process Byproducts for Ecosystem Restoration program (CFDA 10.725). The project, scheduled for completion by July 31, 2027, will support the procurement and installation of a new firewood processing machine designed to optimize raw material utilization and improve operational efficiency. The...

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 Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management awarded a $4,824,449 Cooperative Agreement on January 17, 2025 to Advanced Cooling Technologies Inc. (ACT) under the Fossil Energy Research and Development program (CFDA 81.089). The project, titled "Efficient Compact Combustors for Methane Mitigation (ECOMM)", aims to mature the technology by demonstrating its long-term operation, material durability, and sustained performance for different methane emissions...

This Project Grant from the National Science Foundation's Technology, Innovation, and Partnerships program totaling $255,655 will support the development of a zeolite filter to dry biomass in an energy efficient and gentle manner. Specifically, the Small Business Technology Transfer Phase I award made to Startle Innovation LLC on September 15, 2022 and concluding March 31, 2023 aims to produce a reusable particle filter for efficiently dehydrating agricultural products while preserving...