DE-FOA-0003209 Regional Resource Hubs for Purpose-Grown Energy Crops Amendment 000001.docx

U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE)

Regional Resource Hubs for Purpose-Grown Energy Crops

Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) Number: DE-FOA-0003209 FOA Type: InitialModification 000001 Assistance Listing Number: 81.087

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· Applicants must submit a Concept Paper by 5:00 p.m. ET on the due date listed above to be eligible to submit a Full Application.

· To apply to this FOA, applicants must register with and submit application materials through EERE eXCHANGE at https://eere-eXCHANGE.energy.gov, EERE’s online application portal.

· Applicants must designate primary and backup points-of-contact in EERE eXCHANGE with whom EERE will communicate to conduct award negotiations. If an application is selected for award negotiations, it is not a commitment to issue an award. It is imperative that the applicant/selectee be responsive during award negotiations and meet negotiation deadlines. Failure to do so may result in cancelation of further award negotiations and rescission of the selection.

· Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) and System for Award Management (SAM) - Each applicant (unless the applicant is excepted from those requirements under 2 CFR 25.110) is required to: (1) register in the SAM at https://www.sam.gov before submitting an application; (2) provide a valid UEI number in the application; and (3) maintain an active SAM registration with current information when the applicant has an active federal award or an application or plan under consideration by a federal awarding agency. DOE may not make a federal award to an applicant until the applicant has complied with all applicable UEI and SAM requirements and, if an applicant has not fully complied with the requirements by the time DOE is ready to make a federal award, DOE will determine that the applicant is not qualified to receive a federal award and use that determination as a basis for making a federal award to another applicant.

NOTE: Due to the high number of UEI requests and SAM registrations, entity legal business name and address validations are taking longer than expected to process. Entities should start the UEI and SAM registration process as soon as possible. If entities have technical difficulties with the UEI validation or SAM registration process they should use the HELP feature on SAM.gov. SAM.gov will address service tickets in the order in which they are received and asks that entities not create multiple service tickets for the same request or technical issue. Additional entity validation resources can be found here: GSAFSD Tier 0 Knowledge Base - Validating your Entity.

Modifications

All modifications to the FOA are HIGHLIGHTED in the body of the FOA.

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Section I.B, Subtopic Area 1a: Algae, first paragraph, fourth sentence, is modified as follows: ‘The collection of algae blooms as well as the harvest of wild offshore algae such as seaweed is not of interest.’ This modification deletes the phrase, ‘…or the cultivation of offshore algae such as seaweed…’.

Section I.B – Herbaceous Energy Crops. The definition for herbaceous energy crops has been revised to include biennial, annual, and perennial herbaceous energy crops.

Section I.B - Topic Area 1 Applications Specifically Not of Interest, ‘For Subtopic Area 1a (Algae)’. - Third bulleted item revised to indicate that the development and/or use of artificial lighting-based cultivation systems for algae to biofuels and bioproducts is non-responsive to this FOA. This modification adds ‘use of’ as non-responsive and further expands the terms ‘energy products’ to mean biofuels and/or bioproducts.

Appendix H – Glossary. Definitions for annual energy crops, commodity crops, and perennial energy crops have been added to the glossary.

Appendix H – Glossary. The definition for herbaceous energy crop has been revised to match the definition included in Section I.B – Herbaceous Energy Crops.

EERE T 540.117-01: Funding Opportunity Announcement

Template Version November 2023 Questions about this FOA? FY24RRHCropsFOA@ee.doe.gov Problems with EERE Exchange? Email EERE-ExchangeSupport@hq.doe.gov Include FOA name and number in subject line.

Table of Contents

Questions about this FOA? FY24RRHCropsFOA@ee.doe.gov Problems with EERE Exchange? Email EERE-ExchangeSupport@hq.doe.gov Include FOA name and number in subject line.

iv

Funding Opportunity Description

Background and Context

Background and Purpose Building a clean and equitable energy economy and addressing the climate crisis are top priorities of the Biden Administration. This Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) will advance the Biden Administration’s goals to achieve carbon pollution-free electricity by 2035 and to “deliver an equitable, clean energy future, and put the United States on a path to achieve net-zero emissions, economy-wide, by no later than 2050“[footnoteRef:2] to the benefit of all Americans. The Department of Energy (DOE) is committed to pushing the frontiers of science and engineering, catalyzing clean energy jobs through research, development, demonstration, and deployment (RDD&D), and ensuring environmental justice and inclusion of underserved communities. [2: Executive Order 14008, “Tackling the Climate Crisis at Home and Abroad,” January 27, 2021.]

In response to the Biden Administration’s Executive Order 14008, the Departments of Energy, Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and the Environmental Protection Agency released the U.S. National Blueprint for Transportation Decarbonization. This document outlines the strategies and actions to remove all emissions from the transportation sector (aviation, maritime, rail, medium- and heavy duty, as well as off-road) by 2050 and offers a whole-of-government approach to addressing the climate crisis. Individual agencies followed with specific strategies of their own. The Department of Energy, the Department of Transportation (DOT), the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), and other federal agencies released the Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) Grand Challenge, a government-wide approach to reduce the cost, enhance the sustainability, and expand the production of domestic SAF to meet 100% of the aviation fuel demand by 2050. Additionally, DOE has announced the Energy Earthshots Initiative to accelerate breakthroughs of more abundant, affordable, and reliable clean energy solutions within the decade.

The SAF Grand Challenge and the associated SAF Grand Challenge Roadmap lay out action areas spanning activities with the potential to impact supply and end use expansion, cost reduction, and sustainability enhancement of SAF. The action areas - Feedstock Innovation, Building Supply Chains, Policy and Valuation Analysis, and Communicating Progress and Building Support – are of particular interest to DOE’s Bioenergy Technologies Office (BETO). These areas require substantial research, development, and demonstration (RD&D) in feedstock production and sustainability to ensure that feedstocks of sufficient quality and quantity are available to inform policy decisions and support SAF demands.

In May 2023, DOE launched the Clean Fuels & Products Shot™, the seventh Energy Earthshot™. This Energy Earthshot™ focuses on decarbonizing the fuel and chemical industry through alternative sources of carbon to advance cost-effective technologies with a minimum of 85% lower Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions by 2035. Mobilization of renewable carbon resources, at scale, will provide feedstocks that are needed for decarbonizing the transportation and chemical industries.

The RD&D activities to be funded under this FOA will support the government-wide approach to the climate crisis by driving the innovation that can lead to the deployment of clean energy technologies, which are critical for climate protection. Specifically, the objective of this FOA is to support high-impact RD&D on mobilizing low carbon intensity, purpose-grown energy crops necessary to support the production goals of the SAF Grand Challenge and the sustainability goals of the Clean Fuels & Products Shot™. The mobilization of these resources can enable a transition to a clean energy economy, create high-quality jobs, support rural economies, and spur innovation in renewable energy and chemicals production. The activities funded by BETO through this opportunity support DOE’s investment in the production of biofuels and bioproducts; innovation and growth in agricultural industries; the development and deployment of bioenergy technologies; and the achievement of economy-wide net-zero emissions by 2050.

Technology Space and Strategic Goals BETO’s Renewable Carbon Resources (RCR) subprogram develops science and engineering-based strategies and technologies to cost-effectively transform renewable carbon resources into high-quality, environmentally sustainable, conversion-ready feedstocks for biofuels and bioproducts. These strategies and technologies are designed to improve the efficiency, sustainability, and reliability of feedstock production, harvesting or collection, storage, preprocessing, and transportation, and identify the key feedstock quality and operational variables for efficient conversion performance.

As described in DOE’s 2016 Billion-Ton report,[footnoteRef:3] the United States has the potential to sustainably produce more than one billion tons of biomass per year, which can be used as feedstocks for renewable transportation fuels and chemicals. The 2016 Billion-Ton report estimated that over 400 million tons of herbaceous and woody energy crops alone can be sustainably collected each year, with the potential to supply over a third of the biomass needed to fuel hard to decarbonize modes of transportation such as aviation, maritime, rail, and off-road. In subsequent analyses, similar supply potentials were described for microalgae crops.[footnoteRef:4] BETO-funded RD&D has continuously focused on reducing the cost and energy inputs for biomass feedstock production and supply. This FOA will further expand on these efforts by funding RD&D focused on demonstrating purpose-grown energy crop systems, including algae, at pre-commercial scales. For purpose of this FOA, “purpose-grown energy crops” are defined as crops grown solely for renewable bioenergy production. Data generated from these studies will contribute to certifying these crops for markets and bringing these systems to commercial scales. [3: Langholtz, M.H.; Stokes, B.J.; Eaton, L.M. 2016. 2016 Billion-ton report: Advancing domestic resources for a thriving bioeconomy, Volume 1: Economic availability of feedstock. U.S. Department of Energy. ORNL/TM-2016/160.] [4: Davis, R.; Coleman, A.; Wigmosta, M; Markham, J.; Kinchin, C.; Zhu, Y.; Jones, S.; Han, J.; Canter, C.; Li, Q. 2018. 2017 Algae Harmonization Study: Evaluating the Potential for Future Algal Biofuel Costs, Sustainability, and Resource Assessment from Harmonized Modelling. Technical Report ANL-18/12; NREL/TP-5100-70715; PNNL-27547. August 2018. 91p.]

Bringing energy crops from laboratory to commercial scales requires a full crop development program and associated certification. A Feedstock Readiness Level (FSRL) Tool[footnoteRef:5] was developed collaboratively among the USDA, US Federal Aviation Administration, and Research and Innovation Technology Administration under the guidance of the Commercial Aviation Alternative Fuels Initiative® (CAAFI®). This tool assigns feedstocks a FSRL level between 1 and 9 to highlight key requirements for production, market, policy, and linkages to conversion end users at each readiness level. This FOA will utilize the FSRL tool to identify and solve gaps associated with demonstrating purpose-grown energy crop systems, including algae, at pre-commercial scales (below FSRL 7). Such crop development programs are essential to achieving commercial scale production and certification programs required to sustainably grow energy crops, all of which are critical for mobilizing purpose-grown energy crops. [5: Steiner, J. J.; Lewis, K. C.; Baumes, H. S.; Brown, N. L., A Feedstock Readiness Level Tool to Complement the Aviation Industry Fuel Readiness Level Tool. Bioenerg. Res. 2012, 5 (2), 492-503, DOI: 10.1007/s12155-012-9187-1.]

Teaming Partner List DOE is compiling a Teaming Partner List to facilitate the formation of project teams for this FOA. The Teaming Partner List allows organizations that may wish to participate on a project to express their interest to other applicants and explore potential partnerships.

The Teaming Partner List will be available on EERE eXCHANGE and will be regularly updated to reflect new teaming partners who provide their organization’s information.

SUBMISSION INSTRUCTIONS: View the Teaming Partner List by visiting the EERE eXCHANGE homepage and clicking on “Teaming Partners” within the left-hand navigation pane. This page allows users to view published Teaming Partner Lists. To join the Teaming Partner List, submit a request within eXCHANGE. Select the appropriate Teaming Partner List from the drop-down menu and fill in the following information: Investigator Name, Organization Name, Organization Type, Subtopic Area, Background and Capabilities, Website, Contact Address, Contact Email, and Contact Phone.

DISCLAIMER: By submitting a request to be included on the Teaming Partner List, the requesting organization consents to the publication of the above-referenced information. By facilitating the Teaming Partner List, DOE is not endorsing, sponsoring, or otherwise evaluating the qualifications of the individuals and organizations that are identifying themselves for placement on this Teaming Partner List. DOE will not pay for the provision of any information, nor will it compensate any applicants or requesting organizations for the development of such information.

Topic Area

This FOA contains only one Topic Area – Topic Area 1 – which is composed of the following four Subtopic Areas:

· Subtopic Area 1a: Algae

· Subtopic Area 1b: Herbaceous Energy Crops

· Subtopic Area 1c: Intermediate Energy Crops

· Subtopic Area 1d: Short-Rotation Woody Crops

Topic Area 1 and each of the Subtopic Areas is discussed in greater detail below.

Topic Area 1: Purpose-Grown Energy Crops

The objective of Topic Area 1 is to fund projects that will enable the mobilization of low carbon intensity,[footnoteRef:6] purpose-grown energy crops across varied agronomic and geographic landscapes through the generation of data and research findings. Each application selected from this FOA will become a member of the larger Regional Biomass Resource Hub Initiative (RBRH) that will work together with BETO’s established Regional Resource Hub Initiative Coordinator, Idaho National Laboratory (INL), to coordinate experimental plans, report data, and collectively achieve the FOA and Initiative objectives. In addition to project teams from this FOA, the RBRH will work with a broad range of partners including National Laboratories, universities, private companies, farmer organizations, landowner groups, and other government agencies to develop and demonstrate sustainable production systems for purpose-grown energy crops. Initiative partners, including projects selected from this FOA, will work collaboratively with others based on project locations and feedstock types. [6: Carbon intensity is defined as the amount of carbon by weight emitted per unit of energy consumed. A common measure of carbon intensity is weight of carbon per British thermal unit (Btu) of energy. When there is only one fossil fuel under consideration, the carbon intensity and the emissions coefficient are identical. When there are several fuels, carbon intensity is based on their combined emissions coefficients weighted by their energy consumption levels.(EIA, 2023)]

Feedstock groups will consist of projects organized by the Subtopic Areas listed below and regional groups will be based on logical geographic regions. Participants in each feedstock group will work together to develop data standards and procedures, including but not limited to: minimum data quality assurance and quality control standards; minimum data collection standards; minimum biomass compositional analysis procedures; methods for standardization across each of the projects within the feedstock group to allow for cross-comparisons; and data reporting and publication timelines. Participants in each regional group will collaborate to collectively overcome resource mobilization challenges and barriers unique to their regions, as well as coordinate stakeholder outreach opportunities such as field days or workshops and facilitate connections with external partners. Each applicant selected from this FOA will work closely with BETO and INL to:

· Establish and maintain collaboration/participation spanning farmer/landowner, seed producers/developers, logistics operation suppliers or aggregators, end-use stakeholders, and state/regional/federal policy makers.

· Identify end users to utilize excess produced biomass.

· Develop and institute standardized data collection and analysis procedures to be utilized for consistency and institute a framework that will be used to curate RBRH data repositories. The Data Collection Requirements, included in Appendix D, provides additional information on data expectations and requirements. Interim data generated by selected applications may be utilized prior to the completion of the project to advance the mobilization of purpose-grown energy crops.

· Leverage existing data and sample archival tools and procedures to receive, track, and maintain samples and data within the Bioenergy Feedstock Library (BFL) and Bioenergy Knowledge Discovery Framework (KDF).

· Facilitate the connections with non-BETO funding agencies that are interested in partnering with the RBRH.

· Provide input regarding regional matters such as watershed management, pest management, land-use change, and state-level policy.

· Host working groups to identify region-specific challenges.

· Manage and provide intersections for regionally relevant resources.

· Provide project teams with additional connections to industry partners to support mobilization and supply chain development.

· Help identify gaps and needs for data collection efforts to advance feedstock readiness levels of purpose-grown energy crops.

Developing feedstock supplies for biofuels and bioproducts is the primary focus of this Topic Area. To accomplish this, applications are sought that will generate data and research findings needed to support resource mobilization including improvements to quality, yield, cost, mechanization of propagation/planting systems, pest management, carbon intensity reduction, ecosystem services, and more from the cultivation of purpose-grown energy crops. Examples of reducing carbon intensity include optimization of nutrient applications or implementation of precision agricultural practices which can reduce overall GHG emissions. Examples of ecosystem services may include water quality improvements, water use reduction, site remediation or biodiversity improvements. Biodiversity between species and/or genetic diversity within species may also be addressed to further understand the future impact of pests or climate on crop productivity. Barriers and resource-relevant gaps preventing feedstocks from meeting market qualification metrics must also be addressed.

Data supporting the design of crop systems meeting market qualification standards (sustainability, performance, etc.) for pre-commercialization scales of feedstocks capable of substantially contributing to near-term SAF production markets is of particular interest for this FOA. This data, generated over the course of four to ten years, will be used to improve modeling projections, adapt crops and/or crop management strategies to address varying climates, understand variations in soil and belowground carbon storage, quantify ecosystem services, and reduce the carbon intensity for these crop systems. With these durations, applications are expected to be completed by 2035, allowing approximately 15 years for further deployment and adoption to meet the goal of 35 billion gallons of SAF by 2050. While cultivation scale will vary based on the proposed crop, scales must be large enough to represent cultivation of the proposed crop at pre-commercial scale. Applicants must describe how their proposed cultivation scale and supporting technologies, such as harvesting, are representative of commercial operations. All cultivation must be outdoors in real environments (not simulated or controlled) for the respective crop(s). Applicants must justify the selected sites and discuss how they are representative of the regions in which the proposed crop(s) should be grown. Applicants must specify which regions their proposed sites represent.

In addition to defining and justifying the locations of each project site, applicants must include a disposition plan for the biomass produced throughout the project. While not a requirement, applicants are encouraged to include an end user on the project team that will utilize the biomass for a downstream use. Applicants that propose landfilling or open burning the biomass are not of interest under this FOA, will be deemed non-responsive, and will not be considered. Disposition plans that aim to advance the state of the industry and maximize the environmental benefit are encouraged.

As listed above in the role description of the RBRH Coordinator, selected projects will have the opportunity to work with INL to identify additional end users to utilize the excess produced biomass. Applicants may, therefore, allocate project funds to the preprocessing (size reduction, drying, etc.) and/or storage of the produced biomass in order to prepare or hold the material for an identified end user. Preprocessing and storage may also be performed in order to evaluate crops for meeting a particular specification; however, research studies to evaluate the impacts of storage, preprocessing, material flow handling or conversion are not allowable. Additionally, applications that solely propose the development of measurement tools and techniques are not allowable. The primary focus of applications must be on the production, harvesting, and collection of biomass, all of which are required to mobilize purpose-grown energy crops.

As noted above, Topic Area 1 has four Subtopic Areas:

· Subtopic Area 1a: Algae

· Subtopic Area 1b: Herbaceous Energy Crops

· Subtopic Area 1c: Intermediate Energy Crops

· Subtopic Area 1d: Short-Rotation Woody Crops

These Subtopic Areas have been identified through the SAF Grand Challenge Roadmap and the FY23 stakeholder engagement workshop on Deploying Purpose-Grown Energy Crops for Sustainable Aviation Fuel as near-term RD&D needs. Applications should expand on existing crop systems where possible as the outcome of this FOA effort will be the generation of feedstock production and sustainability data that quantifies the carbon intensity of feedstock production in a manner suitable for use by analysts, policy makers, and industry to understand the potential of the feedstock in SAF production pathways.

Subtopic Area 1a: Algae

Algae, as described in BETO’s 2023 Multi-Year Program Plan, have the potential to greatly expand the domestic biomass resource capacity of the Nation while minimizing water consumption, maximizing carbon dioxide utilization, and generating value from non-arable land. The objective of Subtopic Area 1a is to support projects that seek to cultivate and harvest as much algae from their given system(s) as possible each year for at least three years. The deliberate cultivation of algae with non-potable water, including all types of microalgae, cyanobacteria, and macroalgae, and algae grown to treat wastewaters is of interest. The collection of algae blooms as well as the wild harvest or the cultivation of wild offshore algae such as seaweed is not of interest. The critical deliverables of proposed applications under Subtopic Area 1a include production of harvested algae biomass and the collection and dissemination of data necessary to de-risk further development and mobilization of domestic algae cultivation for biofuels and bioproducts.

Integration of projects from Subtopic Area 1a with the RBRH described above is required. Therefore, applications must include detailed plans for dedicated project management, data collection (see Appendix D), and experimental management as necessary to effectively work within the Initiative framework. Data quality assurance and control is of particular interest. Projects must collect data from their systems using best available and/or advanced technologies to demonstrate high yields of harvested algae biomass cultivated to support conversion pathways to low-carbon intensity SAF and/or other high-volume, low carbon-intensity products. Doing so will accelerate the realization of algae resource potential to contribute in a timely manner to the SAF Grand Challenge and decarbonization goals.

It is the intent of Subtopic Area 1a to support projects that already have at least some of the necessary technology and equipment in place at a site to meet the objective. At the start of the project, applicants must already have, at minimum, a site that can support experimentation and generate replicable data on cultivation and harvesting at scales larger than “mini-pond”[footnoteRef:7] and in a manner relevant to commercialization. Applicants may propose multiple sites in a single project. Equipment available at the site(s) is expected to include inoculum systems, cultivation equipment, media storage and mixing capabilities, harvesting, and media recycling capabilities. Technology available at the site(s) is expected to include the strains of interest, data acquisition, and data manipulation/analysis capabilities. Applicants must clearly discuss the site(s) they will use, how the site(s) will be operated throughout the duration of the project, and why the operations are relevant to commercialization. To be “relevant to commercialization” means, at a minimum, having the capability to harvest all the algae cultivated for the project each year, as well as the ability to recycle media if the media formulation systems use prepared media (i.e., non-wastewater systems). Maximizing these capabilities must be management goals of the project. [7: “Mini-ponds” or other down-scaled cultivation systems are typically algae cultivation research vessels ranging from 100-1,000 liters volume and 1-5 square meters. ]

Applications may include RDD&D on strain improvement, optimizing cultivation and harvesting, crop management, and optimizing tools over the course of the multi-year effort to improve quality, yield, carbon utilization and other operational parameters, and to reduce carbon intensity. However, the primary focus of an application must be on the cultivation and data generation/gathering through multiple long-term cultivation campaigns. Optimization and improvement activities must include clear decision points resulting in either being incorporated in subsequent year trials or discontinued. Similarly, tool development such as developing novel sensors, control strategies, or data acquisition devices is not a focus of Subtopic Area 1a. Improved tools may only be developed and incorporated to replace baseline capabilities as the project progresses, if warranted, for improvements in quality, yield, carbon utilization, and other operational parameters, and carbon intensity reduction. Research studies on storage, preprocessing, and conversion are not of interest for Subtopic Area 1a. While equipment installation at project sites is allowable, construction and groundbreaking activities are not.

Applicants must describe cultivation campaign objectives and test plans for each year. Each annual cultivation campaign must be proposed to include at least 270 days of cultivation and harvest. Campaigns must be timed to support collection of data on strain rotation strategies, if strain rotation is necessary, to optimize system performance or to be commercially relevant. For each cultivation campaign, applicants must include well-defined sets of cultivation protocols, including but not limited to: scale, defined strain(s) and/or inoculum(s), media recipes or wastewater sources, operational protocols, crop protection strategies, harvest protocols, and harvest technologies. It must be a project management objective to cultivate and harvest algae for as much of each year as possible.

Data collection on the cultivation campaigns must describe, at minimum, the water, nitrogen, phosphorus, and carbon utilization efficiency of the operation. Targets for harvested biomass yield must be proposed and tracked. Advanced development for yield enhancement, cultivation control, and monitoring, such as but not limited to: non-contact sensing; metagenomics or other ‘omics; rapid compositional analysis; integrated crop management; media optimization; and strain optimization is allowed, but must only be in addition to a clearly described base suite of proposed cultivation and data capture capabilities. Applicants must include a Technical Datasheet detailing their algae strain characteristics, cultivation, productivity, and harvesting method. Additional detail on the Technical Datasheet requirement for Subtopic Area 1a can be found in Appendix G. Projects must include integrated techno-economic (TEA) and life-cycle analysis (LCA) modeling frameworks that inform target setting and data collection needs during the active project and at key decision points. Additional detail on data collection requirements can be found in Appendix D.

Subtopic Area 1b: Herbaceous Energy Crops

Subtopic Area 1b is centered on enhancing the mobilization of low-carbon intensity herbaceous energy crops across varied agronomic landscapes. For the purposes of Subtopic Area 1b, “herbaceous energy crops” areis defined as annual, biennial, or perennial plants and grasses grown primarily for bioenergy production. Annual plants are defined as those that complete a life cycle in one year. Biennial plants are defined as plants requiring all or part of two years to complete its life cycle. Perennial plants are defined as those that live for more than two years and are harvested annually after taking two to three years to reach full productivity. Examples of herbaceous energy crops include, but are not limited to, switchgrass, miscanthus, high-biomass sorghum, wheatgrass, and energycane. Applications must include field trials that produce data demonstrating how the mobilization of the proposed herbaceous crop system could support future conversion pathways to low-carbon intensity SAF and/or other high-value products. To generate this data, applications may include project scope covering storage and preprocessing (e.g., size reduction, drying) for the purpose of verifying a crop’s suitability for known conversion process requirements, such as particle size or moisture/ash content. Applicants may also include storage and preprocessing costs in order to store and/or prepare the produced biomass for an end use partner. Research studies on storage, preprocessing, and conversion are not allowable. Similarly, lower FSRL research efforts such as pest studies or nutrient management issues are not a major focus of Subtopic Area 1b. These activities are allowable, if warranted; however, at smaller scales in order to evaluate new pressures observed at the pre-commercial level for improvements in quality, yield, carbon utilization, and other operational parameters, as well as carbon intensity reduction. Comment by Jansen, Alexander: Biannual? Energycane and sorghum were harvested multiple times in the same year. -Rachel. Maybe some grasses? -Damon Comment by Jansen, Alexander: Are crops with two cycles in the same year considered annual? Comment by Mitchell, Dana: Do we want to specify biennial and add it here and in the glossary? If so, what are some examples of energy grasses or plants to use in the glossary? Comment by Li, Chenlin: See the reference here, Difference Between Annual, Biennial And Perennial Crops » Jitefarms Comment by Li, Chenlin: I couldn't think of biennial crops examples that are used for bioenergy though. Comment by Mitchell, Dana: @Li, Chenlin Yeah, we found a similar definition at Oregon State University's website, but got hung up on being consistent by providing examples of energy crops. Comment by Smith, Peter (CONTR): I think sugar beet is biennial (2 years to seed set), but grown and harvested annually. Someone could probably make a case to use it for bioenergy. I think multiple harvests in a year would still count as annual, as it is more about the lifecycle than harvest? Could possibly say "harvested at least once annually" instead to be inclusive of energycane and sorghum. Comment by Smith, Peter (CONTR): On second thought ,I guess sugar beet wouldn't qualify as being "grown solely for bioenergy". Comment by Li, Chenlin: Right, sugar beet is commodity crop. Comment by Mitchell, Dana: Yeah, all examples that I find, (swiss chard, carrots, beets, parsley) aren't energy crops. We can just add biennial to the glossary without examples. We are clear that commodity crops aren't energy crops. USDA recommended adding biennial to this subtopic area just to be clear for applicants. Comment by Li, Chenlin: I wonder if we should add "grown solely for bioenergy production" in the sentence to be clear these are energy crops. Comment by Mitchell, Dana: Changed solely to primarily per Liz's chat comment

Applications to Subtopic Area 1b must consist of sites covering regions applicable to the proposed crop(s), with a minimum of three separate sites for each crop, and at least five harvesting cycles at each site (or the maximum number of harvest cycles feasible for proposed the herbaceous energy crop(s)). Applicants must propose sites where the effects of climate, soil and other regional factors on crop system performance and sustainability can be compared and contrasted. Applications must evaluate the effects of regional or geographic variability on ecosystem services, carbon intensity, and feedstock quality and quantity at each site. Applications that propose projects located on productive agricultural lands that are currently used for food commodity crops are not of interest under Subtopic Area 1b. Instead, applications must propose projects located on marginal lands, such as fields or portions thereof, that are not economical to farm or pose other limitations for growing traditional commodity crops.

Applicants must describe how their selected sites are representative of where the proposed crop(s) would be grown at commercial scale. While cultivation scale will vary based on the proposed crop(s), scales must be large enough to represent cultivation at pre-commercial scale. Applicants must describe how their proposed cultivation scale and supporting technologies, such as harvesting, are representative of commercial operations.

Applicants may propose to work with multiple types of herbaceous energy crops; however, applications proposing the use of energy crops that are not herbaceous (e.g., commodity crops, intermediate crops, woody crops) are not of interest under Subtopic Area 1b and applications proposing the use of non-herbaceous energy crops will be considered ineligible for selection. Note: Applications proposing the use of intermediate energy crops in any capacity must be submitted to Subtopic Area 1c: Intermediate Energy Crops.

Data collection must include soil health indicators, biodiversity, water quality, water usage, crop production, and biomass composition in addition to operational data to be collected from crop fields. Additional detail on data collection requirements can be found in Appendix D. Applicants must perform a TEA and LCA at the outset and completion of the project. The TEA must include planting, harvesting, and collecting, and on farm storage of the biomass where applicable, to derive an estimated farm‐gate price and return on investment for the biomass at the farm gate. The TEA must also quantify any measured ecosystem services derived from energy crops in the study system and potential economic benefits realized with those ecosystem services.

Subtopic Area 1c: Intermediate Energy Crops

For the purposes of Subtopic Area 1c, “intermediate energy crops” are defined as crops planted between the harvest of a main crop and sowing of the next crop. Typically grown for environmental benefits such as increasing soil carbon or reducing nutrient leaching and soil erosion, intermediate energy crops have the additional potential to be harvested for conversion into low carbon intensity fuels and products. Challenges remain regarding the timing of intermediate energy crops between the harvesting and planting of the primary crop, their impacts on the yield and productivity of the primary crop, and the effects that harvesting the intermediate energy crop has on the soil and soil carbon. The objective of Subtopic Area 1c is to support field trials and the collection of data demonstrating the potential of intermediate energy cropping systems and solving mobilization barriers for supplying feedstock for low-carbon intensity SAF production and high-value products, as well as evaluating the system’s impact on soil health and sustainability.

Projects proposed under Subtopic Area 1c must consist of project sites covering regions applicable to the proposed crop system, with a minimum of three separate sites, and at least five harvesting cycles at each site (or the maximum number of harvest cycles feasible for proposed the intermediate energy crop(s)). Applicants must propose their own crop systems consisting of (1) a primary crop and (2) an intermediate energy crop (such as camelina, pennycress, or carinata) to be grown in between harvesting and planting of the primary crop. Proposed sites may utilize previously established crop systems where applicable. Applicants must propose sites where the effects of climate, soil and other regional factors on crop system performance and sustainability can be compared and contrasted. Applications must evaluate the effects of regional or geographic variability on ecosystem services, carbon intensity, and feedstock quality and quantity at each site. While cultivation scales will vary based on the proposed crop, scales must be large enough to represent cultivation at pre-commercial scale. Applicants must describe how their proposed cultivation scale and supporting technologies, such as harvesting, are representative of commercial operations.

Project scope must include production, harvesting, collection, and compositional analysis. Control plots consisting of only the primary crop are allowable in order to evaluate the effects of the intermediate energy crop on the overall crop system; however, the scope of work for the application must focus on the intermediate energy crop. Project scope covering storage and preprocessing (e.g., size reduction, drying) is allowable for the purpose of generating data needed to evaluate the system’s potential; however, applications must focus on the production, harvest, and collection of the proposed crop system. Applicants may also include storage and preprocessing costs to store and/or prepare the produced biomass for an end use partner. While these activities are allowable for data generation and material preparation, research studies on storage, preprocessing, and conversion are not of interest for Subtopic Area 1c. Similarly, lower FSRL research efforts such as pest studies or nutrient management issues are not a major focus of Subtopic Area 1c. These activities are allowable, if warranted; however, at smaller scales to evaluate new pressures observed at the pre-commercial level for improvements in quality, yield, carbon utilization, and other operational parameters, as well as carbon intensity reduction.

Data collection must include soil health indicators, biodiversity, water quality, water usage, crop production, and biomass composition in addition to operational data to be collected from crop fields. Additional detail on data collection requirements can be found in Appendix D. Applicants must perform a TEA and LCA at the outset and completion of the project. The TEA must include planting, harvesting, collecting, and on farm storage of the biomass, where applicable, to derive an estimated farm‐gate price and return on investment for the biomass at the field edge. The TEA must also quantify any measured ecosystem services derived from energy crops in the study system and potential economic benefits realized with those ecosystem services.

Subtopic Area 1d: Short-Rotation Woody Crops

Subtopic Area 1d is focused on enhancing the mobilization of short-rotation woody crops across various geographic landscapes by performing regional field trials to examine long term yield and sustainability. For the purposes of Subtopic Area 1d, “short-rotation woody crops” is defined as fast-growing trees that are harvested within five to eight years of planting. Such trees include, but may not be limited to, species such as, hybrid poplar and shrub willow.

Applicants to Subtopic Area 1d must include project sites covering regions applicable to the proposed crop(s), with a minimum of three separate field installations, and at least two harvesting cycles at each site (or the maximum number of harvest cycles feasible for proposed the short-rotation woody crop(s)). Applications must include field trials that produce data demonstrating how the mobilization of the proposed woody crop system could support future conversion pathways to low-carbon intensity SAF and/or other high-value products. Applicants may utilize previously established installations where applicable. Regions appropriate to the proposed feedstock must be represented to fully capture the effects of climate, soil, and other regional factors on the performance and sustainability of the crop system. While cultivation scale will vary based on the proposed crop, scales must be large enough to represent cultivation of the proposed crop at pre-commercial scale. Applicants must describe how their proposed cultivation scale and supporting technologies, such as harvesting, are representative of commercial operations.

Applicants may propose agroforestry regimes with herbaceous or other crops; however, the primary focus of the scope of work must be on the proposed woody crop(s). Project scope must include production, harvesting, collection, and compositional analysis. Project scope covering storage and preprocessing (e.g., size reduction, drying) is allowable for the purpose of generating data needed to evaluate the system’s potential; however, applications must focus on the production, harvest, and collection of the proposed woody crop. Applicants may also include storage and preprocessing costs in order to store and/or prepare the produced biomass for an end use partner. While these activities are allowable for data generation and material preparation, research studies on storage, preprocessing, and conversion are not of interest for Subtopic Area 1d. Similarly, lower FSRL research efforts such as pest studies or nutrient management issues are not a major focus of Subtopic Area 1d. These activities are allowable, if warranted; however, at smaller scales to evaluate new pressures observed at the pre-commercial level for improvements in quality, yield, carbon utilization, and other operational parameters, as well as carbon intensity reduction.

Data collection must include soil…