Enhancing Readiness of Biomanufacturing Technologies for Decarbonization


The Department of Energy’s Office of Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy’s Bioenergy Technologies Office (BETO)-funded Agile BioFoundry (ABF) consortium is partnering with the MSI STEM Research & Development Consortium (MSRDC) to support promising research and build new connections and future collaborations.


This solicitation provides funding to MSRDC-associated investigators to conduct R&D activities at their home institution, to increase the readiness of their technologies. This solicitation aims to advance these technologies to the stage where they could utilize ABF’s capabilities in future research. These capabilities include the development of novel microbial hosts, augmentations of titer, rate, and yield of bioproducts, and the creation of new capabilities & approaches to improve the Design-Build-Test-Learn biomanufacturing cycle. 


Proposers should identify how their project could at its conclusion proceed to leverage and contribute to the ABF’s capabilities. Submissions should also clearly identify how the work addresses BETO's goals of supporting the decarbonization of various industrial sectors, including the development of sustainable bio-based products, sustainable aviation fuels, or other impacts in transportation.

Submissions should also clearly identify how the work addresses BETO's goals of supporting the decarbonization of various industrial sectors, including the development of sustainable bio-based products, sustainable aviation fuels, or other impacts in transportation. 

BETO has committed $1,000,000 (total) to support 2 to 4 projects with a one year duration.

Proposal selection will follow occur in stages. 

  

  1. Submission of concept papers. All applicants must submit a short concept paper following the template found here: [Concept Paper Template].
  1. ABF staff will evaluate concept papers, and recommend proposals for advancement to the next stage. MSRDC will inform applicants of the outcome.
  1. Full proposals should adhere to the document template found here: [Full Proposal Template]. The ABF selection committee and BETO will confer on proposals to receive funding, based on the quality of the approach, the proposal’s alignment with the BETO mission, and a well-articulated path to leveraging ABF capabilities in future research. 


Funding timeline:

Dates for submission deadlines are in bold within the ‘Due/Completed by’ column. MSRDC must receive concept paper submissions, via the submission portal no later than November1st, 11:59PM PST.


 StageDue/Completed by
Full applications due03-Feb-2023
Review completed24-Feb-2023
Applicants awarded by23-Mar-2023

Additional questions should be sent to: [email protected]
How Closely do Projects Need to Align to DOE Mission Space?

Proposals should be well-aligned with the missions of DOE and ABF, supporting the growth and proliferation of the US biomanufacturing sector. Specifically, the project should support the mission of the Bioenergy Technologies Office (BETO): Developing and demonstrating transformative and revolutionary sustainable bioenergy technologies for a prosperous nation. More information on BETO’s Strategic Plan can be found here.


Applicants should otherwise reference capabilities that the Agile BioFoundry offers, for example (but not limited to) artificial intelligence, -omics analysis, microbial host onboarding and development, biosensor development, bioprocess engineering, and techno-economic analysis and life cycle assessment. Refer to https://agilebiofoundry.org/capabilities/.

Are Milestones and Milestones Tables Required as Part of the Application?

Yes. Each proposal should articulate the set of major tasks of the project, using the table provided in the template or via a similar format.

Are Go/No-Go Decision Points Required?

No, but milestones should be used to enable proactive project management, with clearly defined goals and timelines. Certain challenges and risks called out in the proposal, where the applicant identifies risk as a potential impasse, may necessitate a go/no-go milestone.