The application is due on September 14, 2009 at 11:59 PM Eastern Time. Please note: Important information regarding registration and other pre-submission requirements are included in the funding opportunity announcement (FOA). Please refer to the FOA for details.

Anticipated Notice of Selection: November 2009
Anticipated Award Date: January 2010
Total Funding Available: $85,000,000
Award Instrument: Cooperative agreements

Eligibility Requirements

Under this FOA, the Department of Energy (DOE) will require applications from Consortia. Applications from entities not part of a Consortium will not be considered.

The following entities are eligible to apply as the Consortium Lead: (1) institutions of higher education; (2) nonprofit and for-profit private entities; (3) state and local governments; (4) Indian Tribes and Tribal Energy Resource Development Organizations or Groups; and (5) DOE/NNSA National Laboratory Contractors.

Consortia members may include entities described above, as well as other Federal agencies and non-DOE Federally Funded Research and Development Centers Contractors. However, nonprofit organizations described in section 501(c)(4) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1896 that engaged in lobbying activities after December 31, 1995, are not eligible to participate in any capacity.

Foreign participants are not eligible as the Consortium Lead; however, foreign participants are eligible as sub-recipients within the Consortium provided that:

The foreign participant effort, in aggregate, shall not exceed 20% of the Total Project Cost (which includes both the lead applicant’s and the foreign sub-recipient’s portions of the effort combined).
The foreign participant must provide at least 20% cost share for its own portion of the project.

No major construction activities can be undertaken as part of this FOA.

Program Description

The DOE’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), through the Office of the Biomass Program (OBP), announces the availability of funding for establishing Consortia for two primary topic areas - Development of Algal Based Biofuels, and Development of Advanced Cellulosic Biofuels. The intended purpose of this FOA is to serve three primary goals of EERE: (1) increase the viability and deployment of renewable energy technologies, thereby (2) spurring the creation of a domestic bio-industry, resulting in (3) a dramatic reduction in dependence on imported oil.

Topic Areas

Topic Area 1: Algal Biofuels Consortium/Consortia. The Algal Biofuels Consortia will take a research-and-development approach to investigate the potential for algae to commercially produce a variety of biofuels, such as renewable gasoline, diesel, or jet fuel. It is anticipated that the partnership selected from this Topic Area will develop the framework for sustainable algae production that is ultimately required for this technology to reach commercialization.

Topic Area 2: Advanced Infrastructure-Compatible Biofuels Consortium. This Topic Area seeks applications to develop biomass-based alternative fuels for the domestic transportation sector that are capable of simply being “drop in” replacements for the hydrocarbon-based fuels currently in use. This Topic Area also seeks applicants to develop new and innovative approaches for the conversion of biomass to advanced biofuels that are infrastructure-compatible, essentially going beyond current technical pathways for producing hydrocarbons from biomass feedstocks.

Cost Sharing

DOE requests that applicants provide a minimum cost share of 20% of the total project cost (cost-share funds must come from non-Federal sources unless otherwise allowed by law). However, applications with proposed cost share as low as 10% shall be considered.

Topic Areas

Topic Area	Title	Total Funding Available	Number of Awards	Anticipated Award Size	Award Ceiling/ Floor	Period of Performance
1	Algal Biofuels Consortium/Consortia	$50M	1-2	$25M-$50M	$50M/None	3 years
2	Advanced Infrastructure Compatible Biofuels Consortium	$35M	1	$35M	35M/None	3 years