Australian inorganic carbon material manufacturer CFoam (ASX: CFO) has entered into key partnerships with two US tertiary institutions based on enhancing the development of carbon products from coal.
The research and development agreements with Ohio University and Massachusetts Institute of Technology are at an early stage and have the potential to create new markets and opportunities for CFoam as a raw materials provider.
Ohio University is researching a project related to coal-derived alternatives for traditional fibre-cementitious building materials.
The project has received US$500,000 (A$666,000) funding from the US Department of Energy’s National Energy Technology Laboratory which focuses on applied research for the clean production and use of domestic energy resources.
Tomorrow Water, an innovative total solution provider of water treatment technologies and eco-friendly waste management solutions, has been awarded a highly competitive Small Business Innovation Research Program (SBIR) grant by the US Department of Agriculture (USDA). The funding will support the development of its environmentally friendly technology that extracts and upcycles valuable keratin from discarded animal rendering waste. This new technology is one of the many innovations created by Tomorrow Water in its pursuit of a “clean and beautiful world beyond waste.”
Mongabay has put together a database to show whether tree-planting and reforestation projects publicly disclose the criteria that experts say are keys to success. Our directory is built on a three-month research effort to record publicly available information on more than 350 tree-planting projects in 80 countries.
Rather than make an assessment (and perceived endorsement) of the quality of the projects, Mongabay’s review is based on how much information is publicly disclosed by an organization. Here, we present some key questions to ask and criteria to consider when evaluating the legitimacy and effectiveness of a tree-planting project.
On May 14, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced $35 million in funding that will help slash carbon emissions and scale up the volume and efficiency of renewable biofuel. The 15 awarded research projects, housed at colleges, universities, and labs across nine states, will advance new technologies to decarbonize biorefining processes used across the energy, transportation, and agriculture sectors.
“Biofuel is a powerful tool in the clean energy toolkit that has immense potential to power our ships and airlines with zero carbon emissions. DOE is investing in research to reduce emissions and maximize the availability of efficient biofuel as we strive to reach President Biden’s net-zero carbon goals.”
Secretary of Energy Jennifer M. Granholm
Biofuels, which include ethanol, biodiesel and other products derived from organic material (biomass), is almost exclusively produced through a conversion process called fermentation. These fermentation processes create carbon as a byproduct, with some processes wasting more than 1/3 of this carbon as CO2 emissions. As a result, there is a critical need to create new pathways for biofuel conversion that reduce carbon waste, prevent the loss of CO2 emissions maximize the amount of renewable fuel a conversion process yields.
The 15 teams will work to optimize biofuel manufacturing through:
carbon optimized fermentation strains that avoid CO2 waste;
engineered organisms that can use a mix of difference sources of energy and carbon, and avoid evolving CO2;
biomass-derived sugar or carbon oxide gas fermentation with internal CO2 recycling;
cell-free carbon optimized biocatalytic biomass conversion and/or CO2 use; and
cross-cutting carbon-optimized bioconversion methods that have the potential for high-impact emissions reductions.
The awardees are:
INvizyne Technologies, Inc. (Monrovia, CA)
LanzaTech, Inc. (Skokie, IL)
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Cambridge, MA)
National Renewable Energy Laboratory (Golden, CO)
Ohio State University (Columbus, OH)
Stanford University (Stanford, CA)
The Wyss Institute at Harvard University (Boston, MA)
University of Wisconsin-Madison (Madison, WI)
University of Delaware (Newark, DE)
University of California, Davis (Davis, CA)
University of California, Irvine (Irvine, CA)
University of Minnesota (Minneapolis, MN)
University of Washington (Seattle, WA)
ZymoChem, Inc. (San Francisco, CA)* Two awards
Read more about the funded projects on the ARPA-E website.
The Biden administration is doubling federal funding to $1 billion this year for state and local pre-disaster mitigation efforts through a nascent Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) program meant to “categorically shift the federal focus from reactive disaster spending and toward research-supported, proactive investment in community resilience,” according to an announcement this week.
FEMA’s Pre-Disaster Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities program (BRIC) has yet to announce recipients from its first application cycle, which ran September through January. It made $500 million available for projects that mitigate risk, incorporate nature-based solutions, and support public infrastructure and adoption and enforcement of modern building codes. But the agency has revealed that requests from states and territories totaled more than $3.6 billion.
In addition to noting the added funding support for FEMA, Monday’s announcement outlines new steps to incorporate resilience focuses across a range of federal agencies. Examples include the Department of Energy supporting more microgrid technologies and the Department of Transportation promoting “future-proofed” transportation investments.
In advance of Earth Day, the Walton Family Foundation today announced a new initiative aimed at strengthening the field of environmental journalism. #HeresWhy seeks to explore the challenges facing environmental journalism, expand the audience for environmental news, and determine what role philanthropy can play in bolstering the field.
Applications are due by 5:00 p.m. ET on June 15, 2021.
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) today announced up to $12 million for technologies that can make geothermal systems more efficient for clean, renewable energy production. This funding will help scientists and engineers unlock the full potential of geothermal power to help tackle the climate crisis, and achieve the Biden Administration’s goal of net-zero carbon emissions by 2050.
Enhanced Geothermal Systems (EGS) are man-made reservoirs created by injecting fluid into “hot rock,” which is heated by the natural warmth of the Earth’s core. The fluid re-opens pre-existing fractures, allowing it to circulate through the hot rock, and bring the heated water to the surface. That hot water becomes steam that spins a turbine, creating clean, renewable energy.
“Enhanced geothermal systems harness the clean, renewable energy that lives right beneath our feet—available at any time, in any weather, in any part of the country. This new funding will help us tap into its enormous potential to power millions of homes and businesses, reduce carbon emissions, and put thousands to work in greener, good-paying jobs.”
Secretary of Energy Jennifer M. Granholm
The “Innovative Methods to Control Hydraulic Properties of Enhanced Geothermal Systems” funding opportunity will support the research, development, demonstration, and deployment of technologies and techniques to control the fluid flow in EGS reservoirs, enhancing the connectivity of pre-existing fracture networks and optimizing them for heat mining. This ability to customize reservoirs will increase their efficiency and longevity—driving down EGS costs, reducing the risk of development, and accelerating the path towards widespread commercialization.
The 2019 GeoVision study by DOE’s Geothermal Technologies Office (GTO) concluded that with technology improvements like those funded by today’s announcement, geothermal power generation could increase 26-fold, deploying 60 gigawatts-electric (GWe) of clean energy by 2050. Despite that vast potential, there are only 3.7 GWe of geothermal energy currently installed in the United States. GTO is using its research and development portfolio to advance technologies and projects that can rapidly increase that number, while supporting thousands of good-paying jobs for American workers—including those in the oil and gas industries that already have matching skills and expertise.
GTO is looking for applications that address the funding opportunity review criteria in full.
More information about the funding opportunity here.
Today, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced a new request for proposals (RFP) for up to $22.5 million for projects that support the recovery, recycling, and reuse of material waste generated by the manufacturing sector. Projects funded through this solicitation will develop technologies that reduce embodied energy and carbon emissions associated with the production and consumption of metals, polymers, fibers, and electronic waste, as well as identify training activities that will expand the American manufacturing workforce.
“Decarbonizing the industrial sector is key to addressing our climate crisis,” said Acting Assistant Secretary for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Kelly Speakes-Backman. “These investments will help reduce manufacturing emissions and energy use, while also making U.S. manufacturers more competitive and resilient.”
The U.S. industrial sector is responsible for 28% of domestic carbon emissions and consumes roughly one-third of the country’s primary energy—much of which is used to make materials. Using recycled materials to manufacture new materials and products can cut energy requirements and emissions in half, while also reducing waste.
DOE’s Reducing Embodied-energy And Decreasing Emissions (REMADE) Institute will manage these projects. Founded in 2017, REMADE is the fifth institute funded by the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy’s Advanced Manufacturing Office.
REMADE is also a part of Manufacturing USA®, a network of federally funded institutes that have a specialized technology focus to increase U.S. manufacturing competitiveness and promote a robust and sustainable national manufacturing R&D infrastructure.
