Department of Energy Funds 22 Biofuel Conversion Technology Projects

The Department of Energy has awarded $46 million to 22 biofuel energy projects aimed at decarbonizing the transportation and power generation sectors.

The awardees will work on ways to transform waste streams and captured carbon into alternative clean energy sources, DOE said Wednesday.

Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm said that biofuel energy can help decarbonize high-emission industries and create good-paying jobs. “Turning waste and carbon pollution into clean energy at scale would be a double win,” she added. 

The secretary said the investment will also free poorer communities from the health impact of waste streams, which can contain carbon emissions, solid waste, animal waste and other organic materials.

DOE described waste streams as an untapped feedstock for biofuel production. The projects will also look into algal systems’ ability to capture carbon dioxide.

Fifteen projects are funded under the Waste Feedstock and Conversion R&D funding opportunity, while the remaining seven are funded under Carbon Utilization Technology: Improving Efficient Systems for Algae.

The full list of awardees can be found in blog posts by DOE’s Bioenergy Technologies Office.

DOE said that investment will support the administration’s decarbonization efforts. President Joe Biden previously set the goal of halving economy-wide greenhouse gas pollution from 2005 levels by 2030 and decarbonizing the U.S. economy by 2050.