ChemCatBio Awards $4.3 Million in Directed Funding Assistance to Overcome Catalysis Challenges

The Chemical Catalysis for Bioenergy Consortium (ChemCatBio) announced approximately $4.3 million in funding for nine projects that will help accelerate the development of catalysts and related technologies for biomass-derived fuels and chemicals.

The selected projects will leverage the unique facilities and expertise at the U.S. Department of Energy national laboratories to address critical technical challenges in catalyst development and evaluation for biofuel and bioproduct applications.

The following industry-led projects will begin in FY18:

  • Gevo Inc. will partner with the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Argonne National Laboratory (ANL), and Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) to leverage their extensive catalyst characterization capabilities, with the goal of extending catalyst lifetime for the oxygenate-to-olefin process. View the project summary.

  • Visolis will partner with Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) to develop low-pressure hydrogenolysis catalysts for bioproduct upgrading. View the project summary.

  • Vertimass will partner with ORNL, ANL, and NREL to evaluate catalyst scale-up for ethanol upgrading. View the project summary.

  • LanzaTech will partner with PNNL to synthesize terephthalic acid from ethanol. View the project summary.

  • Gevo will partner with Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) to develop tactical aviation fuels through a photocatalytic approach. View the project summary.

  • ALD NanoSolutions and Johnson Matthey will partner with NREL to improve catalyst sulfur tolerance. View the project summary.

  • LanzaTech will partner with PNNL to enhance the quality of gasoline and fuel oil coproducts from the alcohol-to-jet process. View the project summary.

  • Opus 12 will partner with NREL to develop improved electrocatalysts for electrochemical carbon dioxide reduction. View the project summary.

  • Sironix Renewables will partner with LANL to intensify catalytic processes for producing bio-renewable surfactants. View the project summary.