In the News

The US DoE just released (March 5) its list of topics for the next round of SBIR and STTR grants.  The following is from that release.

Note topics of particular relevance to Maine -- cellulosic biofuels, "drop-in" fuels from biomass, composite-material-based hydrogen fuel storage units.

The first deadline is the pre-application notification due date of May 1.

Relevant text from this March 5 release --


2. BIOMASS

Grant applications are sought in the following subtopics:

a. Cellulosic and Algal Biofuels
Technologies for the use of cellulosic and algal biomass in the production of drop-in biofuels, such as renewable gasoline, diesel, and JP-8 to less than $3 per gallon at the plant gate (in 2007 dollars and in gallons of gasoline equivalent (gge)).
Questions – contact: Travis.Tempel@ee.doe.gov

b. Biobased Products
Product diversification through technologies relevant to the production of biobased products that (a) can increase the feasibility of fuel production in a biorefinery by reducing the minimum fuel sales price (MFSP) by at least $0.35/gge at the plant gate and (b) have a market potential of 500,000 metric tons/year. To ensure competitiveness, the projected sales price of any non-fuel, biobased products must be shown to be lower than from existing sources.
Questions – contact: Travis.Tempel@ee.doe.gov


4. HYDROGEN AND FUEL CELL TECHNOLOGIES

Key objectives of EERE’s Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technologies (FCT) Program include (http://www1.eere.energy.gov/hydrogenandfuelcells/index.html) reducing fuel cell system cost to $30/kW (equivalent to the cost of a gasoline internal combustion engine) and improving durability to 5,000 hours (equivalent to 150,000 miles of driving) for automotive fuel cell systems by 2017, and meeting the hydrogen fuel threshold cost of $2–4/gallon gasoline equivalent (gge) by 2020.
Grant applications that enable the following are sought:

a. Transportation Fuel Cells
Transportation fuel cell system components that could contribute to an 80 kW (net) fuel cell system cost of $30/kw, produced at high volume (500,000 systems per year), and 5,000 hours durability (the projected time to 10% voltage degradation).
Questions – contact: Dimitrios.Papageorgopolous@ee.doe.gov

b. Hydrogen Storage
Development of fibers, resins and/or composite additives that will result in composites for gas cylinders for hydrogen storage that meet or exceed the performance specifications of today’s cylinders manufactured with composites using T700 carbon fiber (e.g., greater than 600 ksi ultimate tensile strength) but with costs at least 25% lower than the currently projected cost of the carbon fiber layer version of a 700 bar tank system ($ 2720) when manufactured in high volumes.
Questions – contact: Ned.Stetson@ee.doe.gov.

References

Subtopic a:
1. An overview of the Fuel Cells subprogram can be found in the DOE Hydrogen and Fuel Cells program's annual progress report, with the subprogram's section found on http://www.hydrogen.energy.gov/annual_progress11_fuelcells.html. These progress reports summarize the year's fuel cell R&D activities and accomplishments. This work was conducted by industry, academia, and national laboratories for the DOE Hydrogen and Fuel Cells Program and the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy.

Subtopic b:
1. System Level Analyses of Hydrogen Storage Options, Proceeding of 2010 DOE Annual Merit Review, available on the DOE/FCT website: http://www.hydrogen.energy.gov/pdfs/review10/st001_ahluwalia_2010_o_web.pdf.

2. Analyses of Hydrogen Storage Materials and On-Board Systems, Proceeding of 2010 DOE Annual Merit Review, available on the DOE/FCT website: http://www.hydrogen.energy.gov/pdfs/review10/st002_lasher_2010_o_web.pdf.

3. Technical Assessment of Compressed Hydrogen Storage Tank Systems for Automotive Applications, September 2010, published on the DOE/FCT website: http://www1.eere.energy.gov/hydrogenandfuelcells/pdfs/compressedtank_storage.pdf

4. Low Cost Carbon Fiber Research in the LW Materials Program Overview, Proceeding of 2009 DOE Annual Merit Review, available on the DOE/VT website: http://www1.eere.energy.gov/vehiclesandfuels/pdfs/merit_review_2009/light-weight_materials/lm_02_warren.pdf.

5. 5. DOE Targets for On-Board Hydrogen Storage Systems for Light-Duty Vehicles, February 2009, published on DOE/FCT website: http://www1.eere.energy.gov/hydrogenandfuelcells/storage/pdfs/targets_onboard_hydro_storage.pdf.

6. High Strength Carbon Fibers, Proceeding of 2010 DOE Annual Merit Review, available on the DOE/FCT website: http://www.hydrogen.energy.gov/pdfs/review10/st093_paulauskas_2010_p_web.pdf.