DE-FOA-0003209 Regional Resource Hubs for Purpose-Grown Energy Crops | DE FOA 0003209

Opportunity Information: Apply for DE FOA 0003209

DE-FOA-0003209, titled "Regional Resource Hubs for Purpose-Grown Energy Crops," is a U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) funding opportunity administered through DOE's Golden Field Office under the Bioenergy Technologies Office (BETO). The program is designed to push forward research, development, and demonstration (RD&D) that helps make transportation fuels and chemical products more affordable while driving down their carbon intensity. In practical terms, DOE is looking to strengthen the nation’s ability to reliably produce and mobilize purpose-grown biomass feedstocks that can be converted into low-carbon fuels and biobased products, while also documenting the real-world environmental and agronomic outcomes of growing these crops across different regions.

A central theme of this FOA is building long-term, field-based evidence. DOE is seeking projects that generate high-quality data and research findings over multi-year timeframes (generally four to ten years, depending on the system), so that the broader community can improve models, refine crop management, and better predict yield, sustainability, and carbon impacts across varied climates and soils. The work is meant to support better decision-making around feedstock supply, including how crop choice and management practices influence belowground carbon storage, soil health, ecosystem services, and overall lifecycle carbon intensity. The FOA explicitly points to needs such as improving yield and quality, reducing costs, advancing mechanization (especially for propagation and planting), improving pest management, and quantifying benefits like ecosystem services, all while focusing on reducing carbon intensity for specific purpose-grown energy crop systems.

The funding structure is organized around a single Topic Area: Topic Area 1, Purpose-Grown Energy Crops. The objective is straightforward: fund regionally grounded projects that enable the mobilization of low-carbon intensity purpose-grown energy crops across diverse agronomic and geographic landscapes by producing actionable data. Awardees are not operating as standalone projects; each selected application becomes part of a coordinated national effort called the Regional Biomass Resource Hub Initiative (RBRH). Projects will work in concert with BETO’s established Initiative Coordinator, Idaho National Laboratory (INL), to coordinate experimental plans, report data consistently, and collectively meet initiative-wide objectives. This implies a strong expectation for harmonized methods, standardized reporting, and collaboration across the hub network so results are comparable and can feed into national modeling and analysis.

Applicants must choose exactly one of four Subtopic Areas, each tied to a different feedstock category. Subtopic 1a focuses on algae, with an emphasis on maximizing annual cultivation and harvest from the proposed system(s) for at least three years. DOE is interested in deliberate algae cultivation using non-potable water, spanning microalgae, cyanobacteria, and macroalgae, including systems that pair algae growth with wastewater treatment. Subtopic 1b addresses herbaceous energy crops, defined here as perennial grasses and plants that persist for more than two years and are typically harvested annually after a two- to three-year establishment period. Example crops include switchgrass, miscanthus, high-biomass sorghum, wheatgrass, and energycane, with the broader intent being to improve the ability to supply these feedstocks at low carbon intensity across different landscapes. Subtopic 1c covers intermediate energy crops, meaning crops planted between the harvest of a main crop and planting of the next one. These crops are often grown for environmental benefits like reducing nutrient loss and erosion and building soil carbon, and DOE wants to explore their potential as harvestable biomass for low-carbon fuels and products. Subtopic 1d targets short-rotation woody crops, defined as fast-growing trees harvested within roughly five to eight years (for example, hybrid poplar and shrub willow). Projects in this area are expected to use regional field trials to understand long-term yield and sustainability across different geographies.

In terms of award mechanics and scale, the FOA uses a cooperative agreement funding instrument, which typically means DOE expects substantial involvement during the project (for example, in coordination, technical direction, data standards, and milestone reviews). The award ceiling is listed as $10,000,000, and DOE anticipates making about five awards. The assistance listing associated with the opportunity is CFDA (now Assistance Listing) 81.087, and the funding activity category is Energy.

Eligibility is broad and includes state, local, and tribal governments; public and private institutions of higher education; nonprofit organizations (with or without 501(c)(3) status); for-profit organizations (including small businesses and other than small businesses); independent school districts; public housing authorities; individuals; and other eligible entities. There are, however, important restrictions related to federally funded research and development centers (FFRDCs). DOE/NNSA FFRDCs may participate only as subrecipients (not as prime recipients), and Idaho National Laboratory is a special case: INL is not eligible to apply as a prime recipient and cannot be included as a subrecipient on any application. The FOA is explicit that any application naming INL in either role will be deemed ineligible and will not be reviewed, due to INL’s role as the RBRH Initiative Coordinator and its involvement in FOA strategy discussions.

This opportunity was issued with an amendment (Amendment 000001) that updates sections I.B. and Appendix H, and applicants are expected to rely on the amended FOA posted on EERE-Exchange.energy.gov for the controlling requirements. The submission process includes a mandatory concept paper, due March 14, 2024 at 5:00 PM ET, followed by a full application due June 13, 2024 at 5:00 PM ET (the original closing date listed). Questions are directed to FY24RRHCropsFOA@ee.doe.gov, and applicants are pointed to EERE Exchange for the full announcement, instructions, and the amended language that governs the competition.

Overall, this FOA is best understood as an effort to build a coordinated, multi-region evidence base for purpose-grown energy crops, with consistent field data collected over several years and fed into shared models and planning tools. DOE is prioritizing not only productivity and logistics (yield, quality, mechanization, costs, pest management), but also measurable climate and environmental outcomes (carbon intensity reductions, soil and belowground carbon, ecosystem services), with the long-term aim of enabling scalable, low-carbon biomass supplies for biofuels and bioproducts.

• The Golden Field Office in the energy sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "DE-FOA-0003209 Regional Resource Hubs for Purpose-Grown Energy Crops" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 81.087.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2024-02-08.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2024-06-13. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $10,000,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 5 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: State governments, County governments, City or township governments, Special district governments, Independent school districts, Public and State controlled institutions of higher education, Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized), Public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities, Native American tribal organizations (other than Federally recognized tribal governments), Nonprofits having a 501 (c) (3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Nonprofits that do not have a 501 (c) (3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Private institutions of higher education, Individuals, For-profit organizations other than small businesses, Small businesses, Others.

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