This inventory was developed by the members of the Feedstock Logistics Interagency Working Group of the Biomass Research and Development (BR&D) Board. The purpose of this inventory is to determine the level of logistical activities within the federal government and to identify federal programs engaged in biomass feedstock logistics research, development, demonstration, and deployment (RDD&D). The inventory will help improve coordination and collaboration across the federal government to overcome barriers in the commercialization of biofuels.
The table below shows the logistics inventory for the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), Bioenergy Technologies Office (BETO) by program. It includes four program elements:
- Competitive Grants
- A Regional Partnership
- Congressionally Directed Projects
- Small Business Innovation Research & Small Business Technology Transfer (SBIR/STTR) Grants.
The competitive grants were specific projects to address high-volume logistical issues. There were five of these projects across the U.S. that addressed different types of feedstocks. The other program elements includes only logistical projects or projects that have some level of logistics as a component. There are also logistical programs at the Idaho National Laboratory and Oak Ridge National Laboratory.
Overall, there are 18 DOE program units, activities, and example projects in the inventory. The feedstocks includes agricultural residues and energy crops. All aspects of the logistical components of the supply chain are covered in these activities.
| Organization: DOE BETO | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Program: Sun Grant Regional Biomass Feedstock Partnership | |||||
| Feedstocks | Type | Goals & Focus | Areas | Partners & Collaborators | Website |
| Crop residues; herbaceous and woody energy crops | RD&D | Feedstock development and sustainable operations | Specific regions germane to the individual projects and nationwide | South Dakota State University (Prime) and several dozen Land Grant and other universities, USDA-ARS, Greenwood Resources, Arborgen, Monsanto | Sun Grant Initiative website |
| Organization: DOE BETO | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Program: Congressionally Directed Projects | |||||
| Feedstocks | Type | Goals & Focus | Areas | Partners & Collaborators | Website |
|
Herbaceous feedstocks |
R&D | The largest component (~75%) of this project is focused on logistical issues related to the handling of lignocellulosic feedstocks from harvest to delivery to the throat of a bioreactor, including harvesting, handling (field operations), transportation, storage (including degradation & transformations), and densification. | GO88073: South Dakota State University, Sun Grant Initiative, Regional Biomass Feedstock Development Partnership, 11 sub-awards (FY 2008 funds) | Development | |
|
Woody crops |
R&D | The final phase of the project will include a full cost-benefit analysis of intensively managed cottonwood plantation programs with the objective of understanding the economics of the system and to determine the costs and benefits. | Nationwide (range of poplar) | Demonstration | Hybrid Poplar Fact Sheet |
| Organization: DOE BETO | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Program: Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) & Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) | |||||
| Feedstocks | Type | Goals & Focus | Areas | Partners & Collaborators | Website |
| Crop residues and switchgrass | R&D | Development of a Biomass Blending and Densification System (BBDS) | Nationwide | SBIR/STTR Project Information | |
|
Forest & woody biomass |
R&D | Develop comminution technology with various particle size output and low-energy inputs. | Nationwide | SBIR/STTR Project Information | |
|
Algae |
RD&D | Development of low-cost, high-efficiency algal biomass harvest and dewatering technology. | Nationwide | Virginia Coastal Energy Research Consortium | |
|
Forest & woody biomass |
R&D | Improve techniques for measuring forest canopy structure and above ground biomass. This project will develop methods for measuring the three dimensional (3-D) canopy structure with a commercially available scanning laser instrument. | Nationwide | ||