The Department of Energy announced $45.8 million in new funding for projects that will advance research, development, demonstration, and deployment (RDD&D) critical to achieving net-zero greenhouse gas emissions in the transportation sector. Topic areas in the Vehicle Technologies Office (VTO) Fiscal Year (FY) 2024 R&D funding opportunity include:

• Next-generation phosphate-based cathodes.
• Advancing the state of the art for sodium-ion batteries.
• Developing concepts for decreasing greenhouse gas emissions from off-road vehicles such as construction, agriculture, mining, and forestry vehicles.
• Developing and deploying vehicle-to-everything technologies that can lead to meaningful savings at the vehicle and transportation system level.
• Developing high-performance, domestically produced electrical steels (E-steels) for use in electrified powertrains.
• Addressing critical cybersecurity needs for smart and secure electric vehicle charging.

The FOA will award up to $18.8 million to address research and development (R&D) challenges in converting algae, such as seaweeds and other wet waste feedstocks, to biofuels and bioproducts that can decarbonize domestic transportation, industry, and communities.

• Topic Area 1: Conversion of Seaweeds to Low Carbon Fuels and Bioproducts  – This Topic Area, funded by BETO, will focus on laboratory scale R&D on conversion of seaweeds and seaweed blends with other wet wastes to renewable fuels and bioproducts to enable these readily available feedstocks to access new markets.
• Topic Area 2: Conversion of Algal Biomass for Low Carbon Agricultural Bioproducts – This Topic Area, funded by FECM, will support the use of anthropogenic CO₂ streams from industrial sources or utilities to grow micro- and macroalgae for low-carbon bioproducts.

The HudsonAlpha AgTech Accelerator (powered by gener8tor) connects cutting-edge, agriculture technology startups to the coaching, capital, and connections they need to build and grow their businesses. This program is in person in Huntsville, AL (Rocket City) and across the street from the home of NASA.

Recognizing the significant opportunity to support local and attract international startups to the province, the climate challenge, in partnership with Alberta Innovates, is a global search for innovators developing solutions at the ag energy nexus and playing a vital role in securing a sustainable future for our global community.

The Challenge is open to global companies that meet the below criteria:

• Are Seed to Series A Stage
• Have a novel technology that is relevant and disruptive in the combined agrifood and energy spaces
• Proven scalability of a base business and formalized business model
• Detailed plan outlining market reach, team structure, and key product offering
• Can clearly articulate how technology relates to challenge theme(s)

With an active energy mentor network, we have deep expertise in the energy industry. Our accelerator serves to accelerate the energy transition by supporting early-stage startups that contribute to significant energy efficiency improvements, are developing energy derived from renewable, zero-emissions sources or are curbing the environmental impact of all types of energy production, distribution or usage, or enabling progress toward net-zero carbon.

The RFSP supports partnerships that connect public and private resources to plan and develop local or regional food systems. The RFSP focuses on building and strengthening local or regional food economy viability and resilience, and this includes pandemic response and recovery. Applicants will work with their partners to catalyze the development of local or regional food systems. Applicants will coordinate efforts within the partnership to set priorities, connect resources and services, and measure progress towards common goals. Partnerships are authorized to:

• Determine the size and scope of the local or regional food system in which the project’s goals, outreach objectives, and eligible activities are to be carried out,
• Coordinate with AMS to receive technical assistance, and
• Conduct outreach and education for potential participation in the partnership agreement and eligible activities.

Partnerships must bring a variety of financial and technical capabilities, demonstrate experience or readiness to work effectively and collaboratively with public and private entities across sectors, and present innovative, sustainable, and measurable approaches to achieving the project’s goals.

Applications to the Agriculture and Food Research Initiative – Sustainable Agricultural Systems (SAS) Request for Applications (RFA) must focus on approaches that promote transformational changes in the U.S. food and agriculture system. NIFA seeks creative and visionary applications that take a systems approach for projects are expected to significantly improve the supply of affordable, safe, nutritious, and accessible agricultural products, while fostering economic development and rural prosperity in America. These approaches must demonstrate current needs and anticipate future social, cultural, behavioral, economic, health, and environmental impacts. Additionally, the outcomes of the work being proposed should result in societal benefits, including promotion of rural prosperity and enhancement of quality of life for all those involved in food and agricultural value chains from production to utilization and consumption. See AFRI SAS RFA for details.

Our in-house startup accelerator promotes financial inclusion and provides access to capital for early-stage technology and technology-enabled companies. Morgan Stanley provides participating companies with $250,000 for each company in our New York-based program and £250,000 for each company in our London-based program in exchange for a 5% equity stake. We introduce startups to our bankers, financial advisors, technology experts and others who can connect each company to their industry networks. Morgan Stanley pairs each startup with hand-picked mentors, entrepreneurs in residence and advisors who provide counsel, sales and leadership coaching, to help each company grow and scale.

The Autodesk Foundation aligns its philanthropic offerings with design and engineering. We invest in nonprofits and startups helping to de-risk innovation and bring industry-transforming solutions to scale. By facilitating a blend of funding, technical training, and expertise, we can bring early-stage innovations to market to advance a more sustainable, resilient, and equitable world.

The Scientific Exchange Program (SEP) leverages the latest developments in cross-cutting agricultural priorities, research, and technologies to educate a new generation of agricultural scientist to promote trade, trade policy, trade capacity building, and food security. The collaborative nature of the SEP leadership training and research programs improves agricultural productivity, systems, and processes in partnering emerging market economies through the transfer of new science and agricultural technologies. SEP focuses on a cohort of Fellows who spend up to 12 weeks at the U.S. academic institution (host institution) and work directly with U.S. scientists in their fields. For fiscal year 2024, USDA/FAS is seeking proposals that (1) promote the mentorship and leadership role of women researchers and scientists in food systems and, (2) that strengthen the science and evidence-base for the role and needs of women in food systems, including as it relates to climate change.

This funding opportunity announcement (FOA) will focus on applied R&D and pilot demonstration for the highest greenhouse gas-emitting (GHG) subsectors, specifically chemicals and fuels; iron and steel; food and beverage; cement and concrete, asphalt pavements, and glass; and forest products. Technology approaches include achieving cost and emissions savings through increased circularity and sustainability across manufacturing to reduce waste and decrease the need for resource extraction. The FOA will fund research, development, and prototype or pilot-scale technology validation and demonstration activities that will accelerate the development and adoption of sustainable technologies that increase efficiency and eliminate industrial GHG emissions for the most energy- and emissions- intensive industrial subsectors. These activities will contribute to a clean and equitable energy economy, bolster the technological and economic competitiveness of domestic manufacturing, and boost the viability and competitiveness of U.S. industrial technology exports.

The Regional Resource Hubs for Purpose-Grown Energy Crops funding opportunity announcement (FOA) will advance a domestic supply chain of alternative carbon sources necessary to produce biofuels and bioproducts to decarbonize the transportation and industry sectors, as well as innovate and grow the U.S. agricultural industry. The FOA supports one topic area focused on the advancement of low carbon-intensity, purpose-grown energy crops across varied agronomic and geographic landscapes through the generation of data and research findings. Topic Area 1 includes:

• Subtopic Area 1a: Algae (e.g., microalgae, macroalgae, and cyanobacteria)
• Subtopic Area 1b: Herbaceous Energy Crops (e.g., switchgrass, miscanthus, energycane, wheatgrass, and high-biomass sorghum)
• Subtopic Area 1c: Intermediate Energy Crops (e.g., carinata, pennycress, and camelina), and
• Subtopic Area 1d: Short-Rotation Woody Crops (e.g., hybrid poplar and shrub willow)