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Electrofuels (DE-FOA-0000206) - Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

What is the Electrofuels funding opportunity (DE-FOA-0000206)?

Electrofuels (DE-FOA-0000206) is an ARPA-E (U.S. Department of Energy) funding opportunity focused on developing a fundamentally different way to produce liquid transportation fuels. The program targets the direct conversion of carbon dioxide (CO2) into energy-dense liquid fuels using microorganisms powered by chemical or electrical energy sources.

Which agency is offering this opportunity?

The opportunity is offered by ARPA-E, the Advanced Research Projects Agency - Energy, within the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE).

What is ARPA-E and why does it fund programs like this?

ARPA-E is a DOE agency designed to support ambitious, high-risk/high-reward applied research and development (R&D) that conventional funding sources often avoid. The opportunity description notes ARPA-E was authorized under the America COMPETES Act and initially funded through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

What problem is Electrofuels trying to solve?

The program aims to reduce reliance on petroleum (and even biomass-based routes) by enabling the production of liquid transportation fuels directly from CO2. ARPA-E frames this as a potentially disruptive approach that could reduce dependence on foreign energy imports, lower U.S. energy-related emissions (including greenhouse gases), improve overall energy efficiency, and strengthen U.S. leadership in advanced energy technologies.

What is the core technical idea behind Electrofuels?

The core technical idea is to use metabolic engineering and synthetic biology to build or redesign organisms that can efficiently convert CO2 into liquid transportation fuels, while drawing energy from non-photosynthetic sources (chemical or electrical inputs). The program concept separates the energy-harvesting step from the biology that makes fuel.

How is this different from conventional biofuels?

Many existing biofuel pathways depend on converting biomass or waste feedstocks. Electrofuels instead targets direct conversion of CO2 into liquid fuels. It is positioned as a new paradigm intended to bypass constraints of biomass-dependent processes.

How is this different from photosynthetic approaches that use sunlight and CO2?

While photosynthetic approaches are described as appealing, ARPA-E notes their overall efficiency is often too low. Electrofuels seeks higher efficiency by decoupling fuel-making biology from the energy-harvesting step and using alternative energy inputs rather than relying solely on photosynthesis.

What kinds of energy sources can the microorganisms use in this program?

The announcement describes several possible external energy inputs for microorganisms, including hydrogen, reduced (electron-rich) ions of earth-abundant metals, low-cost and widely available organic redox-active compounds, or even direct use of an electric current.

What outcomes is ARPA-E hoping for in terms of efficiency?

The program vision is that pairing engineered microbial metabolism with external energy inputs could, at least in theory, reach efficiencies up to about ten times higher than conventional photosynthetic biomass-to-fuel routes.

What types of projects is this opportunity looking to fund?

It is looking for proposals that apply metabolic engineering and synthetic biology to create or redesign organisms capable of efficiently converting CO2 into liquid transportation fuels using chemical and/or electrical energy sources.

Is this a grant or some other type of award?

The opportunity is described as a discretionary research and development funding opportunity administered as cooperative agreements. Cooperative agreements indicate the government expects an active partnership role rather than a hands-off relationship.

What does it mean that awards are cooperative agreements?

Based on the opportunity description, cooperative agreements mean the government anticipates being actively involved as a partner during the project, rather than simply issuing funding with minimal involvement.

How much total funding was anticipated under this opportunity?

The opportunity anticipated total estimated funding of $30 million.

How many awards were anticipated?

ARPA-E anticipated making around 10 awards under this funding opportunity.

What is the expected size (dollar range) of individual awards?

Individual project awards were expected to range from $500,000 (floor) up to $10,000,000 (ceiling), supporting both smaller exploratory efforts and larger integrated demonstrations.

Is cost sharing required?

Yes. The opportunity states that cost sharing (matching) was required.

Who is eligible to apply?

Eligibility was listed as unrestricted (open to any entity type), subject to any clarifications included in the full announcement.

What is the CFDA number for this program?

The CFDA number associated with the program is 81.135 (Advanced Research Projects Agency - Energy).

When was the opportunity posted and created?

The announcement was posted on December 15, 2009, and created on March 2, 2010.

What were the application due dates and extensions?

The opportunity was originally due on January 15, 2010, and was later extended. The listed current closing date is March 15, 2010.

When was this opportunity archived?

The archive date listed for the opportunity is July 28, 2010.

Where was the announcement referenced for access and information?

The opportunity referenced FedConnect as an information link.

Who should applicants contact if they have trouble accessing the full announcement?

The listed point of contact for access issues was John T. Harris, Contracting Officer, reachable at 202-287-1471 and john.harris@hq.doe.gov.

What is the overarching goal of the Electrofuels program?

The overarching goal is to enable carbon-neutral (and potentially carbon-negative, depending on the full system) liquid fuels by combining engineered microbes with non-photosynthetic energy inputs, aiming to overcome efficiency limits associated with sunlight-and-biomass-based fuel pathways.

Why does the opportunity emphasize synthetic biology and alternative electron donors?

The opportunity emphasizes synthetic biology, metabolic engineering, and alternative electron donors (including direct electrical powering) because these elements are central to the program concept of driving microbial fuel production from CO2 using external chemical or electrical energy, rather than relying on photosynthesis or biomass conversion.