ECOSynBIO SBIR/STTR | DE FOA 0002388

Opportunity Information: Apply for DE FOA 0002388

The ECOSynBIO SBIR/STTR funding opportunity (DE-FOA-0002388) is a competitive grant program run by the U.S. Department of Energy's Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) aimed at pushing bioconversion beyond the limits of conventional fermentation. The core goal is to develop new technologies that dramatically improve carbon efficiency in biological or bio-inspired conversion platforms by enabling them to take in and use external reducing equivalents. In practical terms, ARPA-E is looking for approaches where the system can accept extra electrons (from an outside source) so more of the carbon feedstock ends up in useful products instead of being lost as carbon dioxide, and so the overall energy captured in products can exceed what is typically achievable using only the energy contained in the biomass or primary carbon feedstock.

Technically, the opportunity targets bioconversion schemes that minimize or eliminate CO2 evolution and, ideally, incorporate CO2 utilization as part of the process. The solicitation highlights several example directions. One is carbon-optimized fermentation strains engineered to avoid releasing CO2 during conversion, which would increase the fraction of input carbon retained in products. Another is engineered mixotrophic consortia or systems, meaning combinations of organisms or hybrid setups that can draw on multiple energy or carbon inputs and are designed to avoid CO2 losses. A third area is biomass or gas fermentation that includes internal CO2 utilization, where CO2 produced in one step is captured and converted in another step within the same integrated platform. A fourth is cell-free biocatalytic conversion, using enzymes or catalytic pathways outside living cells to perform carbon-optimized transformations and potentially convert CO2 directly. Finally, ARPA-E leaves room for cross-cutting concepts or other carbon-optimized bioconversion ideas, as long as they clearly address the central carbon-efficiency and external-reducing-equivalent requirements.

A key screening principle for proposed projects is that they must show an ability to accommodate external reducing equivalents in a way that improves carbon efficiency relative to traditional fermentation. The FOA frames this in energy terms as well: applicants should be aiming for systems where the sum of the recoverable energy content of the products is greater than the energy content of the biomass or primary carbon feedstock alone, implying that the platform is effectively being "boosted" by an external electron source to drive deeper reduction of carbon into higher-energy products. This emphasis distinguishes ECOSynBIO from standard metabolic engineering programs, because it is not just about making a better microbe or pathway, but about building a conversion platform that can take advantage of added reducing power to change the carbon and energy balance.

From an administrative standpoint, the award instrument type is a cooperative agreement, which generally means ARPA-E expects to have substantial involvement during the project, such as milestone-based management and active coordination. The opportunity is categorized under science and technology and other research and development, and it falls under CFDA number 81.135. Eligibility is listed as unrestricted, meaning it is broadly open to different entity types, subject to any additional eligibility language in the full FOA. As an SBIR/STTR opportunity, it is especially relevant to small businesses, including those partnering with research institutions under STTR rules, although the summary text here focuses on the broad eligibility statement rather than the standard SBIR/STTR-specific requirements.

In terms of scale and timing, the FOA was created on September 10, 2020, with an original closing date of October 26, 2020, and it specifies that concept papers were due on 10/26/2020, with applicants encouraged to submit 48 hours early. ARPA-E projected about 10 awards, with an award ceiling of $3,677,642 per award. The application process runs through ARPA-E eXCHANGE, ARPA-E's online submission portal, and applicants are required to register and submit all materials there, with additional procedural guidance referenced in Section IV.H.1 of the FOA.

Overall, ECOSynBIO SBIR/STTR is best understood as an ARPA-E push for high-impact, carbon-retentive bioconversion technologies that can harness extra reducing power to drive more carbon into valuable products and reduce waste CO2. The program is intentionally broad in the technical routes it will accept, but narrow in the outcome it expects: demonstrably improved carbon efficiency enabled by the integration and productive use of external reducing equivalents.

• The Department of Energy, Advanced Research Projects Agency Energy in the science and technology and other research and development sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "ECOSynBIO SBIR/STTR" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 81.135.
• This funding opportunity was created on Sep 10, 2020.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Oct 26, 2020 Concepts Papers are due on 10/26/2020. Applicants are encouraged to submit 48 hours in advance.. (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 $3,677,642.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 10 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Unrestricted (i.e., open to any type of entity above), subject to any clarification in text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility.

Apply for DE FOA 0002388

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