Today, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Fossil Energy (FE) announced plans to make more than $7 million in Federal funding available for cost-shared research and development to support the design, validation, and fabrication of a prototype carbon-based building.

Funding opportunity announcement (FOA) DE-FOA-0002438, Design, R&D, Validation, and Fabrication of a Prototype Carbon-Based Building, seeks to solicit and competitively award research and development to validate carbon-based materials suitable for construction purposes. The FOA will include a single topic area that will focus on the design and build of a partial structure using carbon-based building materials.

The prototype building designs will utilize emerging coal-derived products to the greatest extent practicable. A prototype building that meets the project’s objectives will have component building materials that must be at least 70% carbon (by weight); more than half of that percentage must be coal-derived. The prototype building will demonstrate the technical and economic viability of carbon-based building materials, including flexural strength, leaching and oxidation behavior, thermal stability, water adsorption, and other properties that offer opportunities to produce superior building materials.

Projects will be managed by the National Energy Technology Laboratory.

Read more details of the FOA.

The Office of Fossil Energy funds research and development projects to reduce the risk and cost of advanced fossil energy technologies and further the sustainable use of the Nation’s fossil energy resources. To learn more about the programs within the Office of Fossil Energy, visit the Office of Fossil Energy website or sign up for FE news announcements. More information about the National Energy Technology Laboratory is available on the NETL website.