Technology Assessment Grant 2023

Request for Proposals: Evaluating the Economic and Environmental Efficacy of a New Agricultural Waste Treatment Technology

The North Carolina Collaboratory, headquartered at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC-Chapel Hill), is partnering with Upcycle Solutions, LLC, to request proposals to assess the environmental and economic efficacy of a new technology that treats agricultural waste. Eligible applicants include constituent institutions of higher education in North Carolina, which can request a maximum of $100,000 in direct costs.

Application Package

• Full application instructions
• Pre-proposal application template

Priority Areas

The goal of this funding opportunity is to generate information that can be used to improve, scale and implement new, patented hydrothermal technology in North Carolina. Applicants should describe how they can address one or more of the following Priority Areas:

1. The performance, scalability, and economic and environmental efficacy of the technology relative to the transformation of wet organic waste into minerals, usable water, hydrochar, syngas and other potential economic products.
2. Optimal conditions and/or feedstocks for use with this technology.
3. Comparative economic and/or environmental efficacy of the technology in relation to other, existing methodologies at commercial scale.

More information is provided in the full application instructions.

Due to the nature of this technology, applicants must be capable of executing data sharing and confidentiality agreements with both university and industry partners. Applicants must also be willing to partner with Dr. Marco Castaldi at City College of New York, who has worked with Upcycle Solutions for nearly 10 years to develop and test the technology.

• Important Dates