$5 million in R&D funds for wood and pellet stoves available from DOE

[begreen]

Copied from main hearth forum:
https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads...-and-pellet-stoves-available-from-doe.175499/

DOE has finally started offering R&D funding for wood and pellet stoves and central heaters and they are really hoping to spur genuine innovation that can help appliances burn cleaner in the hands of consumers. Check out this blog with lots more details. Timeline is tight as applicants need to submit a short concept paper by June 3. R&D for automated stoves that use sensors to manage airflow is one interest area. Grants are minimum of $300,000 and max of $1 million. We've been waiting for this sort of government support and interest in our sector and we hope they get lots of good applications! Please spread the word.

John

 

[blades]

Kuma the little company that did it on their own - no Gov. hand out. Begs the question where were the rest , asleep at the switch?

 

[E Yoder]

It's a push in the right direction. It might be just what it takes to get things moving, altho ideally companies pursue these things on their own.

 

[peakbagger]

About 10 years ago I worked on DOE grant project for large biomass power plant. It was relatively small project but the DOE paperwork was beyond intense. I expect a small firm would not be able to wade through it. Hopefully DOE has short form version for these projects.

 

[NateB]

This will line the pockets of some lawyers very nicely. Sorry if it sounds a bit jaded, but I watched how these grants work, and it not a system build for innovation. They are designed to be inaccessible to average small company. The other complaint is, Tax payers fund the R&D, and the company keeps the patents. How does that make sense? Shouldn't the innovation be part of the public domain, so all the tax payers would benefit?

And a little bit for the funny side. If the DOE wants to reduce pollution from wood stoves, I recommend developing a stove that burn just cut dripping wet wood, or they could develop a firewood dryer that runs on electric.