The AFRI Foundational and Applied Science Program supports grants in six AFRI priority areas to advance knowledge in both fundamental and applied sciences important to agriculture. The six priority areas are: Plant Health and Production and Plant Products; Animal Health and Production and Animal Products; Food Safety, Nutrition, and Health; Bioenergy, Natural Resources, and Environment; Agriculture Systems and Technology; and Agriculture Economics and Rural Communities. Research-only, extension-only, and integrated research, education and/or extension projects are solicited in this Request for Applications (RFA).

Sponsored by the Office of Technology Transitions (OTT) at the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), the EnergyTech University Prize (EnergyTech UP) is a collegiate competition challenging multidisciplinary student teams to develop and present a business plan that leverages DOE national laboratory-developed and other high-potential energy technologies. EnergyTech UP awards cash prizes to teams that successfully identify an energy technology, assess its market potential, and propose a strategy for commercialization.

NSF’s SBIR/STTR program focuses on transforming scientific and engineering discoveries into products and services with commercial and societal impact. The deep technologies it funds show promise but their success hasn’t yet been validated. And, each year, it awards $200+ million in research and development (R&D) funding to about 400 startups across the United States. Although NSF accepts proposal’s year round, it recommends submitting before the end of the current submission window on October 26.

The Energy Program for Innovation Clusters (EPIC) Prize recognizes the nation’s most innovative incubators. Sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Technology Transitions (OTT), the EPIC Prize awards cash prizes to regional incubator teams that submit the most creative and impactful plans, then implement those plans to develop strong clusters, connections, and support for energy startups and entrepreneurs. OTT has also partnered with three other program offices to date to provide Bonus Prizes. In addition to the $4 million in Core Incubator Prize funding, $50,000 Bonus Prizes will be available for incubators supporting water power and/or the blue economy, buildings technologies, and solar technologies.

Looking to scale your innovation? Need ideas, resources and advice to take your start-up or scale-up to the next level? From agriculture to transport, recycling, chemicals, clean energy and the latest in AI, you can search the Innovation Challenge Hub for and find opportunities to work with corporates, investors, accelerators and programs dedicated to helping create a cleaner, cooler future.

The Frontline Resource Institute is releasing two grant opportunities through the Collective Action Fund at the Tides Foundation. Intended for environmental and climate justice organizations serving frontline communities, both opportunities will assist in building organizational capacity and promoting shared learning and peer exchange among grant recipients. Recognizing that organizations have different needs depending on their longevity, financial capacity, and development journeys, FRI plans to disburse funds via two tracks: (1) Organizational Strategy Development and (2) Organizational Capacity Building and Organizational Durability.

Astanor is an impact investor, delivering financial, social and environmental returns in equal measure. We believe in the future of an agrifood system that provides affordable nutrients for 10 billion people, preserves and regenerates natural resources, actively contributes to decarbonization and protects land and ocean biodiversity.

We invest in startups that increase access to clean energy, promote strong infrastructure, and build climate adaptation strategies for communities that face the most adverse climate impacts.

We partner with companies providing the breakthrough technologies and critical infrastructure necessary to enable a greatly improved food ecosystem – one in which positive outcomes for human and environmental health are prioritized alongside profitability and convenience.

4WARD.VC is a venture fund and investor group that invests in world-positive, carbon-neutral businesses that actively improve how we live by pushing the boundaries of environmental and social betterment. We are revolutionizing the one-dimensional finance-for-equity venture industry because money alone does not drive success. Our strength comes from the strategic support, growth focus and investor relations help we bring our teams.