DOE Chemical Upcycling of Polymers
DE-FOA-0002462
PDF  https://science.osti.gov/-/media/grants/pdf/foas/2021/SC_FOA_0002462.pdf  
Required preapplication due March 10, 2021

DOE Office of Science Funding Opps   https://science.osti.gov/bes/Funding-Opportunities?utm_medium=email&utm_...

DOE’s research investment will focus on polymer upcycling, the process of efficiently deconstructing and rebuilding polymers, which are the essential building blocks of plastics. Polymer upcycling has the potential to turn waste plastic into chemicals, fuels, and other products of value and greatly reduce the high energy costs associated with plastic production.
Expanding the reuse of plastics through polymer upcycling also has the potential to significantly cut down on the environmental impacts of plastic production, an energy-intensive and greenhouse gas emitting process that uses almost exclusively petroleum and natural gas. The development of new, lower energy polymer upcycling processes could bring major energy savings for an industry that consumes six percent of the nation’s entire energy output annually, according to DOE estimates. 
The funding opportunity, titled “Chemical Upcycling of Polymers” is part of a series of research efforts sponsored under DOE’s Plastic Innovation Challenge, which was launched in 2019 to make domestic processing of plastic waste more economically viable and energy-efficient, develop new and improved plastic materials, and ultimately reduce plastic waste accumulation. 
The research sponsored under this funding opportunity will pursue basic discoveries to enable energy-efficient deconstruction and reassembly of polymers, to improve polymer properties, and to enable the more efficient reuse of polymer components.