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Opportunities

Opportunities

Learn more about technical requirements and acceptable solutions for our current funding opportunities

Baxter

Does the opportunity include only the front-end development of the device or does it also include the device hardware?

Is Baxter only interested in detecting microbes and endotoxins or is Baxter also interested in being able to remove them?

Is the device intended to be a one time use test kit or a device that constantly monitors the infusion fluid?

What would be the ideal turnaround time for detection analysis?

Is there a limit to the sample volume for microbial detection?

Are the projects organized as sponsored research contracts or are they grants that could lead to research contracts?

Are there opportunities available for follow-on funding?

Would Baxter be interested in funding early-stage research?

Do the microbial and/or endotoxin tests need to be performed during production of solutions or by the end user at home?

How advanced should the technology be for Baxter?

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Bayer Grants4Ag

I have a technology, product, or idea that is very close to those outlined in Bayer's opportunities. Should I still apply?

Who is eligible to apply to the Bayer opportunities?

Why should one apply to Grants4Ag rather than through traditional federal funds or foundations?

Where can I learn about successful Grants4Ag proposals?

Does Bayer plan to fund projects that focus on improving the methodology of using ag data for continuous improvement and big data management (AI,ML,etc) at the farm level?

Is Bayer interested in the use of edited microorganisms?

What are the roles of Bayer’s scientific points of contact?

Is Bayer interested in proposals on underutilized crops that have potential to address food security, nutrition and health?

What are the main geographies, crop types, technology, etc. that Bayer funds?

Will Bayer sign a confidentiality disclosure agreement (CDA) if requested?

Is a budget required for Bayer's Grants4Ag program?

What are the selection criteria for Bayer’s Grants4Ag?

Without formal reporting requirements, how does Bayer determine a Grants4Ag project is finished or successfully completed?

Can I publish manuscripts out of the data collected during execution of the Bayer project?

Is there a time restriction for Bayer’s project length?

What is meant by unrestricted grants in Bayer's Grants4 program?

Can you tell me more about the budget for the Grants4Ag program?

I'm a PhD graduate and I'm still working with my supervisor. Am I eligible to apply for the Grants4 program?

Is there any limitation of the number of proposals from one researcher or from one institution?

Is it possible to fund non-wet lab research activities, e.g. working on policies or programs to enhance access to crop protection or NGOs?

How can Bayer's funding be used?

What are the terms of Bayer's Grants4 program?

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Valent

Is modeling of soil respiration, including CO2 fluxes, in scope for Valent's opportunity around carbon sequestration?

For Valent’s plant growth regulator (PGR) opportunity, do you plan to fund work based on already known PGRs that will be investigated in new ways or on different crops?

Are national laboratories eligible to apply for Valent’s opportunities?

How do I submit proposals in AgTech that are similar to Valent’s opportunities, but don’t fit directly into one of the three opportunities?

How many proposals will Valent be funding?

Is Valent looking for direct applications or more basic research?

Does Valent allow researchers they fund to publish work?

Is Valent interested in applying AI and computing techniques for soil carbon sequestration in agriculture?

Does Valent focus on any specific crops or geographies?

How does Valent currently measure soil carbon sequestration?

Is Valent interested in the Turf & Ornamental markets?

What technology readiness level (TRL) is Valent interested in?

What is Valent’s stance on IP?

Are you looking for ways to demonstrate the efficacy of Valent products in terms of nitrate uptake? Or is Valent interested in developing methods so users can monitor their fields?

Does Valent have specific AMF strains that can be given to grant awardees to evaluate?

Is Valent’s funding an unrestricted gift or sponsored research?

Is Valent interested in projects based on GMOs or other engineered microbes?

Will Valent partner with startups?

Will Valent fund activities that are not wet lab based? For example, improving the regulatory system under which products are developed.

Does Valent have interest in bacteria as well?

Is Valent interested in funding projects internationally or just in the United States?

Does Valent have datasets available to test in my modeling algorithms?

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Reckitt

Can non-US universities participate in Reckitt opportunities?

For Reckitt’s photocatalytic opportunity, are you looking for self-cleaning surface materials or photocatalytic technologies that produce disinfectants?

For Reckitt's opportunity on high-dilution germ-killing actives for Lysol and Dettol, are solutions involving bioactive compounds from plants or agro-industrial waste in scope?

For replacement of quats, will Reckitt entertain proposals with chemicals, materials, or compounds that have not yet obtained FDA / CE approval?

What are Reckitt’s expectations on partnerships and IP?

For the Reckitt projects, how much detail regarding feasibility/cost at scale do you want to see upfront? What kind of feasibility data would be most relevant?

Does Reckitt work with startups?

How is performance of laundry detergent determined?

What are chemicals of concern to Reckitt?

How does Reckitt determine if chemicals in cleaners and detergents are safe for home consumer use?

How does Reckitt test for deleterious effects of cleaners?

What is a SDS/MSDS?

What are "quats"?

What is EN 1276 and ASTM E2274?

What protocols or tests are used to determine germ kill efficacy?

What is ECHA?

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Oldcastle Infrastructure

What are thesize limits of the installations you’re interested in?

Are you interested in above ground technologies like artificial wetlands?

Does OldCastle have a particular targeted technology readiness level?

Is Oldcastle interested in working with researchers only, or other companies/startups as well? My company is currently developing a passive water treatment technology for nutrient removal.

Is there a particular source water that you are interested in? Or a specific site?

Are there any pollutants of interest in addition to nutrients (e.g. microplastics)?

OldCastle has a nutrient removal filtration system in the current product line-up. What are the issues with this product? Or areas that need improvement?

What is considered a high treatment flow rate?

What is the desired maintenance or replacement schedule?

Can you clarify the chemical form(s) of nitrogen that you are most interested in targeting? Is nitrate the primary concern?

What is the final destination for stormwater typically?

What is the current technology for removing nitrogen?

How can I learn more about Oldcastle Infrastructure?

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PepsiCo

What are the terms of PepsiCo's program?

What solutions for extraction/limiting absorption of hydrophobic fluids is PepsiCo looking for?

Should the process be designed to work on the concentrate or the single strength juice?

What is the potential scale of a successful project?

Will a joint commercial-academic partnership be considered?

Can you clarify the requirement of “not chemically altering” the coconut water?

What is the origin of the flavor compounds? Are they caused by the production process or inherent in the coconut water?

What are the specific compounds and concentrations of the target molecules you’d like to remove?

Have you explored block copolymers as a moisture barrier?

Do you do QC tests during production to assess the barrier effectiveness?

If a skin layer is a film or part of a mulit-layer film, what width is required? When considering a coating, is there a preferred curing method?

ASTM D6400 does not certify home composting. Does this layer need to be compostable under home composting according to European certification standards?

Why are nanoclays and nanocellulose not being considered by PepsiCo?

What is the process of putting all the layers together?

Is there an interest in any built-in recyclable sensing that would also report back on barrier breach?

Why is the metal layer on the outside? Will abrasion produce pin-holes and destroy your barrier?

Are there any restrictions on materials food contact, FDA approved materials?

Is the metal layer not a good enough water barrier because it is too thin? How thin is this layer?

Would silicon based materials be considered? While not traditional in terms of biodegradation, they are biodegradable.

In addition to moisture, any requirements for O2, CO2 or aromas barrier properties?

Is there flexibility in the way the coating layer is applied? Does it have to be co-extruded with the rest of the layers?

What are the funding levels, project timeline, and IP rights?

Is there interest in barrier or primer coatings that have reversible linkages to allow metal removal for possible recycling or composting of the underlying film?

What approaches are of interest to PepsiCo?

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Georgia-Pacific

What is ASTM International?

What is ASTM D6400, ASTM D6868 and ASTM D5338?

What are the routes to FDA compliance for food contact materials?

What is the Biodegradable Products Institute (BPI?)

How advanced should the technology be?

What is a comparable product made of PS foam?

What type of research and development tools are available at Georgia-Pacific’s prototyping facility?

Do you require startups to be fully formed companies? Or are recent spinouts OK?

What are the terms and conditions of an award?

What part of the manufacturing process makes foam non-compostable?

Will applications or technologies that require adhesives or curing be considered?

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Bayer Testing4Ag

How do we upload the chemical structures?

What is Testing4Ag?

What is Bayer’s motivation considering all IP rights remain with the institution?

What if the screening reveals interesting biological activity?

What happens after I submit a proposal?

What if I have questions about the MTA?

Why is an MTA required?

What are the proposal questions?

What are some examples of species that will be tested?

How will results be shared with researchers?

Why does Bayer require at least 5 mg of the compound?

How will shipment of the compounds be organized?

Does the deadline only apply to the proposal or do other steps have to be taken by 03/31/2022?

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Clorox

What are the terms of Clorox's program?

What funding is Clorox offering?

Corteva

What can you expect?

What should proposals include?

What should I expect from the process?

What should proposals include for Corteva's opportunity?

Is Corteva looking for biologically active molecules?

What are the terms of Corteva's program?

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PepsiCo - Plant Protein Extrusion

What type of model is PepsiCo looking for?

Does PepsiCo have preferred plant protein(s) in mind?

What analytical characterization capabilities will ideal teams have?

PepsiCo - Alternative Sources of Potable Water

What is NSF/ANSI 61?

What conditions must be met by desalination to make the water potable?

What must researchers define in their proposal regarding energy sources?

How will the technology be piloted?

Bayer - Space biology exploration

How does the facility credit work?

What are the logistics of the program?

Takeda

What is Takeda looking for?

Amcor

What are the limitations of existing PET moisture barrier solutions?

What are examples of US and international regulations for PET food contact?

What are examples of common manufacturing processes for PET packaging?

Altium

What is reciprocating screw blow molding?

Procter & Gamble

What pathogens is P&G focused on?

Kraft Heinz

Questions asked by participants in the Kraft Heinz webinar (May 2023)

What are potential end-of-life scenarios for packaging with high barrier?

What are Kraft Heinz's target oxygen transmission rate (OTR) and water vapor transmission rate (WVTR)?

Takeda - GI technology challenge

What are the terms of Takeda's program?

General Mills

What are the terms of General Mills' program?

BASF - Request for Materials

What information will I need to share to start the Request for Materials process with BASF?

What does the Request for Materials process with BASF look like?

What biological results will I get from BASF?

Do I still own the rights to my molecules?

What if I have questions about the BASF MTA?

What are the conditions of MTA?

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Bayer Pharma - Co.Lab Cambridge

Are selected startups within Co.Lab Cambridge expected to relocate?

How long is the Co.Lab Cambridge incubator program?

Is there a virtual option for the Co.Lab Cambridge incubator program?

If my startup is already based in Cambridge, am I still eligible to apply to Co.Lab Cambridge?

Bayer Crop Science - AgStart Golden Ticket

I don't want to relocate to California. Can I still apply?

If selected, when would the AgStart program start?

What equipment is included in the bench space?

What current companies are based in the bench space?

Future Use of Energy Louisiana (FUEL)

What are the eligibility requirements for FUEL requests?

Where can I find more information about FUEL, its opportunities, proposal budgets, eligibility, or similar topics?

What are the budget requirements and constraints for FUEL requests?

Can the same proposal submitted to FUEL be submitted to other agencies or sponsors for simultaneous review?