Phytoplankton Carbon Solutions (PCS) funding opportunities

Learn about opportunities for funding from EDF’s Phytoplankton Carbon Solutions (PCS) program

Date updated:

To critically evaluate PCS approaches, EDF is leading a coordinated research initiative and will provide funding opportunities to synthesize and expand the body of knowledge and ongoing research on PCS and the ocean’s natural biological carbon pump. The research under the program can support modeling, limited field work, natural analog studies, and social-ecological impacts research.

Funding opportunities will be available via four specific Requests for Proposals (RFPs) and a bottom-up funding mechanism for researcher-initiated ideas (broadly termed the Community Fund).

This work is supported by the Grantham Environmental Trust through the Ocean Resilience and Climate Alliance (ORCA).

Consortium Approach

Due to the interdisciplinary nature of PCS research priorities and the diversity of decision-makers and communities that program findings intend to serve, PCS grantees are expected to function as a collaborative research consortium, alongside EDF’s PCS program leadership and strategic advisory board members, rather than as independent project teams.

While each grantee will design and lead work within their own area of expertise as part of their team, all funded teams are expected to actively engage across the consortium to ensure alignment of research outputs, approaches, and dependencies. This includes regular scientific exchange, shared data and methods where appropriate, coordinating across projects where findings from one area inform or gate progress in another, and collaborative input into program-level synthesis and reporting led by EDF. This approach is designed to encourage flexibility within funded projects as new findings emerge and coordination across the consortium dictates the need to adjust research priorities and sequencing. Project teams will be expected to have a designated lead to facilitate collaborative activities across the consortium.

EDF will facilitate coordination and reprioritization through ongoing engagement with consortium members and application of the PCS stage-gate framework to help identify emerging conclusions and deliver timely, decision-relevant syntheses.

Requests for Proposals

EDF intends to fund over USD $10 million in PCS grants into 2029. Four RFPs will fund larger, interdisciplinary teams on distinct but inter-related aspects of PCS. These RFPs address priority areas of research that can meaningfully contribute to decision making on the potential, consequences, and future research directions pertaining to PCS (see Ocean Vision’s PCS Research Framework for further context on research priorities).

The RFP submission period is planned for Fall of 2026, with funds disbursed in Spring of 2027. Please check this website regularly for more specific deadline updates.

EDF expects project teams to be composed of individuals representing diverse disciplines, geographies, career stages, and backgrounds, with representation from both within and outside established mCDR research communities and teams. Funded project teams for a specific RFP will be expected to collaborate across RFPs to contribute to the overall objectives of the PCS Research Program, with early career researchers envisioned as a critical component of these efforts. We will require the project team to designate one organization as the financial lead who will be responsible for distribution of funds to each partner organization. Each project team is expected to define a team structure that enables them to work cohesively and collaboratively with other partners within and across the other funded teams. Individuals may be part of proposal teams across multiple RFPs. Please consult RFPs for further instructions on team requirements and cross-RFP submission strategies.

Proposals will undergo peer-review. EDF will accept expressions of interest from community members interested in serving as peer reviewers for the program. Information on how to apply will be posted below as it becomes available. For questions, please contact the email address listed at the bottom of this page.

RFP #1: Identification and characterization of critical uncertainties for PCS

Identification and Characterization of Critical Uncertainties for PCS: Supports the development of a comprehensive framework that identifies the most important uncertainties around the CDR potential and social-ecological effects of PCS interventions and provides a characterization of their ability to be reduced with additional research. This is a foundational analysis that will require a diverse team with expertise such as life cycle assessment, techno-economic analysis, sensitivity analysis, probabilistic modeling, and scenario development and evaluation. This team will need to closely collaborate with the other funded teams and with experts outside the Consortium on uncertainty inputs. The expectation is that the bulk of the research will be completed within the first year of the grant, but that this team will remain engaged with the other funded research teams throughout the research Consortium period.

Grant amount: up to $1.3 million for one project with a period of performance of up to 24 months.

Download Request for Proposal #1 – PCS Critical Uncertainties [PDF] Download Letter of Intent Template and Instructions – RFP #1 PCS Critical Uncertainties [PDF] LOI Submission Form

RFP #2: Advancing Biogeochemical Modeling for PCS Evaluation

Supports the evaluation and advancement of model-based capabilities for the assessment of mCDR benefits and environmental impacts of PCS. Emphasis is placed on scoping and developing novel technical capacity for relevant models to provide meaningful quantification of the effects of PCS interventions, targeting critical development opportunities while providing insight into needs and realistic timescales for model advancement to reduce existing gaps and uncertainties for decision making.

Grant Amount: A maximum of $4 million USD in total funding is available for up to two awards, each with a period of performance of up to 30 months.

Download Request for Proposal #2 - Advancing biogeochemical modeling for PCS evaluation [PDF] Download Letter of Intent Template and Instructions – RFP #2 Advancing biogeochemical modeling for PCS evaluation [PDF] LOI Submission Form

RFP #3: Focusing Biological Carbon Pump (BCP) research for PCS Application

Supports research that examines targeted ecological and biogeochemical aspects of BCP research that informs baseline quantification and impacts of PCS interventions. Examples include the interplay between food web structure and carbon export efficiency, the impact of trace metal bioavailability and delivery mechanism on carbon export, or the influence of microbial processes on organic matter remineralization. This RFP will support novel research that enhances ongoing research efforts.

Grant Amount: A maximum of $2.5 million USD in total funding is available for up to two awards, each with a period of performance of up to 30 months.

Download Request for Proposal #3 - Focusing Biological Carbon Pump (BCP) research for PCS Application [PDF] Download Letter of Intent Template and Instructions – RFP #3 Focusing Biological Carbon Pump (BCP) research for PCS Application [PDF] LOI Submission Form

RFP #4: Evaluating social-ecological desirability

Investigate and establish approaches to work with interested communities to evaluate the social and ecological risks and benefits of PCS interventions at a range of global to local scales.

Grant Amount: A maximum of $3 million USD in total funding is available for one award with a period of performance of up to 30 months.

Download Request for Proposal #4 - Evaluating social-ecological desirability [PDF] Download Letter of Intent Template and Instructions – RFP #4 Evaluating social-ecological desirability [PDF] LOI Submission Form

Community Fund Opportunities

Coming soon (2027)

We will consider other focused funding opportunities that aim to stimulate novel collaborations and ideas brought forward by the community that bring a wide diversity of voices and perspectives to bear on PCS or that enable research teams to pursue time-sensitive opportunities that are likely to meaningfully contribute to the objectives of the PCS program but that arise outside the regular cadence of other funding pathways.

For more information

Interested in keeping up with the latest from the PCS Research Program? Sign up to receive periodic updates on research opportunities, funding calls, events, publications, and other program news. You can also use the form to submit a question to the PCS team.

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