Production of Norbornadiene

The DON26TZ01-NV018 project seeks to develop safe, efficient, and scalable methods for producing norbornadiene from abundant domestic feedstocks, ideally bio-feedstocks. Norbornadiene is a critical chemical, and current production methods relying on acetylene are costly due to explosion risks and foreign supply chain reliance. The objective is to establish a domestic manufacturing process yielding over 500 metric tons/year at a target cost below $20/kg and a purity greater than 97%. Phase I involves identifying a chemical process, demonstrating laboratory-scale production (10-100 mL, >97% purity), and conducting a preliminary technoeconomic analysis. Phase II focuses on demonstrating a prototype scalable approach, delivering 1 kg to the Navy, scaling production to 100 kg, and developing plans for a 500+ metric tons/year facility. Phase III assists the government in establishing a CONUS facility for 10-20 metric tons/year production and updating plans for larger-scale production.