EERE Funding Opportunity Announcements

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)'s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) intends to issue, on behalf of the Water Power Technologies Office (WPTO), a Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) entitled “Water Power Innovation Network”.

This FOA supports programs that enable entrepreneurship and accelerate water power innovation, business creation, and growth in communities and regions throughout the U.S. Through this FOA, new and/or expanded incubators and accelerators in water power will be able to collaborate with one another and build a stronger water power innovation network in support of accelerating water power technologies to market.

This Notice is issued so that interested parties are aware of the EERE’s intention to issue this FOA in the near term. All of the information contained in this Notice is subject to change. EERE will not respond to questions concerning this Notice. Once the FOA has been released, EERE will provide an avenue for potential Applicants to submit questions.

To apply, please register with the American-Made Network online application portal, HeroX, at Energy Program for Innovation Clusters (EPIC) Round 3 | HeroX. Rules and required forms for Full Applications are available on the HeroX website.

EPIC Round 3 Overview:

The Energy Program for Innovation Clusters (EPIC) Round 3 is a $4 million to $9 million (pending FY24 appropriations) program to support incubators developing new programs that support energy entrepreneurs and startups.

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE’s) Office of Technology Transitions (OTT) developed EPIC to encourage robust growth of regional energy innovation ecosystems across the United States. Innovation ecosystems, or clusters, increase the productivity of startups, drive the direction and pace of innovation, and stimulate the formation of new businesses, which further reinforces the cluster itself.

In this program, (DOE) seeks to fund organizations that aid in the development of new business ventures, including incubators, accelerators, co-working startup communities, or any other organizations that self-identify as advocates for innovation and entrepreneurship. DOE encourages these organizations to compete in EPIC.

This program consists of five components:

1. Phase 1 - Prize Competition: Competitors will design a minimum viable program (MVP) and demonstrate that they have a plan, access to the right networks, and the skills and expertise to successfully implement their MVP. It is expected that during Phase 1, competitors solicit and incorporate feedback from key stakeholders on their program design to ensure they can start implementing quickly in Phase 2.

Any non-governmental entity that meets the eligibility requirements can apply to Phase 1. Winners will each receive a $150,000 cash prize.

2. Phase 2 – Prize Competition Resulting in a Cooperative Agreement: Only winners of Phase 1 are eligible to compete in Phase 2. In Phase 2, competitors will begin implementation of their MVP and should move as quickly as possible from MVP planning and program design to implementation. It is expected that by the end of Phase 2, competitors have recruited startups, successfully implemented a portion of their MVP, can speak to progress toward the metrics proposed in Phase 1, and have developed a 3-year plan to transition from MVP to full program.

Winners of Phase 2 will enter directly into negotiations with OTT for a $1,000,000 multiyear cooperative agreement to scale their MVP.

3. Cooperative Agreement: The cooperative agreement will provide the winners of EPIC Phase 2 with a multiyear, stable source of funding - contingent on satisfactory performance of agreed upon goals - to scale the highest potential EPIC MVPs to support energy tech startups and grow their regional innovation ecosystems. All cooperative agreements will be governed by 2CFR200 and 2CFR910.

4. Startup Pitch Competitions: As part of EPIC, OTT and NREL will host at least two national pitch competitions for energy-related startups. The competing startups will be nominated by EPIC winners (past and present). Competing startups must be focused on hard-tech development. $105,000 is available to energy-related startups for each pitch competition.

5. Bonus Prizes: EPIC is intended to serve as a scalable and replicable framework for efficiently deploying support to incubators serving energy entrepreneurs and startups. At any time, DOE Technical Program Offices may leverage this framework by sponsoring one or more Bonus Prizes up to $600,000 in additional prizes. These Bonus Prizes may be added to any of the three previous categories (Prize Competition, Cooperative Agreement, or Startup Pitch Competition). At this time there are not any current Bonus Prizes, but they may be added at any point. Any updates will be posted on the HeroX page.

To apply, please register with the American-Made Network online application portal, HeroX, at Energy Program for Innovation Clusters (EPIC) Round 3 | HeroX. Rules and required forms for Full Applications are available on the HeroX website.

Mod 000001: Added “Applicant Education Services” section IV.A.ii.

This funding opportunity announcement (FOA) is being issued by the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), Solar Energy Technologies Office (SETO). Some of the awards made under this FOA will be funded with funds appropriated by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, also known as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL).

BIL is a once-in-a-generation investment in modernizing and upgrading American infrastructure to enhance U.S. competitiveness, drive the creation of good-paying union jobs, tackle the climate crisis, and ensure strong access to economic, environmental, and other benefits for disadvantaged communities. BIL appropriates more than $62 billion to the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)4 to invest in American manufacturing and workers; expand access to energy efficiency and clean energy; deliver reliable, clean, and affordable power to more Americans; and demonstrate and deploy the technologies of tomorrow through clean energy demonstrations.

DOE’s BIL investments will support efforts to build a clean and equitable energy economy that achieves a zero-carbon electricity system by 2035, and to put the United States on a path to achieve net-zero emissions economy-wide by no later than 20505 to benefit all Americans.

This FOA will invest appropriations of $45 million over three years for development of new solar photovoltaics (PV) technologies to improve U.S. domestic manufacturing and competitiveness and secure our domestic energy supply chains.

The activities under this FOA are partly funded by BIL section 41007(c)(2)—the Advanced Solar Energy Manufacturing Initiative, which appropriates $20 million to carry out this activity, and was authorized by the Energy Act of 2020. In addition, appropriations from fiscal year 2023 will be used, authorized under Division Z Section 3004(b) of the Energy Act of 2020, (42 U.S.C. 16238(b)). These activities support the broader government-wide approach to strengthening critical domestic manufacturing and supply chains and to maximize the benefits of the clean energy transition as the nation works to curb the climate crisis, empower workers, and advance environmental justice. These BIL sections are focused on: Photovoltaics and Manufacturability of low cost, high quality solar systems

This funding opportunity has two topic areas. Topic 1 is focused on demonstration activities that support the domestic silicon PV module supply chain. Topic 2 is focused on RD&D and product development for dual-use PV with the aim of developing these market segments in the United States and increasing deployment.In both Topic Areas, SETO funding aims to retire technical, business, and market risks of solar hardware to validate pathways to commercial success through customer engagement and trials. Successful awardees will be well positioned to attract follow-on private investment, grow their businesses, generate revenue, and create jobs. This will help address SETO’s aims to support U.S. manufacturing across the solar value chain..

This funding opportunity announcement (FOA) is being issued by the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) Solar Energy Technologies Office (SETO). This funding program seeks to invest in innovative research and development (R&D) as well as research, development, and demonstration (RD&D) projects that enable continued cost reductions, while developing next-generation solar technologies and boosting American solar manufacturing, especially in cadmium telluride (CdTe) photovoltaics. These projects will support the scaling of affordable solar generation and facilitate secure, reliable integration of solar electricity into the nation’s energy grid to ultimately benefit the U.S. economy.

The research and development (R&D) activities to be funded under this FOA will support the government-wide approach to the climate crisis by driving the innovation that can lead to the deployment of clean energy technologies, which are critical for climate protection. Specifically, this FOA will develop and demonstrate new technologies enabling fast deployment of large amounts of solar generation into the grid.

This Request for Information (RFI) is intended to inform the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)

Solar Energy Technologies Office (SETO) on the overall technical research, development, and demonstration opportunities in solar manufacturing and hardware product commercialization. SETO is seeking specific feedback on:

• Technical areas with opportunities to invest in innovative research and development (R&D) as well as research, development, and demonstration (RD&D) projects that enable solar to continue to drive down costs, while developing next-generation solar technologies, supporting the scalability of solar as deployment increases across the country, and boosting American solar manufacturing;
• Removal of the Concept Paper stage from the funding opportunity process to better align it with the needs of a fast-moving industry and community and in an effort to streamline the application process and reduce the time from application deadline to selection notification; and
• Ways to better engage and support partnerships between institutions representing diverse entities such as, but not limited to, Tribal communities; minority-serving institutions (MSI); minority business enterprises; minority-, woman-, and veteran-owned businesses[1]; entities located in an underserved community or through linkages with Opportunity Zones.

[1] Opportunity Zones were added to the Internal Revenue Code by section 13823 of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, codified at 26 U.S.C. 1400Z-1. The list of designated Qualified Opportunity Zones can be found in IRS Notices 2018-48 (PDF) and 2019-42 (PDF). Further, a visual map of the census tracts designated as Qualified Opportunity Zones may also be found at Opportunity Zones Resources. Also see, frequently asked questions about Qualified Opportunity Zones.  

This FOA intends to support research and development of grid forming inverters, DER controls and to accelerate commercialization of innovative product ideas that can substantively increase U.S. domestic manufacturing and expand private investment across the solar industry supply chain (photovoltaics, power electronics, systems integration, concentrating solar thermal power, and more).

Modification 000003 - See the Modification table in the FOA. Changes from modification 000003 are highlighted in blue.

Modification 000002 - See the Modification table in the FOA. Changes from modification 000002 are highlighted in green.

Modification 000001 - See the Modification table in the FOA. Changes from modification 000001 are highlighted in yellow.

Informational Webinar

An informational webinar was held to provide information on the FOA to potential applicants on Wednesday, January 6, 2021, 1:00pm ET. Please see link below to access the slides for this webinar.

https://www.energy.gov/eere/solar/funding-opportunity-announcement-solar-energy-technologies-office-fiscal-year-2021

UPDATE 5/19/2021

SUBJECT:            Announcement of Selections for Award

The anticipated date for announcement of selections for Awards for this Funding Opportunity Announcement has been changed to the first week of June.

NOTE: The Open Period for submitting Letters of Intent for this FOA ended at 5 PM ET on Friday 12-11-2020.

Letters of Intent can no longer be submitted.

Applicants who submitted a Letter of Intent prior to 5pm ET on 12-11-2020 are eligible to complete and submit a full application for this Funding Opportunity.

To access your previously submitted LOI log into Exchange and click on the "My Submissions" link on the left hand menu of the Exchange Landing Page. Once you have done that you will be taken to the submissions page and can edit and submit the full application.

An Informational Webinar was held for Applicants to this FOA on November 18, 2020 at 1pm ET. 

A recording of the November 18th Webinar is available at:

EPIC FOA Webinar Recording

Innovation clusters enhance national energy entrepreneurship and commercialization. The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Energy Program for Innovation Clusters (EPIC) Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) seeks to fund the most creative, comprehensive, and impactful innovation-accelerating organizations that support energy and related hardware technology development and testing in regional innovation clusters—geographic concentrations of specialized skills, industries, and technology sectors. Innovation-accelerating, entrepreneurially-focused organizations (often referred to as accelerators or incubators) are critical to the growth of an innovation economy; these organizations help entrepreneurs accelerate the launch, growth, and scale of their businesses, ultimately resulting in the commercialization of new technologies and business models, and development of jobs in the United States.

Through this FOA, the Office of Technology Transitions (OTT) seeks to support the formation and development of regional clusters supporting entrepreneurs and startups by funding innovation-accelerating organizations that demonstrate the ability to advance energy and related technologies in collaboration with and with the support of state, regional, and/or local entities. To accomplish these goals, the EPIC FOA anticipates funding four to eight innovation-accelerating organizations across the United States.

OTT welcomes as applicants organizations that aid in the development of new business ventures, business incubators and accelerators, co-working startup communities, or any other organizations and multi-organizational applicants that self-identify as advocates for innovation and entrepreneurship.

Through this competitive funding opportunity to support the formation and development of energy innovation clusters, the Office of Technology Transitions seeks to fund incubators and accelerators that demonstrate the ability to advance technology in collaboration with and with the support of state, regional, and/or local entities. To accomplish these goals, the Energy Program for Innovation Clusters (EPIC) anticipates funding approximately four to eight innovation-accelerating organizations across the United States.

QUESTIONS ABOUT THIS FOA?                                              

If you have questions about the content or application process for this FOA Email EPICFOA-OTT@hq.doe.gov

A Q&A Document will be posted on the FOA Landing page Documents Section and updated Weekly.

PROBLEMS WITH OTT EXCHANGE?

Problems with OTT Exchange? Email EERE-ExchangeSupport@hq.doe.gov Include FOA name and number in subject line.

Modification 00003 - See the Modification table in the FOA. Changes from modification 00003 are highlighted in blue.

Modification 00002 - See the Modification table in the FOA. Changes from modification 00002 are highlighted in green.

Modification 00001 - See the Modification table in the FOA. Changes from modification 00001 are highlighted in yellow

The Solar Energy Technologies Office (SETO) works across the solar energy technology spectrum with the goal of improving the affordability, reliability, and performance of solar technologies on the grid. Ensuring that more Americans can benefit from the declining costs of solar is one of SETO's primary goals, which support early-stage research, development, and demonstration of solar technologies. Achieving SETO's priorities across the solar energy technology landscape requires sustained, multifaceted innovation. With this Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA), the office intends to fund high-impact, early-stage research in the following areas:

Topic Area 1: Photovoltaics Hardware Research

*Topic Area 2: Integrated Thermal Energy STorage and Brayton Cycle (Integrated TESTBED) (Applications must be submitted under DE-TA2-0002243.)

Topic Area 3: Solar Energy Evolution and Diffusion Studies 3 (SEEDS 3)

Topic Area 4: SETO Incubator Tier 2: Innovation in Manufacturing

Topic Area 5: Systems Integration

Topic Area 6: Agricultural Solar: Opportunities, Innovative Models, and Novel System Designs

Topic Area 7: Artificial Intelligence Applications in Solar Energy with Emphasis on Machine Learning

*Topic Area 8: Small Innovative Projects in Solar (SIPS): PV and CSP (Applications must be submitted under DE-TA8-0002243.)

Informational webinars:

February 12, 2020, at 2 PM Eastern Standard Time / 12 PM Mountain Standard Time

Modification 00003 - See the Modification table in the FOA. Changes from modification 00003 are highlighted in blue.

Modification 00002 - See the Modification table in the FOA. Changes from modification 00002 are highlighted in green.

Modification 00001 - See the Modification table in the FOA. Changes from modification 00001 are highlighted in yellow.

The Solar Energy Technologies Office (SETO) works across the solar energy technology spectrum with the goal of improving the affordability, reliability, and performance of solar technologies on the grid. Ensuring that more Americans can benefit from the declining costs of solar is one of SETO's primary goals, which support early-stage research, development, and demonstration of solar technologies. Achieving SETO's priorities across the solar energy technology landscape requires sustained, multifaceted innovation. With this Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA), the office intends to fund high-impact, early-stage research in the following areas:

Topic Area 1: Photovoltaics Research and Development

Topic Area 2: Concentrating Solar-Thermal Power Research and Development

Topic Area 3: Balance of Systems Soft Costs Reduction

Topic Area 4: Innovations in Manufacturing: Hardware Incubator

Topic Area 5: Advanced Solar Systems Integration Technologies

Teaming Partner List: See “Teaming Partner List Instructions” under the Documents Section for more information about the SETO teaming partner list.

Links to the recorded webinars are below. The password for each webinar is Setofoa2019. The recordings must be viewed in a browser other than Internet Explorer.

SETO FY 2019 FUNDING OPPORTUNITY - OVERVIEW

Topic Area 1- PHOTOVOLTAICS

Topic Area 2 - CONCENTRATING SOLAR POWER - Due to an unfortunate technical error, the CSP webinar recording and webinar transcript will not be posted on Exchange. See the Documents section below for a copy of the CSP presentation slides.

Topic Area 3 - SOFT COSTS

Topic Area 4 - INNOVATIONS IN MANUFACTURING

Topic Area 5 - SYSTEMS INTEGRATION

Applicants should note that the SAM registration and renewal process has been updated recently and now requires applicants to mail a notarized letter to the SAM processing office in London, KY. The letter must formally identify an Entity Administrator for each applicant. This additional step can result in longer processing times.

For questions and answers, please refer to the FOA Q and A spreadsheet under Documents.

The mission of the Solar Energy Technology Office's Tech-to-Market sub-program is to enable the widespread market penetration of highly impactful solar technologies and solutions through technology research, development and demonstration to overcome technical, institutional and market challenges. The FOA is divided into Tiers that are based on the technology type, hardware or software, as well as its stage in the development cycle, e.g. prototype refinement, manufacturing tooling, beta testing, etc. In addition to achieving rigorous technical milestones, awardees are expected to deliver on business development and commercial metrics that de-risk the technology/solution and enable its progression to the next phase of commercial development. Successful awardees will be well positioned for investment from the private sector and have a path to market impact.

This FOA will be separated into Tiers based on the stage and type of technology development:

Hardware Tiers:

Tier 0: SunShot Incubator Program Round 12 - 20% cost share, up to $1M in funding, up to 24 month project periods - Accelerate transition from a proof-of-concept of all critical components to an early stage functional prototype.

Tier 1: SunShot Incubator Program Round 12 - 20% cost share, up to $2M in funding, up to 24 month project period- Accelerate transition of an early stage functional prototype to a lab made, manufacturing- and commercially-relevant prototype whose full functionality has been proven in all possible commercial use cases.

Tier 2: SunShot Incubator Program Round 12 - 50% cost share, up to $3M in funding, up to 24 months project periods – Accelerate transition of a lab-made, manufacturing and commercially relevant prototype to a full developed prototype whose initial reliability and certification testing has been passed and is ready to begin/develop pilot manufacture.

Tier 3: Solar Manufacturing Technology (SolarMat) Round 5 - 50% cost share, up to $5 in funding, up to 24 months project periods - Develop and demonstrate innovative manufacturing technology, step process(es), or equipment that enable a globally best-in class cost advantage.

Soft cost (Non-Hardware) Tiers:

Tier 1S: SunShot Incubator Round 12 - 20% cost share, up to $800k in funding, 24 month project periods - Accelerate the transition of a proof-of-concept or business plan to alpha capability and early customer trials.

Tier 2S: SunShot Incubator program Round 12 - 50% cost share, up to $2M in funding, 24 month project periods - Transition alpha software capability through beta launch and full commercialization.

11/22/16 Webinar link:  https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/4370144583210082563

This FOA builds off of current laboratory and simulation analysis of technology packages by investing in real building demonstrations led by strategically structured teams who will identify and verify multi-system energy efficiency packages (groups of technologies that improve efficiency across two building systems: envelope, lighting/electrical, plug, process, heating, ventilation, cooling, refrigeration, energy management and information, sensors and controls). Projects selected through this funding opportunity will prime the market for the adoption of emerging and underutilized technology packages and create new synergies between building stakeholder groups, and/or, ultimately help utilities develop and release or expand more aggressive and ambitious Energy Efficiency (EE) program offerings. This FOA also supports the critical function of evaluation, measurement and verification (EM&V) by using existing DOE tools and resources to: 1) identify the most impactful multi-system packages, 2) develop the preliminary savings calculations, 3) collect data to verify package performance along with other market factors in real buildings, and 4) foster more consistent energy efficiency programs across the country.

Informational Webinar: The Informational Webinar mentioned in the FOA was held on November 2, 2016 at 12:00PM Eastern Standard Time. Please see documents below in the "Documents" section for the powerpoint presentation and transcript.

EERE compiled a Teaming Partner List to facilitate the formation of new project teams for this FOA. The Teaming Partner List is available below under "Documents".

The eXCHANGE system is currently designed to enforce hard deadlines for Concept Paper and Full Application submissions. The APPLY and SUBMIT buttons automatically disable at the defined submission deadlines. The intention of this design is to consistently enforce a standard deadline for all applicants.

Applicants that experience issues with submissions PRIOR to the FOA Deadline:

In the event that an Applicant experiences technical difficulties with a submission, the Applicant should contact the eXCHANGE helpdesk for assistance (exchangehelp@hq.doe.gov). The eXCHANGE helpdesk &/or the EERE eXCHANGE System Administrators (eXCHANGE@go.doe.gov) will assist the Applicant in resolving all issues.

Applicants that experience issues with submissions that result in a late submission:

In the event that an Applicant experiences technical difficulties with a submission that results in a late submission, the Applicant should contact the eXCHANGE helpdesk for assistance (exchangehelp@hq.doe.gov). The eXCHANGE helpdesk &/or the EERE eXCHANGE System Administrators (eXCHANGE@go.doe.gov) will assist the Applicant in resolving all issues (including finalizing the submission on behalf of and with the Applicant’s concurrence). DOE will only accept late applications when the Applicant has a) encountered technical difficulties beyond their control; b) has contacted the eXCHANGE helpdesk for assistance, and c) has submitted the application through eXCHANGE within 24 hours of the FOA’s posted deadline.

The Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) intends to issue, on behalf of the Solar Energy Technologies Office (SETO), a Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) entitled “SunShot Technology to Market: Incubator Round 12, SolarMat Round 5”.

This FOA will enable the widespread market penetration of highly impactful solar technologies and solutions through technology research, development, and demonstration to overcome technical, institutional and market challenges. The FOA is divided into 6 Tiers that are based on the technology type, hardware or software, as well as its stage in the development cycle, e.g. prototype refinement, manufacturing tooling, beta testing, etc. The total federal funding will be approximately $30M with a 20% to 50% awardee cost share required depending on the project Tier. Projects are expected to be funded with a maximum award level of $500,000 to $5M depending on project Tier. In addition to achieving rigorous technical milestones, awardees are expected to deliver on business development and commercial metrics that de-risk the technology/solution and enable its progression to the next phase of commercial development. Successful awardees will be well positioned for investment from the private sector and have a path to market impact.

This is a Notice of Intent (NOI) only. EERE may issue a FOA as described herein, may issue a FOA that is significantly different than the FOA described herein, or EERE may not issue a FOA at all.

Teaming Partner List for Upcoming Funding Opportunity Announcement: Scaling up the Next Generation of Building Efficiency Packages

The United States (U.S.) Department of Energy (DOE) Building Technologies Office (BTO) strongly encourages the development of innovative project teams including deployment entities (states, local governments or Regional Energy Efficiency Organizations), efficient building hubs (such as Innovation or Incubator hubs), utilities, technology providers and/or building energy analysis professionals. These project teams will foster a faster path to scalability by bringing together experts from a set of diverse organizations representing technical and scientific knowledge, the ability to support demonstration project management, an understanding of market segmentation and energy savings opportunity across multiple systems, pilot size and design, success metrics and the pathway to regulatory approval.

BTO is compiling a Teaming Partner List to facilitate the formation of new project teams for the anticipated Scaling up the Next Generation of Building Efficiency Packages (Scaling Up Packages) Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA). The Teaming Partner List will be available as an attachment to this RFI on EERE Exchange at https://eere-Exchange.energy.gov, and moved to FOA DE-FOA-0001518 when available. The Teaming Partner List will be updated periodically until the close of the Full Application period for the FOA, to reflect new Teaming Partners who have provided their information.

The full content of the announcement can be found on the EERE Exchange website at https://eere-exchange.energy.gov. The purpose of this Request for Information (RFI) is to gather feedback from stakeholders prior to DOE potentially issuing a Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA). This RFI is not a FOA; therefore, DOE is not accepting applications at this time. Responses to this RFI must be submitted electronically to CBITeaming@ee.doe.gov. It is recommended that responses be submitted no later than 5:00pm (ET) on September 15, 2016.

Notice of Intent to Issue Funding Opportunity Announcement No. DE-FOA-0001518

The Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) intends to issue, on behalf of the Building Technologies Office, a Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) entitled “Scaling up the Next Generation of Building Efficiency Packages”.

The anticipated funding opportunity will seek innovative partnerships to significantly and rapidly increase the uptake of emerging and underutilized energy efficient and cost-effective building technology packages. The Commercial Buildings Integration (CBI) program, working in cooperation with the General Services Administration’s (GSA) Green Proving Ground program , will invest funds towards this competitive Funding Opportunity Announcement. EERE will seek applications that drive innovation in real building technology demonstrations while also fostering the collaboration of dynamic teams including deployment entities (states, local governments or Regional Energy Efficiency Organizations), efficient building hubs (such as Innovation or Incubator hubs), utilities, technology providers and/or building energy analysis professionals.

This anticipated FOA builds from the outcomes of existing demonstration projects, laboratory testing and simulation analysis of technology packages. Successful applicants to this FOA will propose high impact real building demonstrations led by strategically structured teams who will identify and verify the cost and energy performance of multi-system energy efficiency packages. Multi-system packages are groups of technologies that improve efficiency across two or more building systems: envelope, lighting/electrical, plug, process, heating, ventilation, cooling, refrigeration, energy management and information, sensors and controls. Applications selected for award negotiations through this funding opportunity will create new synergies between building stakeholder groups and ultimately leverage the $8 billion in annual Energy Efficiency (EE) program expenditures and/or support development of more aggressive and ambitious EE program offerings.

The purpose of this Notice is to provide potential applicants advance notice that the Buildings Technologies Office, on behalf of the DOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), intends to issue a FOA titled, DE-FOA-0001518: “Scaling up the Next Generation of Building Efficiency Packages”. NO APPLICATIONS WILL BE ACCEPTED THROUGH THIS NOTICE. Please do not submit questions or respond to this Notice of Intent. Prospective applicants to the FOA should begin developing partnerships, formulating ideas, and gathering data in anticipation of the issuance of this FOA. It is anticipated that this FOA will be posted to EERE Exchange on or about October 2016.

*If you missed the webinars on Oct. 28th or January 6th, the slides and script are available for download below.*

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The mission of the Solar Energy Technology Office’s Tech-to-Market sub-program is to enable the widespread market penetration of highly impactful solar technologies and solutions through technology research, development and demonstration to overcome technical, institutional and market challenges. Historically, annual funding opportunities have been separated by stage of technology development (Incubator and SolarMat). In the interest of optimizing the application and selection process, these funding opportunities have been combined into a single FOA, with the goal of bringing disruptive innovation to the solar industry in the near term that will take root in the U.S.

The purpose of this funding program is to help remove barriers that are addressable by technology and business innovation. These solutions cover hardware innovation and manufacturing, software, cost-reductions throughout the value chain, and non-cost (capability) related solutions. These solutions are expected to aid in achieving a ubiquitous solar energy solution and provide a clear path for these highly impactful technologies and solutions to rapidly reach market success. This funding program seeks to fund for-profit entities to develop products and solutions which will further reduce the price of solar energy and de-risk the integration of solar energy to the electricity grid.

This FOA will be separated into Tiers based on the stage and type of technology development:

Hardware Tiers:

Tier 0: SunShot Incubator Program Round 11, 20% cost share, up to $500k in funding, up to 12 month project periods - Accelerate transition from a proof-of-concept of all critical components to an early stage functional prototype.

Tier 1: SunShot Incubator Program Round 11, 20% cost share, up to $1M in funding, up to 12 month project period- Accelerate transition of an early stage functional prototype to a lab made, manufacturing- and commercially-relevant prototype whose full functionality has been proven in all possible commercial use cases.

Tier 2: SunShot Incubator Program Round 11, 50% cost share, up to $2M in funding, up to 18 months project periods – Accelerate transition of a lab made, manufacturing- and commercially-relevant prototype to a full developed prototype whose initial reliability and certification testing has been passed and is ready to begin/develop pilot manufacture.

Tier 3: Solar Manufacturing Technology (SolarMat) Round 4, 50% cost share, up to $5M in funding, up to 24 month project periods - Develop and demonstrate innovative manufacturing technology, step process(es), or equipment that enable a globally best-in-class cost advantage.

Soft Cost (Non-Hardware) Tiers:

Tier 1S: SunShot Incubator Round 11, 20% cost share, up to $500k in funding, 12 month project periods - Accelerate the transition of a proof-of-concept solution or business plan to alpha capability and early customer trials.

Tier 2S: SunShot Incubator program Round 11, 50% cost share, up to $2M in funding, 18 month project periods - Transition alpha capability through beta launch and full commercialization.

Questions about this Funding Opportunity can be sent to SunShot.T2M@ee.doe.gov .

Expected Deadline Change for Replies to Reviewer Comments Period:

DOE EERE expects to make reviewer comments available in Exchange on 12/14/2015 at 8:00 AM ET. Because reviewer comments are being provided one day earlier than anticipated, replies are due on 12/16/2015 by 5:00 PM ET (which is one day earlier than the expected submission deadline noted on the cover page of Funding Opportunity Announcement DE-FOA-0001320). Replies to reviewer comments must follow the content and length requirements set forth in the FOA, Section IV.F (page 31). DOE will not review or consider ineligible Replies to Reviewer Comments.

The purpose of Modification 000002 is to delete Section III.E.2.v Limit on FFRDC Effort:

The purposes of Modification 000001 are to make the following changes:

Additional clarification of areas of non-interest was added in the highlighted sections on pages 4-5 of the FOA to include the following:

The following types of applications will be deemed nonresponsive and will not be reviewed or considered (See Section III.D of the FOA):

• Applications that propose exploratory, basic science research (earlier than TRL 2).
• Applications that are at the demonstration and deployment phase (later than TRL 5).
• Applications that use food or feed carbohydrates, lipids, or proteins (e.g. maize or wheat dextrose, beet sucrose, sugar care or grain sorghum syrup, soybean oil or meal), and/or derivatives (e.g. amino acids from maize dextrose, glycerol from the transesterification of soybean oil).

For Topic 1 (Algae Feedstocks R&D), the additional areas of non-interest were added:

• Applications that propose to develop technology that relies on purely heterotrophic algae cultivation.
• Applications that propose mixotrophic algae cultivation strategies that utilize food-based sugars (i.e., derived from food-based crops including but not limited to corn, beets, sorghum, and sugar cane).
• Applications that propose to develop technology for the artificial lighting-based cultivation of algae for energy products (other than as an enabling tool for high-throughput laboratory-based screening).
• Applications that propose to work on biomass other than algae biomass (e.g. lignocellulosic biomass, non-algae micro-organisms, fungi, etc.).

The overall strategic goal of the Bioenergy Technologies Office (BETO) is to develop commercially viable bioenergy and bioproducts to enable sustainable, nationwide production of biofuels that are compatible with today’s transportation infrastructure, can reduce GHG (greenhouse gas) emissions relative to petroleum-derived fuels, and can displace a share of petroleum-derived fuels to reduce U.S. dependence on foreign oil and encourage the creation of a new domestic bioenergy industry.

BETO has targeted a performance goal of validating, at pilot scale, at least one technology pathway for hydrocarbon biofuel at a mature modeled cost of $3/GGE (gasoline gallon equivalent) with GHG emissions reduction of 50% or more compared to petroleum-derived fuel by 2017, and validating two additional pathways by 2022.

These high level strategic and performance goals are expanded in further detail in BETO’s multi-year program plan (MYPP). BETO most recently updated its MYPP in March 2015 . The MYPP identifies many technical barriers that must be overcome through research, development and deployment in order for BETO to meet these overall strategic and performance goals. BETO has issued several Funding Opportunity Announcements (FOAs) to address the technical barriers delineated in the MYPP, and has done so in a way to focus its resources in a limited number of pathways/approaches to ensure that the program initiatives are supported at a critical mass (both in terms of dollars and time) for maximum impact and for the highest probability of success. BETO has communicated its project portfolio in public via the 2013 Peer Review and 2015 Peer Review.

However, BETO recognizes that there may be very novel and potentially disruptive ideas that do not necessarily satisfy the requirement of specific FOAs yet still meet BETO’s goals and mission. The Bioenergy Incubator Program is intended to identify these potentially impactful ideas that are not meaningfully addressed in BETO’s strategic plan or project portfolio. It is NOT intended to fund projects that are incremental improvements to current products or processes or for established work in BETO’s strategic plan or current portfolio.

BETO is issuing this Incubator 2 FOA to support innovative technologies and solutions that could help meet existing goals but are not currently represented in a significant way in the BETO’s MYPP and current project portfolio.

To apply to this FOA, Applicants must register with and submit application materials through EERE Exchange at https://eere-Exchange.energy.gov, EERE’s online application portal. Frequently asked questions for this FOA and the EERE Application process can be found at https://eere-exchange.energy.gov/FAQ.aspx.

The eXCHANGE system is designed to enforce hard deadlines for Concept Paper and Full Application submissions. The APPLY and SUBMIT buttons automatically disable at the defined submission deadlines. The intention of this design is to consistently enforce a standard deadline for all applicants.

Applicants that experience issues with submissions PRIOR to the FOA Deadline:

In the event that an Applicant experiences technical difficulties with a submission, the Applicant should contact the eXCHANGE helpdesk for assistance (exchangehelp@hq.doe.gov). The eXCHANGE helpdesk &/or the EERE eXCHANGE System Administrators (eXCHANGE@ee.doe.gov) will assist the Applicant in resolving all issues.

Applicants that experience issues with submissions that result in a late submission:

In the event that an Applicant experiences technical difficulties with a submission that results in a late submission, the Applicant should contact the eXCHANGE helpdesk for assistance (exchangehelp@hq.doe.gov). The eXCHANGE helpdesk &/or the EERE eXCHANGE System Administrators (eXCHANGE@ee.doe.gov) will assist the Applicant in resolving all issues (including finalizing the submission on behalf of and with the Applicant’s concurrence). DOE will only accept late applications when the Applicant has a) encountered technical difficulties beyond their control; b) has contacted the eXCHANGE helpdesk for assistance, and c) has submitted the application through eXCHANGE within 24 hours of the FOA’s posted deadline.

The Innovative Technologies for Bioenergy Technologies Incubator 2 FOA Informational Webinar will be held Wednesday, September 2, 1:00 p.m.-2:00 p.m. ET. Standard application questions regarding the EERE Office and FOA procedures will be discussed. Please register for the webinar at: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/8577701794294175233

For a recorded version of the webinar session held Wednesday, September 2, please visit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qp9WC4OYjF0

The Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) intends to issue, on behalf of the Bioenergy Technologies Office (BETO), a Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) entitled “Bioenergy Technologies Incubator 2”.

BETO’s mission is to engage in research and development (R&D) and demonstration activities at increasing scale to transform renewable biomass resources into commercially viable, high-performance biofuels, as well as bioproducts and biopower that enable biofuel production. To accomplish this mission, BETO develops a strategic plan, or multi-year program plan, to identify the technical challenges and barriers that need to be overcome. These technical challenges and barriers form the basis for BETO to issue funding opportunities announcements (FOAs) for financial assistance awards in these specific areas. However, BETO recognizes that there may be novel and potentially disruptive ideas that do not necessarily satisfy the requirement of specific FOAs, yet still meet the goals and mission of BETO. The Bioenergy Incubator Program is intended to identify these potentially impactful ideas that are not meaningfully addressed in BETO’s strategic plan or project portfolio. It is NOT intended to fund projects that are incremental improvements to current products or processes or established work in BETO’s strategic plan or current portfolio.

It is anticipated that the FOA will have two topic areas. Topic Area 1 will be open to all proposals that seek to develop novel, non-incremental technologies that facilitate the goals of BETO’s Algae platform, but are not represented in a significant way in the current Algae project portfolio. Topic Area 2 will be open to all proposals that seek to develop novel, non-incremental technologies that facilitate the goals of BETO, but are not represented in a significant way in the current Feedstocks or Conversion project portfolios. The FOA will describe areas of non-interest (that is, areas that BETO is funding in a significant way) with greater specificity. It is expected that proposals will be at early Technology Readiness Levels (TRLs), ranging from 2 (technology concept and/or application formulated) to 4 (component and/or breadboard validation in laboratory environment).

EERE envisions awarding multiple financial assistance awards in the form of cooperative agreements. The estimated period of performance for each award will be approximately 12-24 months.

This Notice is issued so that interested parties are aware of EERE’s intention to issue this FOA in the near term. All of the information contained in this Notice is subject to change. EERE will not respond to questions concerning this Notice. Once the FOA has been released, EERE will provide an avenue for potential Applicants to submit questions.

EERE plans to issue the FOA in July 2015 via the EERE Exchange website (https://eere-exchange.energy.gov/). If Applicants wish to receive official notifications and information from EERE regarding this FOA, they should register in EERE Exchange. When the FOA is released, applications will be accepted only through EERE Exchange.

The Second Informational Webinar was held on Tuesday March 17th, 2015. A PDF of the slides presented are in the FOA Documents section and a recording of the webinar is available at this link:

https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/recording/7154780912385447425

A First Informational Webinar was held on February 17th for potential applicants. A PDF of the slides presented are in the FOA Documents section and a recording of the Webinar is available at this link:

https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/recording/5702344743189496578

The Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) has issued, on behalf of the Technology-to-Market Team in the Office of Strategic Programs, a Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) number DE-FOA-0001271 entitled "Cleantech University Prize (Cleantech UP)." The full text of the FOA is in the "FOA Documents" section below.

The mission of EERE’s Technology-to-Market Team is to aid EERE technology offices and American energy innovation stakeholders in addressing the technological and financial barriers to bring new intellectual property to market. To advance this mission, the Technology-to-Market sub-program supports a variety of commercialization and entrepreneurship activities in partnership with U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) national laboratories, universities, businesses, and nonprofit organizations around the country. Existing activities include the DOE National Clean Energy Business Plan Competition (NCEBPC), National Incubator Initiative for Clean Energy, Lab-Corps, and Small Business Innovation Research/Small Business Technology Transfer Programs (SBIR/STTR); past activities include the Innovation Ecosystem Development Initiative, i6 Green Challenge, Technology Commercialization Fund, Entrepreneurs-in-Residence, and other initiatives.

This FOA supports the creation of the Cleantech University Prize (Cleantech UP) program designed to address the significant barriers to creating clean energy technology start-ups, resulting from a dearth of participants entering the energy entrepreneurship pipeline. For the United States to accelerate the rate of clean energy innovation and remain competitive, a strong national infrastructure that spurs and supports high-tech entrepreneurship is critical.

Traditionally, the nation’s institutions of higher education — where there is a strong ecosystem for entrepreneurs and start-ups — have fostered the high-tech innovation pipeline. EERE has had success in supporting initiatives to spur student entrepreneurship. Cleantech UP builds on its precursor, the DOE NCEBPC, which leveraged growing interest in energy entrepreneurship to expand student engagement in clean energy technologies.

The Cleantech UP program seeks to catalyze clean energy start-up formation on college campuses, support novel training and educational opportunities that equip the next generation of energy entrepreneurs and innovators across the country, establish a national-level training program and competition for America’s top clean energy student entrepreneurs, and create a sustained and diverse community to support student entrepreneurs.

It is anticipated that up to $2.5 million in DOE funds will be awarded under this FOA, subject to the availability of appropriations. The FOA includes two general Areas of Interest:

Area of Interest 1: Cleantech UP Hub

The Hub will be responsible for engaging the nation’s student entrepreneurs, developing an innovative training program, institutionalizing coordination within the student cleantech entrepreneurship community and the Collegiate Competitions, and executing the nation’s premier event for student cleantech entrepreneurs at the National Competition, including awarding a National Prize in coordination with DOE. The Hub will create and implement programs to address gaps in clean energy entrepreneurship training that occur early in the education pipeline. The Hub will also provide capacity building activities related to the Cleantech UP network and the general clean energy entrepreneurship ecosytem.

Area of Interest 2: Cleantech UP Collegiate Competitions

The Collegiate Competitions recruit teams from their universities and regions — and potentially nationally. They prepare teams as they form and provide the early catalyst for company formation. Collegiate Competitions execute annual contests and each awards a prize for the winning cleantech company. The winners are eligible to compete in the National Competition.

Applications will only be accepted through the EERE eXCHANGE website. The applicant must first register and create an account on the EERE eXCHANGE website. A User Guidefor EERE eXCHANGE can be found on the EERE website at
https://eere-exchange.energy.gov/Manuals.aspx after logging in to the system. Questions and answers related to the content of the FOA can be found in the "FOA FAQs" file in the "FOA Documents" section below

The purpose of this Notice of Intent is to provide potential applicants advance notice that the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) intends to issue, on behalf of the Technology-to-Market Team in the Office of Strategic Programs, a Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) entitled “Cleantech University Prize (Cleantech UP)”, Number DE-FOA-0001271. The full Notice of Intent document is posted in the "FOA Documents" section below.

The Cleantech UP program seeks to catalyze clean energy start-up formation on college campuses, support novel training and educational opportunities that equip the next generation of energy entrepreneurs and innovators across the country, establish a national-level training program and competition for America’s top clean energy student entrepreneurs, and create a sustained and diverse community to support student entrepreneurs.The mission of EERE’s Technology-to-Market Team is to aid EERE technology offices and American energy innovation stakeholders in addressing the technological and financial barriers to bring new intellectual property to market.  To advance this mission, the Technology-to-Market Sub-Program supports a variety of commercialization and entrepreneurship activities in partnership with U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) national laboratories, universities, businesses, and nonprofit organizations around the country.  Existing activities include the DOE National Clean Energy Business Plan Competition (DOE NCEBPC), National Incubator Initiative for Clean Energy, Lab-Corps, and Small Business Innovation Research/Small Business Technology Transfer Programs (SBIR/STTR); past activities include the Innovation Ecosystem Development Initiative, i6 Green Challenge, Technology Commercialization Fund, Entrepreneurs-in-Residence, and other initiatives. 

NO APPLICATIONS WILL BE ACCEPTED THROUGH THIS NOTICE. Please do not submit questions or respond to this Notice of Intent. Prospective applicants to the FOA should begin developing partnerships, formulating ideas, and gathering data in anticipation of the issuance of this FOA. DOE plans to issue the FOA around mid-February 2015. The applicant must first register and create an account on the EERE eXCHANGE website. A User Guide for EERE eXCHANGE can be found on the EERE website https://eere-exchange.energy.gov/Manuals.aspx after logging in to the system.

The Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) intends to issue, on behalf of the Solar Energy Technologies Office (SETO), a Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) entitled, “SunShot Incubator Round 10, SolarMat Round 3, SunPath Round 2”.

This FOA will enable the widespread market penetration of highly impactful solar technologies and solutions through technology research, development, and demonstration to overcome technical, institutional and market challenges.  Historically, annual funding opportunities have been separated by stage of technology development (Incubator, SolarMat, and SUNPATH). In the interest of optimizing the application and selection process, these funding opportunities have been combined into a single FOA, with the goal of bringing disruptive innovation to the solar industry in the near term that will take root in the U.S.  The total federal funding will be approximately $45M with a 20% to 50% awardee cost share required depending on the project Tier.  Projects are expected to be funded with a maximum award level of $500,000 to $10M depending on project Tier. This FOA has 5 Tiers based on the type of product (hardware or non-hardware) and product maturity.

The purpose of this Notice is to provide potential applicants advance notice that the Department of Energy Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy intends to issue, on behalf of the Vehicle Technologies Office, a Funding Opportunity Announcement, number DE-FOA-0001213 titled FY 2015 Vehicle Technologies Office Incubator. PLEASE NOTE NO APPLICATIONS WILL BE ACCEPTED THROUGH THIS NOTICE. Please do not submit questions or respond to this Notice of Intent. Prospective applicants to the FOA should begin developing partnerships, formulating ideas, and gathering data in anticipation of the issuance of this FOA. It is anticipated that this FOA will be posted to EERE Exchange on or about December 2014.

ATTENTION APPLICANTS: Selection decisions have been issued for this FOA. To view your application’s specific strengths and weaknesses, please log in to Exchange.

The mission of the Solar Energy Technology Office’s Tech-to-Market sub-program is to enable the widespread market penetration of highly impactful solar technologies and solutions through technology research, development and demonstration to overcome technical, institutional and market challenges. Historically, annual funding opportunities have been separated by stage of technology development (Incubator, SolarMat, and SUNPATH). In the interest of optimizing the application and selection process, these funding opportunities have been combined into a single FOA, with the goal of bringing disruptive innovation to the solar industry in the near term that will take root in the U.S.

The purpose of this funding program is to help remove barriers that are addressable by technology and business innovation. These solutions cover hardware innovation and manufacturing, software, cost-reductions throughout the value chain, and non-cost (capability) related solutions. These solutions are expected to aid in achieving a ubiquitous solar energy solution and provide a clear path for these highly impactful technologies and solutions to rapidly reach market success. This funding program seeks to fund for-profit entities to develop products and solutions which will further reduce the price of solar energy and de-risk the integration of solar energy to the electricity grid.

This FOA will be separated into Tiers based on the stage and type of technology development:

Hardware Tiers:

Tier 0: SunShot Incubator Program Round 10, 20% cost share, up to $500k in funding, up to 12 month project periods - Accelerate transition from a proof-of-concept of all critical components to an early stage functional prototype.

Tier 1: SunShot Incubator Program Round 10, 20% cost share, up to $1M in funding, up to 12 month project period- Accelerate transition of an early stage functional prototype to a lab made, manufacturing- and commercially-relevant prototype whose full functionality has been proven in all possible commercial use cases.

Tier 2: SunShot Incubator Program Round 10, 50% cost share, up to $2M in funding, up to 18 months project periods – Accelerate transition of a lab made, manufacturing- and commercially-relevant prototype to a full developed prototype whose initial reliability and certification testing has been passed and is ready to begin/develop pilot manufacture.

Tier 3: Solar Manufacturing Technology (SolarMat) Round 3, 50% cost share, up to $4M in funding, up to 24 month project periods - Develop and demonstrate innovative manufacturing technology, step process(es), or equipment that enable a globally best-in-class cost advantage.

Tier 4: SunPath Round 2, 50% cost share, up to $10M in funding, up to 24 month project periods - Catalyze the demonstration of a pilot-scale manufacturing line that enables a commercially relevant product to be manufactured at globally best-in-class costs when scaled.

Soft Cost (Non-Hardware) Tiers:

Tier 1S: SunShot Incubator Round 10, 20% cost share, up to $500k in funding, 12 month project periods - Accelerate the transition of a proof-of-concept solution or business plan to alpha capability and early customer trials.

Tier 2S: SunShot Incubator program Round 10, 50% cost share, up to $2M in funding, 18 month project periods - Transition alpha capability through beta launch and full commercialization.

Questions about this Funding Opportunity can be sent to SunShot.T2M@ee.doe.gov

This roadmap-based approach is one of EERE's greatest strengths, but it can create challenges in recognizing and exploring unanticipated, game changing pathways/approaches which may ultimately be superior to the pathways/approaches on our existing roadmaps.

To enhance the responsiveness of the roadmap approach, EERE is continuing to issue "Incubator" Funding Opportunity Announcements (FOAs) within its existing Offices and programs to support innovative technologies and solutions that could help meet existing goals but are not represented in a significant way in the Offices' existing Multi-Year Program Plans (MYPPs) or current portfolios.  The Incubator programs will allow EERE to assess new technologies for their potential to be “on ramped” to future MYPPs.  Successful incubator projects will reduce the risk associated with potentially breakthrough approaches and technologies so that they could be viable candidates for inclusion in future program roadmaps.

DOE’s Vehicle Technologies Office (VTO) develops and deploys efficient and environmentally-friendly highway transportation technologies that will enable America to use less petroleum. These technologies will provide Americans with greater freedom of mobility and energy security, while lowering costs and reducing impacts on the environment. 

For example, the EV Everywhere Grand Challenge requires dramatic improvements in plug-in electric vehicle (PEV) performance and cost that are specified as technical targets and “stretch goals” for key technical areas of plug-in electric vehicles. These are detailed in the EV Everywhere Blueprint document, posted on the VTO website.

Other specific technology and technical goals can be found in supporting roadmaps and plans such as the Office's Multiyear Program Plan, U.S. DRIVE Partnership Plan; 21st Century Truck Roadmap and Technical White Papers; and other plans and roadmaps referenced on the website.

This Vehicle Technologies Incubator FOA is open to proposals that aim to bring to market a novel, non-incremental technology that facilitates one or more of the overall VTO goals but are not represented in a significant way in the Offices' existing Multi-Year Program Plans (MYPPs) or current portfolios. The full spectrum of technologies and non-hardware solutions relevant to efficient and environmentally friendly transportation technologies that will enable America to use less petroleum will be considered for funding.

The description above is meant to demonstrate the breadth of possibilities. 

The following types of applications will be deemed nonresponsive and will not be reviewed or considered:

• Commercial hardware technologies, products, and solutions;

• Incremental improvements to existing technologies, products, or solutions;

• Solutions, approaches, or technologies similar to those already being investigated through current or recent DOE projects; and

• Technologies that are not based on sound scientific principles (e.g., violates the law of thermodynamics).

Information on where to submit questions regarding the content of the announcement as well as submission of applications are found in the full FOA posted on the EERE eXCHANGE website.

Join us for a Webinar on January 20, 2015

Please register for the FOA 1213 webinar prior to 12:00pm, EST on 1/20/2015 using the following link: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/8741863273498284290

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email providing a link to join the webinar and a telephone number. Audio for this webinar will be available through your computer and/or telephone. If you choose to dial-in, you will need both the Access Code (provided in your confirmation email) and the Audio Pin (shown after joining the webinar on your computer).

Title:  FY2015 Vehicle Technologies Office Incubator FOA Webinar

Date:  January 20, 2015

Time:  1:00 PM - 2:00 PM EDT

System Requirements:
PC-based attendees
Required:  Windows® 8, 7, Vista, XP or 2003 Server

Mac®-based attendees
Required:  Mac OS® X 10.6 or newer

Amendment 00001: Change the submission deadline for Full Applications from 9/3/2014 to 9/10/2014.  Change the submittal date for Replies to Reviewer Comments from 10/14/2014 to 10/21/2014.

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) is an organization focused on achieving aggressive and well-defined mid-to-long term clean energy goals for the United States of America. In that context, EERE has established multi-year plans and roadmaps. EERE focuses the majority of its resources on a limited number of "highest probability of success" pathways/approaches to ensure that the program initiatives are supported at a critical mass (both in terms of dollars and time) for maximum impact.

This roadmap-based approach is one of EERE's greatest strengths, which can create challenges in recognizing and exploring unanticipated, game changing pathways/approaches which may ultimately be superior to the pathways/approaches on our existing roadmaps.

To enhance the responsiveness of the roadmap approach, EERE is issuing "Incubator" Funding Opportunity Announcements (FOAs) within its existing Offices and programs to support innovative technologies and solutions that could help meet existing goals but are not represented in a significant way in the Offices' existing Multi-Year Program Plans (MYPPs) or current portfolios. The Incubator programs will allow EERE to assess new technologies for their potential to be “on ramped” to future MYPPs. Successful incubator projects will reduce the risk associated with potentially breakthrough approaches and technologies so that they could be viable candidates for inclusion in future program roadmaps.

The eXCHANGE system is currently designed to enforce hard deadlines for Full Application submissions. The APPLY and SUBMIT buttons automatically disable at the defined submission deadlines. The intention of this design is to consistently enforce a standard deadline for all applicants.

Join us for a Webinar on June 11

Space is limited.
Reserve your Webinar seat now at:
https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/171479280

Fuel Cell Technologies Incubator FOA Webinar

Title:

Fuel Cell Technologies Incubator FOA Webinar

Date:

Wednesday, June 11, 2014

Time:

12:00 PM - 1:00 PM EDT

After registering you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the Webinar.

System Requirements
PC-based attendees
Required: Windows® 8, 7, Vista, XP or 2003 Server

Mac®-based attendees
Required: Mac OS® X 10.6 or newer

Mobile attendees
Required: iPhone®, iPad®, Android™ phone or Android tablet

The purposes of this modification are to:

1. extend the Submission Deadline for Full Applications to June 4, 2014.

2. extend the Submission Deadline for Replies to Reviewer Comments to July 7, 2014 at 10:00 AM ET.

The Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE)’s Wind & Water Power Technologies Office (WWPTO) seeks to fund R&D in technology approaches and solutions that are not currently represented in the Office’s Multi-Year Program Plan and/or existing project portfolio in a meaningful or significant way. This Incubator Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) represents an opportunity to support novel and non-incremental technology approaches and to ultimately facilitate identification and future inclusion of highly promising, emerging technology approaches into the Office’s Multi-Year Program Plans and future program portfolios. The FOA will accept applications for any and all ideas that have a significant potential to advance the mission of the Wind Program.

The eXCHANGE system is currently designed to enforce hard deadlines for Concept Paper and Full Application submissions. The APPLY and SUBMIT buttons automatically disable at the defined submission deadlines. The intention of this design is to consistently enforce a standard deadline for all applicants.

Applicants that experience issues with submissions PRIOR to the FOA Deadline: In the event that an Applicant experiences technical difficulties with a submission, the Applicant should contact the eXCHANGE helpdesk for assistance (EERE-ExchangeSupport@hq.doe.gov).    

An Informational Webinar was held for this FOA on April 17, 2014.  To view the webinar, click the link below.  Please note, that the webinar starts approximately 4 minutes late. 

The purpose of this modification is to change the FOA issue date stated in this NOI from 03/31/2014 to 05/07/2014.

The Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) intends to issue, on behalf of the Fuel Cell Technologies Office, a Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) entitled “Innovations in Fuel Cell and Hydrogen Fuels Technologies.”

The mission of the Fuel Cell Technologies Office (FCTO) is to enable the widespread commercialization of a portfolio of hydrogen and fuel cell technologies through applied research, technology development and demonstration, and diverse efforts to overcome institutional and market challenges. Fuel cell systems research and development (R&D) is working to reduce cost and improve durability for fuel cells used in transportation, stationary, and portable applications. Hydrogen fuel R&D continues to improve hydrogen-producing technologies from renewable resources, end use delivery, and lightweight, compact, low-cost storage systems. To accomplish this mission, FCTO has developed a strategic plan, or multi year program plan (http://www1.eere.energy.gov/hydrogenandfuelcells/mypp) to identify the technical challenges and barriers that need to be overcome. These technical challenges and barriers form the basis for FCTO to issue funding opportunities announcements (FOAs) for financial assistance awards in these specific areas. However, FCTO recognizes that there may be very novel and potentially disruptive ideas that do not necessarily satisfy the requirement of specific FOAs yet still meet the goals and mission of FCTO. The FCTO Incubator Program is intended to identify these potentially impactful ideas that are not addressed in FCTO’s strategic plan or project portfolio. It is NOT intended to fund projects that are incremental improvements to current products or processes or for established work in FCTO’s strategic plan or current portfolio.

It is anticipated that the FOA will be open to any and all impactful ideas which significantly advance the mission of the FCTO.

The Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) will issue, on behalf of the Bioenergy Technologies Office (BETO), a Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) entitled “Bioenergy Technologies Incubator”.

BETO’s mission is to engage in research and development (R&D) and demonstration at increasing scale activities to transform renewable biomass resources into commercially viable, high-performance biofuels, and bioproducts and biopower that enable biofuel production. To accomplish this mission, BETO develops a strategic plan, or multi-year program plan , to identify the technical challenges and barriers that need to be overcome. However, BETO recognizes that there may be novel and potentially disruptive ideas that do not necessarily align well with BETO’s current multi-year program plan yet still meet the goals and mission of BETO. The Bioenergy Incubator Program is intended to identify these potentially impactful technologies and solutions that are not meaningfully addressed in BETO’s strategic plan or project portfolio. It is NOT intended to fund projects that are incremental improvements to current products or processes or for established work in BETO’s strategic plan or current portfolio.

The Bioenergy Technologies Incubator FOA will be ‘open’ to any and all impactful proposals which significantly advance the mission of the BETO. It is expected that proposals will be at early Technology Readiness Levels (TRL) ranging from 2 (Technology concept and/or application formulated) to 4 (Component and/or breadboard validation in laboratory environment). Successful incubator projects will reduce the risk associated with potentially breakthrough approaches and technologies so that they could be viable candidates in future program roadmaps.

EERE envisions awarding multiple financial assistance awards in the form of cooperative agreements. The total amount of funding for the FOA is $10 million. The estimated period of performance for each award will be approximately 12-24 months, with an award size from $0.5 million to $2.0 million, with 20% cost-share.

The Exchange system is currently designed to enforce hard deadlines for Concept Paper and Full Application submissions.  The APPLY and SUBMIT buttons automatically disable at the defined submission deadlines.  The intention of this design is to consistently enforce a standard deadline for applicants.

Applicants that experience issues with submissions PRIOR to the FOA Deadline:

In the event that an Applicant experiences technical difficulties with a submission, the Applicant should contact the Exchange helpdesk for assistance (exchange@hq.doe.gov).  The Exchange helpdesk and/or the EERE Exchange System Administrators (exchange@go.doe.gov) will assist the Applicant in resolving all issues.

Applicants that experience issues with submissions that result in a late submission:

In the event that an Applicant experiences technical difficulties with a submission that results in a late submission, the Applicant should contact the Exchange helpdesk for assistance (exchange@hq.doe.gov).  The Exchange helpdesk and/or the EERE Exchange System Administrators (exchange@go.doe.gov) will assist the Applicant in resolving the issues (including finalizing the submission on behalf of and with the Applicant's concurrence).  DOE will only accept late applications when the Applicant has a) encountered technical difficulties beyond their control; b) has contact the Exchange helpdesk for assistance; and c) has submitted the application through Exchange within 24 hours of the FOA's posted deadline.

The Bioenergy Technologies Incubator FOA Informational Webinar was held Monday, March 3, 2014 at 1:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m. EST. Standard application questions regarding the EERE Office and FOA procedures were discussed.

Here is the link to the Webinar: https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/689477432

The purpose of this modification is to revise the Notice of Intent to include eligibility language for ALL Applicants and specifically for DOE Federally Funded Research and Development Centers (FFRDCs).

The Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) intends to issue, on behalf of the Wind and Water Power Technologies Office (WWPTO), a Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) entitled “Technology Incubator for Wind Energy Innovations”.

EERE is an organization focused on achieving aggressive and well-defined mid-to-long term clean energy goals for the United States of America.  In that context, EERE has established multi-year plans and roadmaps.  EERE focuses the majority of its resources on a limited number of "highest probability of success" pathways/approaches to ensure that the program initiatives are supported at a critical mass (both in terms of dollars and time) for maximum impact.

This roadmap-based approach is one of EERE's greatest strengths, which can create challenges in recognizing and exploring unanticipated, game changing pathways/approaches which may ultimately be superior to the pathways/approaches on our existing roadmaps.

To enhance the responsiveness of the roadmap approach, EERE is issuing "Incubator" Funding Opportunity Announcements within its existing Offices and programs to support innovative technologies and solutions that could help meet existing goals but are not represented in a significant way in the Offices' existing Multi-Year Program Plans (MYPPs) or current portfolios.  The Incubator programs will allow EERE to assess new technologies for their potential to be “on ramped” to future MYPPs.  Successful incubator projects will reduce the risk associated with potentially breakthrough approaches and technologies so that they could be viable candidates for inclusion in future program roadmaps.

The planned “Technology Incubator for Wind Energy Innovations” FOA continues the work of the Wind Program within EERE, and supports the long-term goals of WWPTO, which include:

• Lower the Levelized Cost of Energy (LCOE) of land-based utility-scale wind energy systems from 2011 reference costs1 of 7.2 ¢/kWh (cents per kilowatt hour) to 4.2 ¢/kWh by 2030
• Lower LCOE of fixed-bottom offshore utility-scale wind energy systems from 2011 reference costs1 of 22.5 ¢/kWh to 13.7 ¢/kWh by 2030.

The FOA encompasses applications for any and all ideas that have a significant potential to advance the mission of the Wind Program. All high-impact applications will be considered.

The purpose of this Notice is to provide potential applicants advance notice that the Wind and Water Power Technologies Office, on behalf of EERE intends to issue a FOA titled, “Technology Incubator for Wind Energy Innovations”. NO APPLICATIONS WILL BE ACCEPTED THROUGH THIS NOTICE. Please do not submit questions or respond to this Notice of Intent. Prospective applicants to the FOA should begin developing partnerships, formulating ideas, and gathering data in anticipation of the issuance of this FOA. It is anticipated that this FOA will be posted to EERE Exchange no later than March 2014.

This Notice is issued so that interested parties are aware of the EERE’s intention to issue this FOA in the near term. All of the information contained in this Notice is subject to change. EERE will not respond to questions concerning this Notice. Once the FOA has been released, EERE will provide an avenue for potential Applicants to submit questions.

*** BENEFIT FOA 2nd Informational Webinar will be held Tuesday, March 25, 2014 3:00-4:00 ET. Register at: https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/344478633 ***

The Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) has issued, on behalf of the Building Technologies Office (BTO), a Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) entitled Building Energy Efficiency Frontiers and Incubator Technologies (BENEFIT) - 2014, Number DE-FOA-0001027. The FOA is posted on the EERE eXCHANGE website at https://eere-exchange.energy.gov.

Mandatory concept papers must be submitted through the EERE eXCHANGE website by March 6, 2014, followed by full applications due by April 21, 2014. Applicants must first register and create an account on the EERE eXCHANGE website. A User Guide for EERE eXCHANGE can be found at https://eere-exchange.energy.gov/Manuals.aspx after logging in to the system. 

The BENEFIT FOA includes the following Areas of Interest:

Incubators (Off-Roadmap):

Area of Interest 1:  Open Topic for Energy Efficiency Solutions for Residential and Commercial Buildings

Innovative energy-efficiency technologies, approaches, or design tools NOT already supported or targeted by BTO are eligible to apply under this area of interest, providing they show a clear application to residential and/or commercial buildings with significant primary energy savings potential.

Area of Interest 2:  Innovative Sensors & Sensor Systems

Develop open architecture sensors and sensor systems that easily share data to enable building operators and owners to cost effectively capture energy and cost savings through the use of new and existing control system applications. Major goals in this development area are low cost, data sharing, and ease of deployment (plug-n-play methodologies).

Frontiers (Roadmap-Driven):

Area of Interest 3:  Advanced Energy-Efficient Clothes Dryers

Applications are sought for advanced energy-efficient clothes dryers (vented and ventless).  Economic and technical goals are defined for this area.  Furthermore, concepts with measurable non-energy benefits, which are important for market success, are particularly encouraged.

Area of Interest 4:  Highly Insulating Building Envelope Components

Subtopic  1, Visibly transparent building envelope components:  There are technical and economic goals for this area that are significant improvements of current technology.  Performance metrics include ≥ R-7 (residential) and ≥ R-5 (commercial).

Subtopic 2, Opaque building envelope components:  The metrics and targets for this subtopic are > R-8/inch building envelope thermal insulation material that can be added to either the exterior or interior walls in existing buildings at < $0.30/ft² installed cost premium (labor and material).  

The Department of Energy Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) is seeking applicants to establish the National Incubator Initiative for Clean Energy (NIICE).  NIICE seeks to advance three goals:

• Improve the performance of existing and new clean energy business incubators across the country by setting a high performance standard, fostering best practices, and improving coordination of the incubator community;
• Strengthen support for early-stage companies developing high-risk technologies and scaling from prototype to domestically-based production; and
• Catalyze investment in early-stage clean energy businesses by improving information regarding capital access for incubators, including disseminating analysis and materials on philanthropic funds, corporate venture, and other innovative financing mechanisms.

To accomplish these goals, NIICE is funding awards in two topic areas: (1) a national organization to serve as a coordinating body for clean energy incubators and a central source of information for clean energy stakeholders; and (2) set a benchmark to develop top-performing, clean energy-focused incubators by funding three to five incubators across the United States.

The eXCHANGE system is currently designed to enforce hard deadlines for Concept Paper and Full Application submissions. The APPLY and SUBMIT buttons automatically disable at the defined submission deadlines. The intention of this design is to consistently enforce a standard deadline for all applicants.

Applicants that experience issues with submissions PRIOR to the FOA Deadline:

In the event that an Applicant experiences technical difficulties with a submission, the Applicant should contact the eXCHANGE helpdesk for assistance (exchangehelp@hq.doe.gov). The eXCHANGE helpdesk &/or the EERE eXCHANGE System Administrators (eXCHANGE@go.doe.gov) will assist the Applicant in resolving all issues.

Applicants that experience issues with submissions that result in a late submission:

In the event that an Applicant experiences technical difficulties with a submission that results in a late submission, the Applicant should contact the eXCHANGE helpdesk for assistance (exchangehelp@hq.doe.gov). The eXCHANGE helpdesk &/or the EERE eXCHANGE System Administrators (eXCHANGE@go.doe.gov) will assist the Applicant in resolving all issues (including finalizing the submission on behalf of and with the Applicant’s concurrence). DOE will only accept late applications when the Applicant has a) encountered technical difficulties beyond their control; b) has contacted the eXCHANGE helpdesk for assistance, and c) has submitted the application through eXCHANGE within 24 hours of the FOA’s posted deadline.

A webinar was conducted by DOE to provide more information to potential applicants on March 6, 2014. Materials from the webinar, including the slides and script, can be found in the FOA Documents section below. 

Title: National Incubator Initiative for Clean Energy (NIICE) FOA: Pre-Application Informational Webinar

Date: Thursday, March 6, 2014

Time: 2:00 PM – 3:00 PM ET

Link:  Reserve your Webinar seat now at: https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/318108032

System Requirements

PC-based attendees

Required: Windows® 8, 7, Vista, XP or 2003 Server

Mac®-based attendees

Required: Mac OS® X 10.6 or newer 

Mobile attendees

Required: iPhone®, iPad®, Android™ phone or Android tablet

A webinar was conducted by DOE to provide more information to potential applicants on January 21, 2014. Slides from the webinar can be found in the FOA Documents section below. 

Title: National Incubator Initiative for Clean Energy (NIICE) FOA: Pre-Concept Paper Informational Webinar

Date: Tuesday, January 21, 2014

Time: 2:00 PM – 3:00 PM ET

Link:  Reserve your Webinar seat now at: https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/587911776

System Requirements

PC-based attendees

Required: Windows® 8, 7, Vista, XP or 2003 Server

Mac®-based attendees

Required: Mac OS® X 10.6 or newer 

Mobile attendees

Required: iPhone®, iPad®, Android™ phone or Android tablet

The purpose of this Notice of Intent is to provide potential applicants advance notice that the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) intends to issue, on behalf of the Building Technologies Office (BTO), a Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) entitled “Building Energy Efficiency Frontiers & Incubator Technologies (BENEFIT) - 2014”, Number DE-FOA-0001027. The Notice of Intent is posted on the EERE eXCHANGE website at https://eere-exchange.energy.gov.

NO APPLICATIONS WILL BE ACCEPTED THROUGH THIS NOTICE. Please do not submit questions or respond to this Notice of Intent. Prospective applicants to the FOA should begin developing partnerships, formulating ideas, and gathering data in anticipation of the issuance of this FOA. DOE plans to issue the FOA in or around the first calendar quarter in 2014. The applicant must first register and create an account on the EERE eXCHANGE website. A User Guide for EERE eXCHANGE can be found on the EERE website https://eere-exchange.energy.gov/Manuals.aspx after logging in to the system.  It is anticipated that the FOA may include the following Areas of Interest:

Incubators (Off-Roadmap):

Area of Interest 1:  Open Topic for Energy Efficiency Solutions for Residential and Commercial Buildings

Innovative energy-efficiency technologies, approaches, or design tools NOT already supported or targeted by BTO are eligible to apply under this area of interest, providing they show a clear application to residential and/or commercial buildings with significant primary energy savings potential.

Area of Interest 2:  Innovative Sensors & Sensor Systems

Develop open architecture sensors and sensor systems that easily share data to enable building operators and owners to cost effectively capture energy and cost savings through the use of new and existing control system applications. Major goals in this development area are low cost, data sharing, and ease of deployment (plug-n-play methodologies).

Frontiers (Roadmap-Driven):

Area of Interest 3:  Advanced Energy-Efficient Clothes Dryers

Applications are sought for advanced electric energy-efficient clothes dryers (vented and ventless).  Economic and technical goals are defined for this area.  Furthermore, concepts with measurable non-energy benefits, which are important for market success, are particularly encouraged.

Area of Interest 4:  Highly Insulating Building Envelope Components

Subtopic  1, Visibly transparent building envelope components:  There are technical and economic goals for this area that are significant improvements of current technology.  Performance metrics include ≥ R-7 (residential) and ≥ R-5 (commercial).

Subtopic 2, Opaque building envelope components:  The metrics and targets for this subtopic are > R-8/inch building envelope thermal insulation material that can be added to either the exterior or interior walls in existing buildings at < $0.30/ft² installed cost premium (labor and material).

Amendment 000002 to DE-FOA-0000988

The DOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) is an organization focused on achieving aggressive and well-defined mid-to-long term clean energy goals for the United States of America. In that context, EERE has established multi-year plans and roadmaps. EERE focuses the majority of its resources on a limited number of "highest probability of success" pathways/approaches to ensure that the program initiatives are supported at a critical mass (both in terms of dollars and time) for maximum impact.

This roadmap-based approach is one of EERE's greatest strengths, which can create challenges in recognizing and exploring unanticipated, game changing pathways/approaches which may ultimately be superior to the pathways/approaches on our existing roadmaps.

To enhance the responsiveness of the roadmap approach, EERE is issuing "Incubator" Funding Opportunity Announcements (FOAs) within its existing Offices and programs to support innovative technologies and solutions that could help meet existing goals but are not represented in a significant way in the Offices' existing Multi-Year Program Plans (MYPPs) or current portfolios.  The Incubator programs will allow EERE to assess new technologies for their potential to be “on ramped” to future MYPPs.  Successful incubator projects will reduce the risk associated with potentially breakthrough approaches and technologies so that they could be viable candidates for inclusion in future program roadmaps.

DOE’s Vehicle Technologies Office (VTO) develops and deploys efficient and environmentally friendly highway transportation technologies that will enable America to use less petroleum. These technologies will provide Americans with greater freedom of mobility and energy security, while lowering costs and reducing impacts on the environment.  For example, the EV Everywhere Grand Challenge requires dramatic improvements in plug-in electric vehicle (PEV) performance and cost that are specified as technical targets and “stretch goals” for key technical areas of plug-in electric vehicles. These are detailed in the EV Everywhere Blueprint document, posted on the VTO website. Other specific technology and technical goals can be found in supporting roadmaps and plans such as the Office's Multiyear Program Plan, U.S. DRIVE Partnership Plan; 21st Century Truck Roadmap and Technical White Papers; and other plans and roadmaps listed under the “information resources” and “plans and roadmaps” section of our website.

The VTO Incubator FOA areas of interest include but are not limited to:

· Energy Storage R&D

· Advanced Power Electronics and Electric Motors R&D

· Advanced Combustion Engine R&D

· Materials Technology

· Fuels and Lubricant Technologies

· Other – In addition to the above topic areas, this VTO Incubator FOA is open to applications that aim to bring to market a novel, non-incremental technology that facilitates one or more of the overall VTO goals.

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) intends to issue, on behalf of the Vehicle Technology Office, a Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) entitled “Vehicle Technologies Incubator ”.

This Notice is issued so that interested parties are aware of the DOE’s intention to issue this Funding Opportunity Announcement in the near term. Any of the information contained in this Notice is subject to change.  DOE will not entertain any questions or telephone calls at this time involving this Notice. Once the Funding Opportunity Announcement has been released, DOE will provide an avenue for potential applicants to submit questions.

This is a Notice of Intent (NOI) only.  DOE is not accepting applications for funding as a result of this notice.  DOE may issue a FOA as described herein, may issue a FOA that is significantly different than the FOA described herein, or may not issue a FOA at all.

The Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) intends to issue, on behalf of the Solar Energy Technology Office, a Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) entitled “SunShot Incubator Program”.

This Notice is issued so that interested parties are aware of the DOE’s intention to issue this Funding Opportunity Announcement in the near term. Any of the information contained in this Notice is subject to change. The DOE will not entertain any questions or telephone calls at this time involving this Notice. Once the Funding Opportunity Announcement has been released, DOE will provide an avenue for potential applicants to submit questions.

This is a Notice of Intent (NOI) only.  DOE is not accepting applications for funding as a result of this notice.  DOE may issue a FOA as described herein, may issue a FOA that is significantly different than the FOA described herein, or DOE may not issue a FOA at all.

The Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) intends to issue, on behalf of the Bioenergy Technologies Office (BETO), a Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) entitled “Bioenergy Technologies Incubator”.

BETO’s mission is to engage in research and development (R&D) and demonstration at increasing scale activities to transform renewable biomass resources into commercially viable, high-performance biofuels, and bioproducts and biopower that enable biofuel production. To accomplish this mission, BETO develops a strategic plan, or multi-year program plan, to identify the technical challenges and barriers that need to be overcome. These technical challenges and barriers form the basis for BETO to issue funding opportunities announcements (FOAs) for financial assistance awards in these specific areas. However, BETO recognizes that there may be novel and potentially disruptive ideas that do not necessarily satisfy the requirement of specific FOAs yet still meet the goals and mission of BETO. The Bioenergy Incubator Program is intended to identify these potentially impactful ideas that are not meaningfully addressed in BETO’s strategic plan or project portfolio. It is NOT intended to fund projects that are incremental improvements to current products or processes or for established work in BETO’s strategic plan or current portfolio.

The purpose of this Notice to provide potential applicants advance notice that the BETO, on behalf of the DOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), intends to issue a FOA titled Bioenergy Technologies Incubator.  NO APPLICATIONS WILL BE ACCEPTED THROUGH THIS NOTICE.  Please do not submit questions or respond to this Notice of Intent.  Prospective applicants to the FOA should begin developing partnerships, formulating ideas, and gathering data in anticipation of the issuance of this FOA.  It is anticipated that this FOA will be posted to EERE Exchange February 2014.

Amendment 000001: The purpose of this amendment is to modify the Expected Date for Release of Reviewer Comments.

The Department of Energy (DOE) is supporting the development of tools and approaches that will significantly reduce the costs for solar energy systems across all technology areas (i.e. Photovoltaics, concentrating solar power, power electronics, balance of system and non-hardware cost such as customer acquisition permitting, financing, interconnection, and inspection.)  As part of the SunShot Incubator program, this funding opportunity is designed to help startup businesses and entrepreneurs develop technologies, innovative programs, and streamlined processes that will make solar more accessible for consumers in the U.S.

The SunShot Incubator Program is an aggressive pay for performance program focused on helping solar startups rapidly refine and commercialize promising, proven technologies and ideas. The program seeks to accelerate the commercialization of solar energy products and solutions that dramatically lower the cost of solar power.

This round of the SunShot Incubator Program is for both hardware and non-hardware solutions that reduce the cost of systems that convert solar energy into electric potential.

The SunShot Incubator program consists of five (5) tiers (divided between hardware and non-hardware) to which applications may be submitted:

Hardware:

Tier 0 includes awards of up to $500,000 with a 20% cost share requirement over 12 months to accelerate the transition from a proof-of-concept of all critical components to an early stage functional prototype.

Tier 1 includes awards of up to $1,000,000 with a 20% cost share requirement over 12 months to accelerate transition of early state functional prototype to manufacturing and commercially relevant prototype made in the lab.

Tier 2 includes awards of up to $4,000,000 with a 50% cost share requirement over 18 months to develop the manufacturing processes and equipment to move from a fully developed lab prototype to pilot-scale production.

Non-Hardware:

Tier 1S includes awards of up to $500,000 with a 20% cost share requirement over 12 months to accelerate transition of proof-of-concept or business plan to alpha capability and early customer trials.

Tier 2S includes awards of up to $2,000,000 with a 50% cost share requirement over 18 months to transition alpha capability through beta launch and full commercialization.

If you are interested in learning more please see the below section titled “FOA Documents” and download and read the full Funding Opportunity Announcement. This document provides a detailed program description and instructions on how to apply.

To learn more about the history of the Incubator program please see: http://www1.eere.energy.gov/solar/sunshot/incubator.html

Two Webinars will be hosted by Incubator program staff to walk through program details and answer questions. Further details are provided in the FOA.

Please refer back here, to this website and section, for updates on the FOA and schedule.

Letters of Intent (Optional) if submitted, MUST be submitted to: sunshot.incubator@ee.doe.gov

The SunShot Incubator Program is an aggressive pay for performance program focused on helping solar startups rapidly refine and commercialize promising, proven technologies and ideas. The program seeks to accelerate the commercialization of solar energy products and solutions that dramatically lower the cost of solar power.

This round of the SunShot Incubator Program is for both hardware and non-hardware solutions that reduce the cost of systems that convert solar energy into electric potential.   

The SunShot Incubator program consists of five (5) tiers (divided between hardware and non-hardware) to which applications may be submitted:

Hardware:

Tier 0 includes awards of up to $500,000 with a 20% cost share requirement over 12 months to accelerate the transition from a proof-of-concept of all critical components to an early stage functional prototype.

Tier 1 includes awards of up to $1,000,000 with a 20% cost share requirement over 12 months to accelerate transition of early state functional prototype to manufacturing and commercially relevant prototype made in the lab.

Tier 2 includes awards of up to $4,000,000 with a 50% cost share requirement over 18 months to develop the manufacturing processes and equipment to move from a fully developed lab prototype to pilot-scale production.

Non-Hardware:

Tier 1S includes awards of up to $500,000 with a 20% cost share requirement over 12 months to accelerate transition of proof-of-concept or business plan to alpha capability and early customer trials.

Tier 2S includes awards of up to $2,000,000 with a 50% cost share requirement over 18 months to transition alpha capability through beta launch and full commercialization.

If you are interested in learning more please see the below section titled “FOA Documents” and download and read the full Funding Opportunity Announcement. This document provides a detailed program description and instructions on how to apply.

To learn more about the history of the Incubator program please see: http://www1.eere.energy.gov/solar/sunshot/incubator.html

Two Webinars will be hosted by Incubator program staff to walk through program details and answer questions. Further details are provided in the FOA.

Please refer back here, to this website and section, for updates on the FOA and schedule.

• Please check this website to make sure you have the appropriate system requirements needed to join the webinar: http://www.gotomeeting.com/fec/webinar/webinar_support.

• Register at:  https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/335894520.  Once submitted, the participant will receive an automated email with the webinar address.   

• Audio is available through the Internet (headset/speakers) and over the phone.  You will be able to access audio through the Webinar pop up.  Clicking on Telephone will display the call-in number, which is also found in the registration confirmation email.