EERE Funding Opportunity Announcements

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.

The mission of BTO’s Residential Buildings Integration (RBI) Program is to accelerate energy performance improvements in existing and new residential buildings using an integrated building systems approach to achieve peak energy performance. The RBI Program’s market outcome goal is to reduce, by 2025, the energy used for space conditioning and water heating in single-family homes by 40% from 2010 levels. RBI’s focus on space conditioning and water heating offers the best opportunities for influencing residential energy use.

With this FOA, RBI will select building science project teams in 2018 for the Building America Program to conduct early stage research and validation of energy performance improvements in existing and new residential buildings with integrated building systems approaches, and achieve optimal home energy performance. These Building America teams will work with industry partners and real world homes to develop and validate technologies and practices that achieve optimal energy and cost performance while effectively managing related risks (e.g., indoor air quality and moisture durability). This FOA builds on work begun in the 2015, 2016, and 2017 Building America FOAs, and is focused primarily on addressing remaining gaps and objectives in the Building America Research-to-Market Plan.

This FOA has three (3) topics, described below. Applicants may submit multiple applications, but each individual application must be submitted to either Topic 1,  Topic 2, or Topic 3, but not all. Applications will be evaluated using the technical review criteria of the selected topic.

Topic 1 - Baseline In-situ Fault Analysis in Residential Comfort Systems

Topic 2 - Integration of Advanced Residential Envelope and HVAC Systems

Topic 3 - Gap Analysis of Building Industry Standard Practices

The full Funding Opportunity Announcement is published at EERE-Exchange.energy.gov.

For questions and answers pertaining to this FOA, please reference the DE-FOA-0001824 Building America FAQ Log in FOA Documents.

The eXCHANGE system is currently designed to enforce hard deadlines for Letter of Intent 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 issuse 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 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 (exchangehelp@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 (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.

Informational Webinar: The Informational Webinar mentioned in the FOA is scheduled for Monday, May 14, 2018 at 3:00PM ET.

https://doe.webex.com/doe/onstage/g.php?MTID=e0a69392615f1e5362e49f957d8c7cfff

Amendment 000003 was issued on April 16, 2018 to to modify the submission deadline for Full Applications and clarify the technical requirements of both Areas of Interest.

Amendment 000002 was issued March 14, 2018 to correct the submission deadline for Concept Papers, clarify the technical requirements of both Areas of Interest; clarify the allowable number of Concept Papers and Full Applications by colleges, universities, institutions of higher learning, and university‐affiliated research institutions; change the recommended section lengths of the Full Application Technical Volume; and update hyperlinks in the footnotes.

Amendment 000001 issued on March 1, 2018 to change the date for the anticipated date for the concept paper recommendation notifications and to change the submission deadline for full applications. Additionally, this amendment makes updates to the Applications Specifically Not of Interest and clarifies the allowable number of Concept Papers.

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The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy’s (EERE) Advanced Manufacturing Office (AMO) seeks to conduct research and development activities to further the utilization of cost-effective, highly efficient combined heat and power (CHP) via Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) DE-FOA-0001750. The FOA includes two areas of interest to research enabling technologies for CHP systems that are specifically designed to provide cost-effective support to the electric grid. Such systems would have the benefits of conventional CHP while at the same time being able to sell electricity to and serve as a stabilizing factor for the Grid.

Informational Webinar: EERE will conduct one informational webinar during the FOA process. It will be held before the due date for the Concept Papers. Attendance is not mandatory and will not positively or negatively impact the overall review of any Applicant submissions.

Please register for the Applicant Webinar on March 2, 2018 10:00 AM EDT at:

https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/376450080550801153

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

Participants can use their telephone or computer mic & speakers (VoIP).

United States: +1 (914) 614-3221
Audio PIN: Shown after joining the webinar

Access Code: 664-621-984

Amendment 000003 to DE-FOA-0001808

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The Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) is issuing, on behalf of the Vehicle Technologies Office (VTO), this FOA entitled “FY2017 Vehicle Technologies Office Batteries and Electrification to Enable Extreme Fast Charging Funding Opportunity Announcement”.

This FOA will include two (2) areas of interest: 1) Extreme Fast Charging (XFC) Systems for Electric Vehicles and 2) Batteries for Extreme Fast Charging. These topics will be detailed in later sections of this FOA.

This FOA supports DOE’s strategic goal of protecting the U.S. national and economic security by reducing imports and promoting a diverse supply of reliable, affordable, and environmentally sound energy. More specifically, this FOA helps to achieve, by 2020, U.S. petroleum reduction of over 2.5 billion gallons per year through voluntary adoption of alternative fuel vehicles and infrastructure.

Please join us for an applicant webinar!

Date and Time

Thursday, November 2, 2017 2:00 - 3:30 PM EST

Audio

Participants can use their telephone or computer mic & speakers (VoIP).

Call-in number: +1 (631) 992-3221

Attendee Access Code (muted): 909-821-442

Audio Pin: Shown after joining the webinar

Must Register PRIOR to Webinar

Registration URL: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/8335201223107598594

Amendment 0001 issued on November 29, 2017 for the purpose of updating the Summary Slide Instructions and Template for use in submitting full applications.

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The Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) is issuing, on behalf of the Vehicle Technologies Office (VTO), this Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) entitled “Energy Efficiency Research and Development (R&D) for Fluid-Power Systems In Off-Road Vehicles.”

The objective of this FOA is to research technologies that can improve the energy efficiency of fluid power systems for commercial off-road vehicles . Construction, mining, and agricultrure equipment represent the majority of fuel consumption in off-road vehichles, and this equipment relies heavily on fluid-power systems (i.e. hydraulics) to actuate most of their functions. They are preferred over electric motors because of their high specific power density and ability to tolerate shock and harsh environments. However, current fluid-power systems have poor efficiency. Research in this area can provide decreased operating costs for these key domestic industries.

A public workshop on energy efficiency R&D for fluid power systems in off-road vehicles was held at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory on September 12, 2017 to identify early-stage research needs. A summary of the key observations can be found at https://www.nrel.gov/transportation/mobile-fluid-power-workshop.html.

Technologies for efficiency improvement are anticipated to include, but are not limited to, new system architectures, energy storage, engineered fluid properties, advanced materials, engine technologies, and hybridization.

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Informational Webinar: EERE will conduct one informational webinar during the FOA process. Attendance is not mandatory and will not positively or negatively impact the overall review of any Applicant submissions.

Title

FOA 1815-Fluid Power Systems in Off-Road Vehicles Applicant Webinar

Date and Time

Wed, Nov 1, 2017 2:00 PM - 3:30 PM EDT

Registration URL

https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/7720635796163965442

Webinar ID: 698-471-411

Attendees MUST register PRIOR to Webinar.

Audio

Participants can use their telephone or computer mic & speakers (VoIP).

United States: +1 (213) 929-4232

Audio PIN: Shown after joining the webinar

Attendee - muted

Access Code: 121-730-30

The Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) is issuing, on behalf of the Vehicle Technologies Office (VTO), this Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) entitled “Fiscal Year (FY) 2017 Vehicle Technologies Deployment Funding Opportunity Announcement.”

This FOA supports a broad portfolio of advanced highway transportation technologies that reduce petroleum consumption and improve energy efficiency while meeting or exceeding performance and cost expectations.

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Please join us for an Applicant webinar!

Date and Time

Jan 12, 2017 2:00 - 3:00 PM EST

Audio

Participants can use their telephone or computer mic & speakers (VoIP).

United States: +1 (415) 930-5321

Access Code: 349-408-461

Audio PIN: Shown after joining the webinar

Invite Your Attendees!

Must Register PRIOR to Webinar!

Through this FOA, DOE will support multidisciplinary biological innovation to deliver strains, tools, data, and techniques to enhance algal biofuel potential and enable accelerated future innovation in algal biofuels and bioproducts.

This FOA will fund a variety of projects and approaches that overcome species-specific, ecological, and practical challenges to achieving improved algal areal productivity and to fuel yield (i.e. biomass composition).

This FOA has two topic areas:

1) Topic Area 1: Strain Improvement

This topic area is for small teams to develop enhanced algal strains with increased areal productivity and biofuel yield, along with improved or novel algal toolkits and/or methods. Strain improvement methods may include gene discovery and biological pathway analysis, directed evolution, breeding, and/or genetic engineering of novel algal strains that can reproducibly out-perform the current best available strains in outdoor conditions, where “performance” is represented by productivity, robustness, and composition. Applicants must include a detailed discussion of the reasoning behind their proposed strategy or strategies, strain choice, and why the proposed strain improvement approach has/have the highest
probability of success.

2) Topic Area 2: Cultivation Biology Improvement

This topic area is for small teams to develop increased areal productivity and biofuel yield through enhanced management of ecological or abiotic contributions to cultivation biology, along with improved or novel algal toolkits and/or methods. Cultivation biology development improvements may include leveraging natural or designed microbial assemblages of the algal culture ecosystem to boost performance and resist pathogens, and understanding species-specific cultivation conditions.

This topic area is about improving management of a current cultivation system. Abiotic contributions, including nutrient and stochastic climatological variables, can have a profound effect on outdoor performance. Topic Area 2 supports improving the understanding of physiology and performance under fluctuating and uncontrollable abiotic conditions. Applicants must include a detailed discussion of the reasoning behind their proposed strategy or strategies and why the proposed cultivation improvement approach has/have the highest probability of success.

The FOA will require selected projects to participate in a cultivation readiness validation and benchmarking, or friendly “challenge”, the PEAK Challenge. In the PEAK Challenge, project performers will, after passing an interim Go/No-Go decision point to validate seasonal areal productivity and biomass composition, and towards the conclusion of their development efforts, cultivate their organism(s) in an outdoor relevant environment – a field-based campaign with adequate controls and duration. Utilizing the growing season and cultivation equipment of their choice, each team will demonstrate their peak productivity potential over the course of their culture’s growth curve during this field challenge.

To apply to this FOA, Applicants must register with and submit application materials through EERE Exchange (this website), EERE’s online application portal.

The Exchange system enforces 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 PRIOR to the deadline, the Applicant should contact the eXCHANGE helpdesk for assistance (EERE‐ExchangeSupport@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 (EERE‐ExchangeSupport@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.

Informational Webinar

DOE's Productivity Enhanced Algae and Tool-Kits FOA Informational Webinar was held on Dec 20, 2016 12:00 PM EST. The slides and transcript have been posted.

This FOA will support an applied research focus on biological variables which contribute most greatly to the modeled minimum fuel selling price of algal biofuels. These biological variables include: biomass productivity; biomass composition (e.g., lipid, protein, and carbohydrate content); predation and pathogen resistance; halotolerance; heat and cold tolerance; and high-intensity light (i.e., direct sunlight) tolerance. Supporting advanced biology research approaches to enable high productivity in applied “field setting” cultivation conditions that are representative of future scaled-up cultivation conditions will accelerate progress towards EERE’s technical milestones for algal biofuels and will fill a gap between bench-scale research and pre-pilot efforts. Improved and more environmentally robust strains are necessary for breakthrough reductions in algal biofuel costs. This FOA seeks to fund multidisciplinary biological innovation that will deliver strains, tools, data, and techniques to enhance algal biofuel potential and enable accelerated future innovation in algal biofuels and bioproducts.

It is anticipated that the FOA may include the following Areas of Interest:

Area of Interest One, Strain Improvement: Development of enhanced algal strains with increased areal productivity and biofuel intermediate yield. Strain improvement developments will include isolation, directed evolution, breeding, and/or genetic engineering of novel algal strains that can reproducibly out-perform the current best available strains in outdoor conditions, where “performance” is represented by productivity, robustness, and composition.

Area of Interest Two, Cultivation Improvement: Development of increased areal productivity and biofuel intermediate yield through enhanced management of ecological or abiotic contributions to cultivation biology. Cultivation biology development improvements will include leveraging natural or designed microbial assemblages of the cultivation ecosystem to boost performance and exclude pathogens, and understanding under what cultivation conditions should certain strains be employed. This Area of Interest is not focused on engineering a better cultivation system.

For both Areas of Interest, selected projects will support the development of at least one novel tool, technique (method), or dataset that upon completion of the project will enable developers to accelerate innovation in that topic area. The types of tools, techniques, and datasets of interest span biological, computational, and analytic strategies that will advance the state of technology and are complementary to the scope of improvement development work.

EERE envisions awarding multiple financial assistance awards in the form of cooperative agreements. The estimated period of performance for each award will be approximately 36 months.

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.

The Building America Program is RBI’s premier applied research, development, & demonstration (RD&D) program, responsible for over 40 housing innovations to date that have enabled technology and market advancements in residential energy efficiency. Since 1994, the rigor of the national energy code has increased over 40% by applying high performance building envelope innovations proven with Building America research and demonstration. To support RBI’s current program goals, Building America is focused on the following RBI performance goal: by 2020, demonstrate cost effective technologies and practices that can reduce the energy use intensity (EUI) of new homes by at least 60% and existing homes by at least 40%, relative to the average homes in each of the seven climate zones in 2010, with a focus on reducing heating, cooling, and water heating loads.

With this FOA, RBI will select additional Building America project teams in 2017 to accelerate energy performance improvements in existing and new residential buildings using an integrated building systems approach. These Building America teams will work with industry partners and real world homes to help housing industry participants achieve optimal energy and cost performance, while effectively managing related risks (i.e., indoor air quality and moisture durability). This FOA builds on work begun in the 2015 and 2016 Building America FOAs, and is focused primarily on addressing remaining gaps and objectives in the Building America Research-to-Market Plan.

Building America seeks to fund projects with a high potential for significant impact. Successful applicants will present a relevant problem statement, compelling hypothesis and/or solution, and effective research question(s). Successful applications will also include a well-developed plan, demonstrating not only an innovative idea of a technology/practice, but also a clear and rational way of executing the idea and enabling wide-scale adoption by the industry. Teams should have strong partnerships with builders and/or manufacturers in the industry.

This FOA has two (2) topics, described below. Applicants may submit multiple applications, but each individual application must be submitted to either Topic 1 or Topic 2, not both. Applications will be evaluated using the technical review criteria of the selected topic.

Topic 1: Building America Technology to Market Roadmaps: Selected Objectives
Topic 2: Baseline Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) Field Study in Occupied New US Homes

For questions and answers pertaining to this FOA, please reference the DE-FOA-0001630 Building America FAQ Log in FOA 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 issuse 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 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 (exchangehelp@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 (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.

Informational Webinar: The Informational Webinar mentioned in the FOA will be held on November 7, 2016 at 3:00PM Eastern Standard Time. Please click or copy and paste this link in your browser for registration: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/834576982742086660

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 America Industry Partnerships for High Performance Housing Innovation - 2017”.

This FOA supports the Building America Program which is the BTO Residential Building Integration (RBI) Program’s premier applied research, development, & demonstration (RD&D) program, responsible for over 40 housing innovations to date that have enabled technology and market advancements in residential energy efficiency. Since 1994, the rigor of the national energy code has increased over 40% by applying high performance building envelope innovations proven with Building America research and demonstration.

With this FOA, RBI will select additional building science project teams in 2017 for the Building America Program to accelerate energy performance improvements in existing and new residential buildings using an integrated building systems approach to achieve peak energy performance. This FOA builds on work begun in the 2015 and 2016 Building America FOAs, and is focused primarily on addressing remaining gaps and objectives in the Building America Research to Market Plan.

This notice of intent (NOI) 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 NOI is subject to change. EERE will not respond to questions concerning this NOI. Once the FOA has been released, EERE will provide an avenue for potential applicants to submit questions.

EERE intends to issue the FOA in November 2016 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 Bioenergy Technologies Office's (BETO) Advanced Algal Systems Program seeks projects that will develop technologies that are likely to succeed in producing 3,700 gallons of algal biofuel intermediate (or equivalent dry weight basis) per acre per year (gal/acre/yr) on an annualized average basis (not peak or projected) through multiple batch campaigns or on a semi-continuous or continuous basis, in an outdoor test environment by 2020. In general, “biofuel intermediates” are biomass-based feedstocks that can replace petroleum-based feedstocks in downstream refining. Biofuel intermediates should be able to be treated as commodities and passed from a producer to a refiner through the supply chain. Biofuel intermediates can be refined into a variety of liquid transportation fuels such as, but not limited to: ethanol, renewable diesel, and renewable jet fuel. The average yield target of 3,700 gal/acre/yr of intermediate must be achieved under conditions that result in favorable lifecycle greenhouse gas reductions and techno-economic analyses (energy return on investment – energy content of final products/energy input, assuming mature scale deployment of technologies).

BETO’s Advanced Algal Systems Program has a goal of demonstrating, at a process development unit scale, algal biofuel intermediate yield of 2,500 gallons per acre per year by 2018 and 5,000 per acre per year by 2022. This FOA is directed at the interim yield between the two target yields and target years. It is expected that projects selected under this FOA will be well on their way to demonstrating the 2,500 gal/acre/yr (at a minimum, projects must be able to produce between 1,900 and 2,500 gal/acre/yr on an annualized average basis at the beginning of the proposed project – the project baseline) with a reasonable and realistic plan to produce 3,700 gal/acre/yr by the end of the performance period.

The eXCHANGE system enforces 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). 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 (EERE‐ExchangeSupport@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.

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Replies to Reviewer Comments

Expected time frame: May 11, 2016 12:00PM to May 13, 2016 11:59PM Eastern Time

During this time period, EERE will provide eligible applicants with reviewer comments and an opportunity to provide a short reply. This is an optional submission. Review Sections IV.A and IV.E of the FOA for content and form requirements.

The Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) intends to issue, on behalf of the Bioenergy Technologies Office, a Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) entitled “Advancements in Algal Biomass Yield, Phase 2 (ABY, Phase 2)”.

This FOA supports projects developing technologies that are likely to succeed in producing 3,700 gallons of algal biofuel intermediate (or equivalent dry weight basis) per acre per year (gal/acre/yr) on an annualized average basis (not peak or projected) through multiple batch campaigns or on a semi-continuous or continuous basis, in an outdoor test environment by 2020.

Under this FOA, Applicants must address one comprehensive topic area with three main priority areas. These priority areas are:

   1) strain/productivity improvement

   2) improvements in pre-processing technologies (harvesting, dewatering, and extraction and/or equivalent processes)

   3) integration of cultivation with pre-processing technologies

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.

EERE plans to issue the FOA on or about December 30, 2015, via theEERE 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.

• 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.