Funding Opportunities

The United States (U.S.) Department of Energy (DOE)’s Office of Critical Minerals and Energy Innovation (CMEI) is issuing this RFI to notify parties of its potential interest in initiating the Industrial Technology Capital Connector (ITCC), a partnering program to connect private sector capital interested in early-stage industrial technologies with CMEI-supported technology developers. DOE seeks input from all stakeholders through this RFI to gauge the interest in and to inform the overall design of the ITCC.

The following questions focus on the role of Capital Providers (Venture Capital, Angel Investors, Financial Institutions, etc.) and adjacent organizations (Incubators, Accelerators, Venture Studios, etc.) and how CMEI’s programs in industrial technologies and ITCC can better serve these communities. Responses are not required for all categories or questions; please answer those for which relevant information can be provided.

Responses to this RFI must be submitted electronically to ITCC@ee.doe.gov no later than 5:00 PM (ET) on July 10, 2026. Responses must be provided as attachments to an email. It is recommended that attachments with file sizes exceeding 25MB be compressed (i.e., zipped) to ensure message delivery. Responses must be provided as a Microsoft Word (docx) attachment to the email, and no more than 10 pages in length, 12-point font, one-inch margins. Only electronic responses will be accepted.

Respondents are requested to provide the following information at the start of their response to this RFI:

• Company/institution name.

• Company/institution contact.

• Contact's address, phone number, and e-mail address.

This is solely a request for information and not a Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO). CMEI is not accepting applications.

IMPORTANT NOTE: This eXCHANGE page is for Topic Area 3 ONLY. To apply toother Topic Areas, follow the links below to their respective eXCHANGE pages.

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Modification 0002 (4/21/2026):

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Modification 0001 (4/15/2026):

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This Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) supports critical minerals and materials. Critical minerals and materials (CMM) are the building blocks for technologies foundational to U.S. energy dominance, national security, and industrial competitiveness. To build a secure domestic supply of CMMs, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) aims to support collaborative industry partnerships to prototype and pilot innovative processing technologies that are currently only proven at the bench scale to address CMM challenges in high impact areas. The CMM Accelerator program will advance these mid-stage innovations through validation, benchmarking, access to national lab test beds, testing in industry relevant environments, technoeconomic analysis, and life-cycle assessment. The program establishes a pipeline to support technology maturation to ultimately unlock private capital investments. It also will leverage other DOE lab-based activities, such as the Critical Materials Innovation Hub (CMI Hub) and the Minerals to Materials Supply Chain Research Facility (METALLIC). Technologies resulting from the program are expected to have a path to domestic commercialization within 3-7 years. ​

This NOFO has 3 Topic Areas, and is further divided into sub-topics for Topic Areas 1 and 3. will be in 3 topics. Apply to each topic following instructions below:

• ​​Topic Area 1 (Applications must be submitted via eXCHANGE, specifically under DE-TA1-0003589): Production and material efficiency for critical materials including rare earth elements. Inclusive of the following sub-topics:
  • 1A: Recovery and production from postindustrial manufacturing scrap
  • 1B: Recovery and production from postconsumer scrap (with an emphasis on electronic waste and drivetrains)
  • 1C: Recovery and production from combinations of feedstocks including mine tailings, postindustrial scrap, and postconsumer scrap

• ​Topic Area 2 (Applications must be submitted via eXCHANGE, specifically under DE-TA2-0003589): Processes to refine and alloy gallium, gallium nitride, germanium, and silicon carbide for use in semiconductor applications.

• ​Topic Area 3 (Applications must be submitted via eXCHANGE, specifically under DE-TA3-0003589): Cost-competitive direct lithium extraction, separation, and processing. Inclusive of the following sub-topics:
  • 3A: Cost-competitive direct lithium extraction
  • 3B: Advancing pre- and post- treatment and disposal technologies for direct lithium extraction and from geothermal brines
  • 3C: Exploration and Characterization of Critical Materials and Rare Earth Elements from Volcanically Hosted Geothermal Systems​

Additionally, please note that each Topic Area has it’s own Application Deadline, as identified in the Key Facts section of the NOFO Part 1.

There is a Teaming Partner List associated with this NOFO to facilitate formation of new project teams. It can be found in e-XCHANGE under: TPL-0000069. Additional information about Teaming Partner Lists can be found in Section I. C. of the NOFO.

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 issues with submissions PRIOR to the NOFO Topic Area Deadlines: 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 (EERE-eXCHANGESupport@hq.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 (EERE-eXCHANGESupport@hq.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 NOFO's posted deadline.

Please see the full NOFO in the documents section below.

The Teaming Partner List is transferred from Notice of Intent (NOI) DE-FOA-0003588. The list will remain open and updated at least weekly until the close of the Full Application period, to reflect new Teaming Partners who have provided their information.

IMPORTANT NOTE: This eXCHANGE page is for Topic Area 2 ONLY. To apply toother Topic Areas, follow the links below to their respective eXCHANGE pages.

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Modification 0002 (4/21/2026):

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Modification 0001 (4/15/2026):

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This Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) supports critical minerals and materials. Critical minerals and materials (CMM) are the building blocks for technologies foundational to U.S. energy dominance, national security, and industrial competitiveness. To build a secure domestic supply of CMMs, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) aims to support collaborative industry partnerships to prototype and pilot innovative processing technologies that are currently only proven at the bench scale to address CMM challenges in high impact areas. The CMM Accelerator program will advance these mid-stage innovations through validation, benchmarking, access to national lab test beds, testing in industry relevant environments, technoeconomic analysis, and life-cycle assessment. The program establishes a pipeline to support technology maturation to ultimately unlock private capital investments. It also will leverage other DOE lab-based activities, such as the Critical Materials Innovation Hub (CMI Hub) and the Minerals to Materials Supply Chain Research Facility (METALLIC). Technologies resulting from the program are expected to have a path to domestic commercialization within 3-7 years. ​

This NOFO has 3 Topic Areas, and is further divided into sub-topics for Topic Areas 1 and 3. will be in 3 topics. Apply to each topic following instructions below:

• ​​Topic Area 1 (Applications must be submitted via eXCHANGE, specifically under DE-TA1-0003589): Production and material efficiency for critical materials including rare earth elements. Inclusive of the following sub-topics:
  • 1A: Recovery and production from postindustrial manufacturing scrap
  • 1B: Recovery and production from postconsumer scrap (with an emphasis on electronic waste and drivetrains)
  • 1C: Recovery and production from combinations of feedstocks including mine tailings, postindustrial scrap, and postconsumer scrap

• ​Topic Area 2 (Applications must be submitted via eXCHANGE, specifically under DE-TA2-0003589): Processes to refine and alloy gallium, gallium nitride, germanium, and silicon carbide for use in semiconductor applications.

• ​Topic Area 3 (Applications must be submitted via eXCHANGE, specifically under DE-TA3-0003589): Cost-competitive direct lithium extraction, separation, and processing. Inclusive of the following sub-topics:
  • 3A: Cost-competitive direct lithium extraction
  • 3B: Advancing pre- and post- treatment and disposal technologies for direct lithium extraction and from geothermal brines
  • 3C: Exploration and Characterization of Critical Materials and Rare Earth Elements from Volcanically Hosted Geothermal Systems​

Additionally, please note that each Topic Area has it’s own Application Deadline, as identified in the Key Facts section of the NOFO Part 1.

There is a Teaming Partner List associated with this NOFO to facilitate formation of new project teams. It can be found in e-XCHANGE under: TPL-0000069. Additional information about Teaming Partner Lists can be found in Section I. C. of the NOFO.

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 issues with submissions PRIOR to the NOFO Topic Area Deadlines: 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 (EERE-eXCHANGESupport@hq.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 (EERE-eXCHANGESupport@hq.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 NOFO's posted deadline.

Please see the full NOFO in the documents section below.

The Teaming Partner List is transferred from Notice of Intent (NOI) DE-FOA-0003588. The list will remain open and updated at least weekly until the close of the Full Application period, to reflect new Teaming Partners who have provided their information.

IMPORTANT NOTE: This eXCHANGE page is for Topic Area 1 ONLY. To apply toother Topic Areas, follow the links below to their respective eXCHANGE pages.

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Modification 0002 (4/21/2026):

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Modification 0001 (4/15/2026):

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This Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) supports critical minerals and materials. Critical minerals and materials (CMM) are the building blocks for technologies foundational to U.S. energy dominance, national security, and industrial competitiveness. To build a secure domestic supply of CMMs, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) aims to support collaborative industry partnerships to prototype and pilot innovative processing technologies that are currently only proven at the bench scale to address CMM challenges in high impact areas. The CMM Accelerator program will advance these mid-stage innovations through validation, benchmarking, access to national lab test beds, testing in industry relevant environments, technoeconomic analysis, and life-cycle assessment. The program establishes a pipeline to support technology maturation to ultimately unlock private capital investments. It also will leverage other DOE lab-based activities, such as the Critical Materials Innovation Hub (CMI Hub) and the Minerals to Materials Supply Chain Research Facility (METALLIC). Technologies resulting from the program are expected to have a path to domestic commercialization within 3-7 years. ​

This NOFO has 3 Topic Areas, and is further divided into sub-topics for Topic Areas 1 and 3. will be in 3 topics. Apply to each topic following instructions below:

• ​​Topic Area 1 (Applications must be submitted via eXCHANGE, specifically under DE-TA1-0003589): Production and material efficiency for critical materials including rare earth elements. Inclusive of the following sub-topics:
  • 1A: Recovery and production from postindustrial manufacturing scrap
  • 1B: Recovery and production from postconsumer scrap (with an emphasis on electronic waste and drivetrains)
  • 1C: Recovery and production from combinations of feedstocks including mine tailings, postindustrial scrap, and postconsumer scrap

• ​Topic Area 2 (Applications must be submitted via eXCHANGE, specifically under DE-TA2-0003589): Processes to refine and alloy gallium, gallium nitride, germanium, and silicon carbide for use in semiconductor applications.

• ​Topic Area 3 (Applications must be submitted via eXCHANGE, specifically under DE-TA3-0003589): Cost-competitive direct lithium extraction, separation, and processing. Inclusive of the following sub-topics:
  • 3A: Cost-competitive direct lithium extraction
  • 3B: Advancing pre- and post- treatment and disposal technologies for direct lithium extraction and from geothermal brines
  • 3C: Exploration and Characterization of Critical Materials and Rare Earth Elements from Volcanically Hosted Geothermal Systems​

Additionally, please note that each Topic Area has it’s own Application Deadline, as identified in the Key Facts section of the NOFO Part 1.

There is a Teaming Partner List associated with this NOFO to facilitate formation of new project teams. It can be found in e-XCHANGE under: TPL-0000069. Additional information about Teaming Partner Lists can be found in Section I. C. of the NOFO.

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 issues with submissions PRIOR to the NOFO Topic Area Deadlines: 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 (EERE-eXCHANGESupport@hq.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 (EERE-eXCHANGESupport@hq.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 NOFO's posted deadline.

Please see the full NOFO in the documents section below.

The Teaming Partner List is transferred from Notice of Intent (NOI) DE-FOA-0003588. The list will remain open and updated at least weekly until the close of the Full Application period, to reflect new Teaming Partners who have provided their information.

Modification 0003

Part 1 - In Part C. Expected Performance Goals section, the paragraph titled All Topic Areas: Reporting of All Fluids and Fluid Additives Used in Subsurface Activities was modified with new information regarding the acceptance of Geothermal wells in the referenced directory.

Part 2 - Removed all references to Environmental related documentation and removed references to required template for the Project Management Plan (PMP).

Modification 0002

Part 1 - Extend the application due date to May 14, 2026

Modification 0001:

Part 1 - Added Teaming Partner List

Part 1 - Adjusted LOI character limit to 6000

Part 1 - Removed environmental forms

Part 2 - Updated research security training requirement

The field test activities to be funded through this Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) seek to advance DOE’s goals and commitment to pushing the frontiers of science and engineering, advancing energy addition, and unleashing American energy innovation.

Geothermal resources can be found nationwide and represent vast domestic energy potential; however, only a fraction of this potential has been realized due to technical and non-technical barriers that constrain industry growth.

The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Geothermal (OG) 2019 GeoVision and subsequent analyses demonstrate that, with aggressive technology improvements, geothermal power generation could provide 300 gigawatts-electric (GWe) or more of firm, flexible power to the U.S. grid by 2050.

that will gather data to support both next-generation and conventional hydrothermal resource development for potential electrical power generation. For the purposes of this NOFO, the term “next-generation geothermal” is used to refer to both enhanced geothermal systems and closed-loop geothermal technology spaces.

Through the advancements at DOE’s Utah Frontier Observatory for Research in Geothermal Energy (FORGE) and recent commercial development, enhanced geothermal systems (EGS) are the most mature of the next-generation geothermal technologies and currently offer the greatest potential for power generation per drilled foot. During EGS development, subsurface permeability is enhanced via safe, well-engineered reservoir stimulation processes that re-open pre-existing fractures and/or create new ones. These open conduits increase permeability and allow fluid to circulate throughout the hot rock. The fluid transports the otherwise stranded heat to the surface where reliable, secure renewable electricity can be generated with current power generation technologies.

In addition to EGS, closed-loop development approaches have garnered the attention of the broader community and provide additional potential for expanding geothermal deployment. Closed-loop concepts for geothermal development include a wide range of approaches where the heat transfer fluid is contained within the wellbore and heat transfer occurs between the borehole wall and the circulating fluid. Although the approach is constrained by limited contact with the hot subsurface rock (and limited heat transfer), it does offer some desirable attributes that can complement EGS development.

Geothermal energy is used across a broad range of temperatures and applications that include both electricity production and direct use of thermal energy. Similar to the potential for electricity production, the non-electric direct use sector has enormous potential for growth that can range from basic heating and cooling to process heat for industrial applications. At the high end of electricity production are superhot systems (>375°C), which have potential to dramatically increase the power density on a per well basis, but this harsh and high temperature subsurface environment presents significant challenges in the construction and completion of wells and EGS reservoir development.

Broadly, developing subsurface resources begins in the exploration phase. This phase typically starts with surface-based observations using a variety of geological, geophysical, and geochemical approaches. The synthesis of these data provides targets for more expensive exploration activities. In the case of geothermal, more expensive exploration activities mean drilling resource characterization/confirmation wells, which require significant investment on the part of the developer— a factor that is true for next-generation as well as conventional hydrothermal development approaches.

The Topic Areas addressed under this NOFO

Topic Area 1: EGS Field Tests

Field tests at sites with potential for eventual electric power generation using EGS approaches.

Topic Area 2: Closed-Loop Field Tests, Drilling Required (CLOSED FOR THIS ROUND)

Field tests at sites with potential for eventual electric power generation using closed-loop approaches where new well drilling or additional drilling in an existing well will be required.

Topic Area 3: Closed-Loop Field Tests, No Drilling Required (CLOSED FOR THIS ROUND)

Field tests at sites with potential for eventual electric power generation using closed-loop approaches where existing wells are used with no additional drilling (workover operations are allowed).

Topic Area 4: Super-Hot/Supercritical Field Tests (CLOSED FOR THIS ROUND)

Field tests using next-generation approaches (EGS or closed-loop) at locations where superhot/supercritical temperatures (>375°C) are expected.

Topic Area 5: Direct Use/Thermal Field Tests (CLOSED FOR THIS ROUND)

Field tests at sites using next-generation approaches (EGS or closed-loop) where the eventual application would be for direct use of the thermal energy and not electric power generation.

Topic Area 6: Drilling for Next-Generation and Hydrothermal Resource Exploration, Characterization, and Confirmation

Drilling of reservoir depth resource exploration, characterization, and confirmation well(s) to gather data, information, and tests for next-generation or hydrothermal development, where sufficient site-specific data are available to suggest the potential for geothermal energy production. Preference will be given for previously unexamined geologic formations or locations.

The Office of Technology Commercialization (OTC) is issuing this lab call to solicit proposals for the Energy I-Corps (EIC) program. The goal of EIC is to train researchers at DOE National Laboratories, and DOE plants, and sites to identify market pathways for their technology. This call solicits proposals from DOE National Laboratory, plant, and site technology transfer offices to participate in EIC, for researchers to develop skills in commercialization, and to investigate the market potential for DOE-funded technologies at a critical juncture on the path toward commercialization.

DOE expects to select EIC projects in the following three topics:

Topic 1: EIC Pipeline Development - This topic seeks proposals for projects and programming that have the potential to directly increase participation in EIC Training Cohorts (Topic 2) in future EIC lab calls.

Topic 2: EIC Training Cohort (Cohort 22) - This topic seeks team applications to participate in EIC Cohort 22. Selected teams of researchers will participate in an intensive two-month, curriculum-based program to learn the principles of the business model canvas, define value proposition, and identify customer segments. Teams will develop hypotheses on these elements and interview at least 75 stakeholders as part of the customer discovery process to iterate on their business model canvas and to better understand the market’s adoption readiness of the lab technology.

Application *only for Topic 2* via MS Forms. Nothing needs to be submitted to EERE Exchange.

Link to Topic 2 Application Form: https://forms.office.com/g/acWiAQ76JK 

Topic 3: Post EIC - This Topic is an opportunity to continue advancing EIC Topic 2 technologies toward commercialization. The technology must 1) be from a DOE Laboratory or DOE plant or site AND 2) have gone through either EIC Training Cohort (Topic 2) or the U.S. National Science Foundation's Innovation Corps. EIC Training Cohort graduates and non-graduates can apply to this topic. However, non-graduates are limited to individuals who are employed by or have a contractual relationship with a DOE National Lab, DOE plant or site (e.g. Technology Transfer Office personnel).

The deadline to apply to all three topics is Friday, October 17, 2025 at 3:00 PM (ET)

This teaming partner list is for DE-FOA-0003588, the Critical Minerals and Materials Accelerator NOI

A teaming partner list may be used to facilitate the formation of new project teams for the announcement/topic area. The list allows organizations to express their interest and to explore potential partnerships.

The Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) intends to issue, on behalf of the Advanced Materials and Manufacturing Technologies Office (AMMTO), a Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) entitled, “Critical Minerals and Materials Accelerator”

Critical minerals and materials (CMM) are the building blocks for technologies foundational to U.S. energy dominance, national security, and industrial competitiveness. To build a secure domestic supply of CMMs, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) aims to support industry-led partnerships to prototype and pilot innovative processing technologies that are currently only proven at the bench scale so to address CMM challenges in high impact areas. The CMM Accelerator program will advance these mid-stage innovations through validation, benchmarking, access to national lab test beds, testing in industry relevant environments, technoeconomic analysis, and life-cycle assessment. The program establishes a pipeline to support technology maturation to ultimately unlock private capital investments.

EERE is not accepting applications for this Notice of Intent (NOI). This NOI is issued so that interested parties are aware of EERE’s intention to issue this FOA in the near term. All 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.

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) invites public comment on its Request for Information (RFI) number DE-FOA-0003568 regarding the 2026 Energy Critical Materials Assessment. This RFI seeks public comment on energy technologies of interest, materials of interest, supply chain information, market dynamics, challenges to domestic industry, methodology, DOE critical materials and DOI critical minerals lists, and other stakeholder issues related to the Energy Critical Materials Assessment. Such input will inform the 2026 Energy Critical Materials Assessment.

Responses to this RFI must be submitted electronically to EnergyCriticalMaterialsRFI@ee.doe.gov no later than 5:00pm (ET) on July 25, 2025.

This is solely a request for information and not a Notice of funding Opportunity (NOFO). AMMTO is not accepting applications.

The Office of Technology Transitions (OTT) is issuing this lab call to solicit proposals for the Energy I-Corps (EIC) program. The goal of EIC is to train researchers at DOE National Laboratories, and DOE plants, and sites to identify market pathways for their technology. This call solicits proposals from DOE National Laboratory, plant, and site technology transfer offices to participate in EIC, for researchers to develop skills in commercialization, and to investigate the market potential for DOE-funded technologies at a critical juncture on the path toward commercialization.

OTT expects to award up to $500K across Topics 1 and 3 in this instance of the EIC lab call, depending on FY25 appropriations. However, additional funding may be available based on proposals' alignment with DOE program office goals. Individual DOE program offices and partner agencies, including OTT, will review and assess relevant applications for possible selection and funding.

DOE expects to select EIC projects in the following three topics:

Topic 1: EIC Pipeline Development - This topic seeks proposals for projects and programming that have the potential to directly increase participation in EIC Training Cohorts (Topic 2) in future EIC lab calls.

Deadline - Friday, April 11, 2025 at 3:00 p.m. (ET)

Topic 2: EIC Training Cohort (Cohort 21) - This topic seeks team applications to participate in EIC Cohort 21. Selected teams of researchers will participate in an intensive two-month, curriculum-based program to learn the principles of the business model canvas, define value proposition, and identify customer segments. Teams will develop hypotheses on these elements and interview at least 75 stakeholders as part of the customer discovery process to iterate on their business model canvas and to better understand the market’s adoption readiness of the lab technology.

Application *only for Topic 2* via MS Forms. Nothing needs to be submitted to EERE Exchange.

Link: https://forms.office.com/g/SL4qKLhnmq

Deadline - Friday, April 11, 2025 at 3:00 p.m. (ET)

Topic 3: Post EIC - This Topic is an opportunity to continue advancing EIC Topic 2 technologies toward commercialization. The technology must 1) be from a DOE Laboratory or DOE plant or site AND 2) have gone through either EIC Training Cohort (Topic 2) or the U.S. National Science Foundation's Innovation Corps. EIC Training Cohort graduates and non-graduates can apply to this topic. However, non-graduates are limited to individuals who are employed by or have a contractual relationship with a DOE National Lab, DOE plant or site (e.g. Technology Transfer Office personnel).

Deadline - Friday, April 11, 2025 at 3:00 p.m. (ET)

Power electronics (PE) are essential to the conversion and control of electrical power in U.S. critical infrastructure. As this infrastructure—including grid-integrated power, industrial manufacturing, transportation, and digital networking and communications—brings more innovative technologies online to meet changing market demands and improve energy security and resiliency, it also places significantly higher performance demands on PE technologies. Silicon (Si) PE have been relied on for decades to meet infrastructure’s power conversion and control needs, but these intensifying performance requirements have surpassed what traditional Si PE can offer.

AMMTO is seeking input on its draft strategic framework, to improve its accuracy and value to the PE industry. This request for information (RFI) outlines the information DOE AMMTO is seeking from the public to inform the development of its Power Electronics Strategic Framework. Responses to this RFI will be used as input to update the draft framework. Both the RFI responses and the draft framework will be used by DOE to help shape key decisions concerning the future of the AMMTO Power Electronics program and its impact. AMMTO is specifically interested in feedback on the initial version of the power electronics strategic framework that accompanies this RFI.

This is solely a request for information and not a Notice of funding Opportunity (NOFO). AMMTO is not accepting applications.

The Advanced Materials and Manufacturing Technologies Office (AMMTO) supports the development of a globally competitive U.S. energy industrial base that drives supply chain resiliency and energy security through materials and manufacturing innovation. The development of circular supply chains that enable efficient use of materials through reuse, repair, remanufacture, and recycling is important toward accomplishing these goals. Efforts to achieve a robust and competitive manufacturing sector through innovation in circular supply chains cannot be successful without: (1) a comprehensive understanding of the landscape of technical and non-technical factors that could impact the adoption of emerging technologies and (2) strong connections across the circularity field to accelerate innovations from R&D-scale to commercial practice. This NOFO seeks to establish a new accelerator which will address this need through the development of a comprehensive technical and market analysis portfolio and stakeholder engagement activities.

The Accelerator’s analysis portfolio will establish a comprehensive understanding of both technical and non-technical factors impacting the adoption of emerging technologies for circular supply chains. Technical factors of interest include the state of emerging technologies in terms of performance and cost metrics. Awareness of these technical factors requires strong understanding of the R&D landscape as well as the state of industrial practice. Non-technical factors of interest include market conditions, supply chain dynamics, policy and regulatory landscape, workforce readiness, infrastructure capabilities, among others. These non-technical market factors may be region-specific and would be critical to inform a systems-level perspective of potential barriers and pathways to widespread commercial adoption. The Accelerator will leverage understanding of technical and non-technical factors to analyze market opportunity within specific product and material market segments. This will identify specific early adopter markets and sequential pathways to more broadly scale the deployment of emerging technologies for greater impact. Opportunities to leverage advancements in emerging technologies and market tools (e.g., standards, offtake agreements, verification frameworks, data systems, etc.) across product and material segments will also be identified.

The Accelerator’s stakeholder engagement activities will cultivate a range of stakeholders that are critical to both supporting the analysis portfolio and to facilitating the coordination needed for technology adoption for circular supply chains. These stakeholder engagement activities will strengthen relationships with industry members to support increased sharing of data and best practices as there are many synergistic technology needs across different product and material segments. These programs will enable enhanced diffusion of advancements in emerging technologies, business models and market tools throughout the circularity field. Most importantly, these stakeholder engagement activities will establish and cultivate relationships between potential performer groups that will strengthen the innovation ecosystem needed to deliver on other funded programs focused on building circular supply chain technologies.

Please see the full NOFO in the DOCUMENTS section below.

Questions regarding the NOFO must be submitted to Circularity.NOFO.FY25@ee.doe.gov.

Please note: In the event that an application experiences technical difficulties with a submission, the applicant should contact the eXCHANGE helpdesk at EERE-ExchangeSupport@hq.doe.gov.

Mod 002: the FOA will be amended on 1/22/25 to remove the Environmental Considerations Summary requirement.

Mod 001:

The purpose of this modification is to:

• Added information regarding cost share of Tribes and Tribal Nations pursuant to EERE's uniform cost share reduction.

The activities to be funded under this NOFO support BIL sections 41007(b)(2) and the broader government-wide approach to strengthen 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. This BIL section, through reference to section 3003(b)(4) of the Energy Act of 2020, addresses:

• Research and development projects to create innovative and practical approaches to increase the reuse and recycling of wind energy technologies, including—
• by increasing the efficiency and cost effectiveness of the recovery of raw materials from wind energy technology components and systems
• by minimizing potential environmental impacts from the recovery and disposal processes;
• by advancing technologies and processes for the disassembly and recycling of wind energy devices;
• by developing alternative materials, designs, manufacturing processes, and other aspects of wind energy technologies and the disassembly and resource recovery process that enable efficient, cost effective, and environmentally responsible disassembly of, and resource recovery from, wind energy technologies; and
• strategies to increase consumer acceptance of, and participation in, the recycling of wind energy technologies

Please see the full FOA in the DOCUMENTS section below.

Questions regarding the FOA must be submitted to WETOFOA@ee.doe.gov.

Please note: In the event that an application experiences technical difficulties with a submission, the applicant should contact the eXCHANGE helpdesk at EERE-ExchangeSupport@hq.doe.gov.

OVERVIEW

The Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) is issuing Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) DE-FOA-0003439 on behalf of the Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technologies Office (HFTO), which coordinates hydrogen activities with offices across the Department of Energy (DOE) as described in the DOE Hydrogen Program Plan. These activities align with EERE’s mission, the U.S. National Clean Hydrogen Strategy and Roadmap, the U.S. National Blueprint for Transportation Decarbonization, and other DOE initiatives as described below.

The research, development, and demonstration activities to be funded under this NOFO support:

• The U.S. National Clean Hydrogen Strategy and Roadmap's "whole-of-government" approach to addressing the challenges facing clean hydrogen and drive innovation leading to the deployment of clean energy technologies that are critical for emissions reduction.
• Enabling increased adoption of clean hydrogen across critical sectors, including heavy-duty vehicles, supporting the U.S. National Blueprint for Transportation Decarbonization.
• The goals of the Hydrogen Energy Earthshot^TM targeting affordable, clean hydrogen production at $1/kg by 2031.
• The H2@Scale Initiative aiming to advance affordable hydrogen production, transport, storage, and utilization to enable decarbonization and revenue opportunities across multiple sectors.

NOFO TOPICS:

• Topic 1: Photoelectrochemical Water Splitting Device Scale Up
• Topic 2: High-Performance Materials for Hydrogen Service, Including Cryogenic and/or High-Pressure Conditions
• Topic 3: Sustainable High-Temperature Proton Exchange Membranes and Ionomers for Heavy-Duty Transportation Applications
• Topic 4: Domestic Hydrogen Fuel Cell Electric Motorcoach Bus Development and Demonstration

Applicants must submit a Concept Paper by 5:00pm ET on the due date listed in the NOFO to be eligible to submit an Application.

Concept Papers and Applications will only be accepted through EERE eXCHANGE.

DOCUMENTS

The NOFO is separated into two parts to help applicants focus on the application requirements and review criteria in Part 1, with the full inventory of application, post-selection, and post-award requirements available in Part 2. The two-part NOFO is anticipated to simplify the application process and improve access to EERE funding opportunities from a more diverse applicant pool. Applicants should review both the NOFO Part 1 and NOFO Part 2 prior to applying.

DE-FOA-0003439_NOFO_Part_One includes specific programmatic goals, topic descriptions, eligibility requirements, evaluation criteria, and other components specific to this NOFO.

DE-FOA-0003439_NOFO_Part_Two includes standard information for the application phase and describes expectations for award negotiations and post-award requirements for selected applications.

DE-FOA-0003439_Hydrogen_Q&A contains questions submitted to H2FCFOA@ee.doe.gov and their answers from HFTO. This list will be updated as answers are provided.

TEAMING PARTNER LIST

The Teaming Partner List is transferred from Notice of Intent DE-FOA-0003438. The list will remain open and will be updated at least weekly until the close of the Application period, to reflect new Teaming Partners who have provided their contact information.

SUPPORT

Questions regarding this NOFO must be submitted to H2FCFOA@ee.doe.gov.

Applicants that experience technical issues with submissions PRIOR to the submissions deadline should contact the EERE eXCHANGE Help Desk for assistance (EERE-ExchangeSupport@hq.doe.gov).

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

Modification 0001: The purpose of this modification is to:

• Update title for Topic 3

The Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) intends to issue, on behalf of the Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technologies Office (HFTO), a Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) entitled “Advanced Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technologies to Drive National Decarbonization.”

Clean hydrogen and fuel cell technologies are important elements of a comprehensive energy portfolio, particularly for use in hard-to-decarbonize sectors of the economy (such as heavy-duty transportation and industrial applications) and to enable long duration energy storage for a clean electric grid. Advancing clean hydrogen and fuel cell technologies directly supports the Biden-Harris Administration’s goals of achieving carbon pollution-free electricity by 2035 and net-zero emissions economy-wide by no later than 2050, benefiting all Americans.

This NOFO supports the vision outlined in the U.S. National Clean Hydrogen Strategy and Roadmap: affordable clean hydrogen for a net-zero carbon future and a sustainable, resilient, and equitable economy. The NOFO will target research, development, and demonstration (RD&D) topics critical to scaling hydrogen infrastructure and enabling increased adoption of clean hydrogen across sectors, particularly in heavy-duty (HD) vehicles and other heavy-duty transportation applications, which supports the U.S. National Blueprint for Transportation Decarbonization. Increased adoption of hydrogen technologies will help achieve economies of scale and drive down costs, directly supporting the Department of Energy’s (DOE) Regional Clean Hydrogen Hubs (H2Hubs) Program, an $8 billion federal investment to create networks of hydrogen producers, consumers, and local connective infrastructure to accelerate the use of hydrogen as a clean energy carrier and a carbon-free input to a number of chemical and industrial processes. Improvements in clean hydrogen technologies will also contribute to the long-term viability of the H2Hubs and other commercial-scale deployments. Activities funded under this NOFO will also align with the H2@Scale Initiative, which aims to advance affordable hydrogen production, transport, storage, and utilization to enable decarbonization and revenue opportunities across multiple sectors. The NOFO’s objectives support DOE’s Hydrogen Shot goal, which targets affordable clean hydrogen production at $1/kg within a decade.

Hydrogen and fuel cells can provide benefits and create opportunities for communities that have been historically underserved—such as improving air quality, providing resiliency, and creating jobs, including good-paying union jobs. Consistent with DOE’s commitment to benefit all Americans, this anticipated NOFO will encourage the participation of underserved communities and underrepresented groups. Applicants will be encouraged to form meaningful and substantial partnerships with Minority Serving Institutions (e.g., Historically Black Colleges and Universities, Tribal Colleges and Universities, and Other Minority Institutions).

To support the goal of building a clean and equitable energy economy, projects funded under this NOFO will be expected to (1) advance diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility (DEIA); (2) contribute to the Justice40 Initiative7 and other considerations linked with energy and/or environmental justice; and (3) invest in America’s workforce. To ensure these objectives are met, applications must include an RDD&D Community Benefits Plan (CBP) that addresses the three objectives stated above.

Hydrogen and fuel cells can help create opportunities and benefits for communities that have been historically underserved, such as improving air quality, providing resiliency, and creating jobs, including good-paying union jobs. Consistent with DOE’s commitment to benefit all Americans, this anticipated NOFO will encourage the participation of underserved communities and underrepresented groups.

EERE plans to issue the NOFO before or in October 2024 via the EERE eXCHANGE website https://eere-exchange.energy.gov/. If Applicants wish to receive official notifications and information from EERE regarding this NOFO, they should register in EERE eXCHANGE. When the FOA is released, applications will be accepted only through EERE eXCHANGE.

Navigate to TPL-0000058 in EERE Exchange to access the Teaming Partner List for this solicitation.

This notice of intent (NOI) is issued so that interested parties are aware of EERE’s intention to issue this NOFO in the near term. All 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.

The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Office of Technology Transitions (OTT) intends to issue its base annual appropriated Technology Commercialization Fund (TCF) solicitation, a call for proposals from DOE National Laboratories, DOE Plants and Sites (DOE National Labs and Facilities).The goal of TCF is to improve America’s energy competitiveness and security by accelerating commercialization of critical clean energy technologies from National Laboratories, Plants, and Sites to the market.

The estimated FY25 DOE funding available for this Lab Call is $30.1 to $36.8 million, based on the FY24 budget. The FY25 CLIMR Lab Call represents the combined effort of fourteen distinct DOE Program Offices and OTT.

The Office of Technology Transitions (OTT) is issuing this lab call to solicit proposals for the Energy I-Corps (EIC) program. The goal of EIC is to train researchers at DOE National Laboratories, and DOE plants, and sites to identify market pathways for their technology. This call solicits proposals from DOE National Laboratory, plant, and site technology transfer offices to participate in EIC, for researchers to develop skills in commercialization, and to investigate the market potential for DOE-funded technologies at a critical juncture on the path toward commercialization.

OTT expects to award up to $500K across Topics 1 and 3 in this instance of the EIC lab call, depending on FY25 appropriations. However, additional funding may be available based on proposals' alignment with DOE program office goals. Individual DOE program offices and partner agencies, including OTT, will review and assess relevant applications for possible selection and funding.

DOE expects to select EIC projects in the following three topics:

Topic 1: EIC Pipeline Development - This topic seeks proposals for projects and programming that have the potential to directly increase participation in EIC Training Cohorts (Topic 2) in future EIC lab calls.

Deadline - October 18, 2024; 3pm (ET)

Topic 2: EIC Training Cohort (Cohort 20) - This topic seeks team applications to participate in EIC Cohort 20. Selected teams of researchers will participate in an intensive two-month, curriculum-based program to learn the principles of the business model canvas, define value proposition, and identify customer segments. Teams will develop hypotheses on these elements and interview at least 75 stakeholders as part of the customer discovery process to iterate on their business model canvas and to better understand the market’s adoption readiness of the lab technology. Application *only for Topic 2* via MS Forms. Nothing needs to be submitted to EERE Exchange.

Link: https://forms.office.com/g/hvb2HKWGN2

Deadline - October 18, 2024; 3pm ET

Topic 3: Post EIC - This Topic is an opportunity to continue advancing EIC Topic 2 technologies toward commercialization. The technology must 1) be from a DOE Laboratory or DOE plant or site AND 2) have gone through either EIC Training Cohort (Topic 2) or the U.S. National Science Foundation's Innovation Corps. EIC Training Cohort graduates and non-graduates can apply to this topic. However, non-graduates are limited to individuals who are employed by or have a contractual relationship with a DOE National Lab, DOE plant or site (e.g. Technology Transfer Office personnel).

Deadline - October 18, 2024; 3pm (ET)

Amendment 000001:  The purpose of Amendment 000001 is to revise the Funding Opportunity Announcement to add a work performance requirement for AOI 2 eligible applicants (universities/institutions of higher education) where they must perform at least 70% of the project work.

This funding opportunity announcement (FOA) seeks applications to address priorities in several areas critical to achieving net-zero greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 2050, including: development of innovative battery chemistries and component materials, reduction of cascading battery fires, and battery electrode, cell, and pack manufacturing cost reduction.

The GTO GRID FOA seeks applications from teams focused on geographic regions defined within specific power pools, joint utilities groups, utility service territories, or Tribal jurisdictions in the conterminous U.S., Alaska, Hawaii, or U.S. territories to quantify the value of geothermal power in supporting an equitable transition to a future decarbonized grid and economy. Regional grid modeling studies should use one or more analysis approaches and tools such as capacity expansion modeling, production cost modeling, Loss-of-Load based analyses, machine learning applications, and/or alternate modeling or market design approaches.

GTO’s mission is to increase geothermal energy deployment through research, development, and demonstration (RD&D) of innovative technologies that enhance exploration and production. Its vision is a vibrant domestic geothermal sector that contributes to a carbon-pollution free electric sector by 2035 and a net-zero emission economy by 2050 while providing economic opportunities and environmental benefits for all Americans. GTO supports geothermal energy RD&D activities in six research areas aimed at increased access, reduced costs and improved economics, and improved education and outreach about geothermal resources. DOE’s 2023 Enhanced Geothermal Shot^TM analysis concludes that with aggressive technology improvements in areas relevant to enhanced geothermal systems (EGS), geothermal electricity generation could provide 90 GWe of firm, flexible power to the US electric grid by 2050.

Building a clean and equitable energy economy and addressing the climate crisis is a top priority of the Biden-Harris Administration. This FOA will advance the Biden-Harris Administration’s goals to achieve carbon pollution-free electricity by 2035 and to “deliver an equitable, clean energy future, and put the United States on a path to achieve net-zero emissions, economy-wide, by no later than 2050“ to the benefit of all Americans. DOE is committed to pushing the frontiers of science and engineering, catalyzing clean energy jobs through research, development, demonstration, and deployment (RDD&D), and ensuring environmental justice and inclusion of underserved communities.

Geothermal power offers a unique value proposition to support the United States’ target of 100% carbon-pollution-free electricity by 2035 and a net-zero emissions economy by 2050. Traditionally, geothermal power is well understood as a clean, firm generation resource with a high capacity factor, 24/7 availability, and minimal land use footprint. Moreover, the advent of flexible geothermal operations and geothermal power coupled with storage technologies broadens the breadth of services that geothermal power could provide to a decarbonizing grid.

This FOA supports the administration goals laid out above by catalyzing regional grid modeling studies that quantify the potential contribution of geothermal power in supporting an equitable transition to a future decarbonized grid and 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 innovation that can lead to the deployment of clean energy technologies, which are critical for climate protection. Specifically, this FOA will quantify the value of geothermal power to a decarbonized grid.

General Topic Area:

Value of Geothermal Power Topic Area

Project teams are required to propose grid modeling and/or analysis approaches tailored to their specific grid region of interest examining one or more of the following geothermal power attributes:

a)      Firm capacity to support resource adequacy

b)      Flexible geothermal power and ancillary services to the grid and/or to a deferrable load

c)      Integrated value of geothermal power with storage technologies

d)      Total system impact of geothermal power to cost of grid decarbonization

In addition to choosing one or more of the above attributes for examination, project teams are required to incorporate elements of understanding geothermal power’s contribution to an equitable transition within the proposal.

MOD000003: The purpose of FOA Modification 000003 is to revise the page limit of the Statement of Project Objectives (SOPO) document in Section IV. Application and Submission Information.

MOD000002: The purpose of FOA Modification 000002 is to revise anticipated federal funding amounts in Section I.B ii, Section I.B.iii, and Section II.A.i.

MOD000001: The purpose of FOA Modification 000001 is to revise Section I.B.iv Topic Area 3: Solar and Electric Vehicle Supply Equipment Permitting Software, Outreach, Education, and Development, Section I.C.iiTopic Area 3, Section I.E Authorizing Statues, and Section II.A.i Estimated Funding.

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Solar Energy Technologies Office (SETO) announced the Fiscal Year 2024 Solar Energy Supply Chain Incubator funding opportunity (FOA), which will provide up to $50.5 million for research, development, and demonstration (RD&D) projects that de-risk solar hardware, manufacturing processes, and software products across a wide range of solar technology areas.

The research and development (R&D) and demonstration (RD&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 support the DOE decarbonization goals by advancing innovative solar hardware, software, and manufacturing processes across a broad range of technology readiness levels, from laboratory-scale to pilot-scale testing and prototype demonstration.

Technologies of interest include photovoltaics (PV), systems integration, and concentrating solar-thermal power (CSP) technologies, as well as those that connect solar with storage or electric vehicles and dual-use PV applications like agrivoltaics and vehicle-integrated PV. SETO encourages for-profit applicants to team with diverse institutions including academic institutions, non-profits, state and local governments, and Tribal governments.

The FOA also seeks projects that provide outreach, education, or technology development for software that delivers an automated permit review and approval process for rooftop solar PV with or without energy storage. Both for-profit and non-profit entities are eligible to apply under this topic.

SETO expects to make between 11 and 23 awards ranging from $1 million to $6 million under this FOA. Learn more about past Incubator funding program awardees.

Prior to submitting a full application for this opportunity, a mandatory concept paper is due July 19 at 5 p.m. ET.

Applicants can also access free Application Education Services through the American-Made Network and can engage with Power Connectors.

The anticipated FOA targets Vehicle Technologies Office (VTO) research and development projects potentially including:

• Demonstration of Smart Charge Management for Electric Vehicles
• Improved 12 Volt Lead Acid Batteries for Safety-Critical Electric Vehicle Applications
• Develop Vehicle or Structural Level Strategies to Reduce the Likelihood of the Cascading Effects of Electric Vehicle Fires
• Battery Electrode, Cell, and Pack Manufacturing Cost Reduction
• Silicon-Based Anodes for Lithium-Ion Batteries
• High Energy Density Conversion Cathodes

Modification 000001: Extend the submission deadline for full applications as shown on the cover page of the FOA document.

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). Building a clean and equitable energy economy and addressing the climate crisis is a top priority of the Biden Administration. This FOA will advance the Biden Administration’s goals to achieve carbon pollution-free electricity by 2035 and to “deliver an equitable, clean energy future, and put the United States on a path to achieve net-zero emissions, economy-wide, by no later than 2050[1] to the benefit of all Americans.

The research and development (R&D) and demonstration (RD&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, the Solar Technologies’ Rapid Integration and Validation for Energy Systems (STRIVES) FOA will fund RD&D projects to improve power systems simulation software tools and demonstrate new business models for distribution systems operations to integrate and optimize the value of inverter-based resources (IBRs) and distributed energy resources (DERs) including solar, wind, energy storage, and other technologies such as buildings and electric vehicles (EVs).

This funding opportunity announcement (FOA) is part of a collaborative effort by the DOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) to issue multiple FOAs totaling more than $100 million for field demonstration projects and other research to support better planning and operations of the electric grid.

Projects funded under this FOA will address near-term and long-term challenges in operating electric power grids with large deployments of solar energy systems and other DERs. This FOA has two topic areas:

Topic Area 1: Robust Experimentation and Advanced Learning for Distribution System Operators – 8-10 projects, $2.5-3 million each

Projects in this topic area will design and perform field demonstrations of distribution system operator models that consider technology development and the roles of non-traditional stakeholders in potential distribution electricity services and markets.

Topic Area 2: Improved Simulation Tools for Large-Scale IBR Transient and Dynamic Studies – 4-5 projects, $1-2.5 million each

In September 2022, the U.S. Departments of Energy, Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and the Environmental Protection Agency executed an historic memorandum of understanding (MOU) for the signatory agencies to accelerate our nation’s affordable and equitable clean transportation future.¹ As a result of the comprehensive decarbonization strategy called for in the MOU, those agencies issued the U.S. National Blueprint for Transportation Decarbonization, which set the goal to achieve net-zero carbon emissions in the transportation sector – including off-road equipment – by 2050^2. The Transition to net-zero emission technologies requires coordination among all aspects of the supply chain, including feedstock supply, alternative fuel production, equipment manufacturers, safety implementation, customer demand, and government regulation. To develop a national strategy to decarbonize the sector, three critical questions must be addressed:

1. What is the current state of the off-road vehicle fleet?
2. Which powertrain technologies are most promising for decarbonization of off-road vehicles?
3. What is the timeline for the off-road sector to transition to net-zero emission GHG technologies?

“Off-road vehicles are primarily designed to operate away from existing roadways. This category contains a disparate and very diverse set of vehicles and use cases, including construction and mining equipment, industrial equipment, agriculture equipment, lawn and garden equipment, and recreational vehicles.”¹

The purpose of this Request for Information (RFI) is to understand the off-road sector alternative propulsion technology preferences, which technologies seem most promising, and what are the key barriers to achieving the transition to net-zero emissions by 2050. The propulsion technologies under consideration for this RFI are: biodiesel, renewable diesel, renewable natural gas, battery electric, direct electrification (catenary), electric hybridization, hydrogen fueled internal combustion engines and hydrogen fuel cells. Currently, no one alternative propulsion technology is a clear choice for sector decarbonization. This RFI is an attempt to aggregate knowledge from stakeholders to help guide actions regarding future propulsion technologies, research and infrastructure investments, and coordination among key stakeholders to ensure that the off-road sector is meeting or exceeding U.S. decarbonization milestones.

This is solely a request for information and not a Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA). EERE is not accepting applications.

Responses to this RFI must be submitted electronically to CleanMachines@ee.doe.gov no later than 5:00p.m. (ET) on June 7, 2024. Responses must be provided as attachments to an email. It is recommended that attachments with file sizes exceeding 25MB be compressed (i.e., zipped) to ensure message delivery. Preferred responses should be provided as a Microsoft Word (.docx) (10 page limit) and/or Microsoft Excel (.xslx) attachments to the email. If necessary, a plain text file (.txt) may be submitted. Only electronic responses will be accepted. Please identify your answers by responding to a specific question or topic if applicable. Respondents may answer as many or as few questions as they wish.

Please see the full RFI document in the Documents section below.

[1]https://www.energy.gov/sites/default/files/2022-09/mou-doe-dot-epa-hud-final_09-15-2022.pdf

[2] https://www.energy.gov/eere/us-national-blueprint-transportation-decarboniation-joint-strategy-transform-transportation

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 fund innovative solar photovoltaics (PV) R&D that reduces the cost of PV modules, reduces carbon and energy intensity of PV manufacturing processes, and optimizes PV technology for new, specialized markets.

SETO’s PVRD program works to accelerate the deployment of solar energy technologies by funding innovative R&D in PV cell and module technologies, balance-of-system components, reliability tracing and tracking, metrology, and other key research questions in PV. To accelerate toward these deployment targets and augment SETO’s ongoing PV research portfolio,12 this FOA will fund R&D on innovative cell- and minimodule-level technologies focused on three major goals:

•Enable cost reduction on an LCOE basis through development of durable, high-efficiency cell and module PV technology

•Identify pathways to reduce the carbon intensity and energy intensity of industrial processes required to fabricate PV cells and modules

•Increase technical viability of PV cells and modules tailored for emerging integrated PV sectors, such as building-integrated PV (BIPV) and vehicle-integrated PV.

This FOA will fund innovative R&D projects that aim to advance the state of the art in various cell and module technologies to accomplish these goals of cost reduction, lower carbon intensity, and viability of dual-use markets. This FOA is separated into two topic areas:

•Photovoltaic Advances in Cell Efficiency, Reliability, and Supply Chain (PACERS): Applications in four PV supply chain, cell, and module technology spaces are of particular interest: low-carbon synthesis of metallurgical-grade silicon (MGS, here defined as silicon that is 98% pure as defined by the 5/5/3 standard)13 production, crystalline silicon (c-Si) PV, III-V PV, and organic PV (OPV). However, proposals for any industrial process, cell, or minimodule-level research that enables the goals of this FOA will be considered, excluding areas specified as not of interest in Section I.C., such as perovskite technology, which is addressed in other funding programs, and CdTe technology, which is addressed in Topic Area 2.

•Building Academic Capabilities in Cadmium Telluride: Applications describing advanced R&D projects requiring the procurement or upgrade of CdTe equipment are of interest. Proposals should detail work that will enhance fabrication, characterization, or analytical capabilities while also benefiting the larger CdTe PV research community.

Amendment 000001 - Remove the references to Letter of Intent. A Letter of Intent is not required for this FOA.

Amendment 000002 - Update Section I.D. Applications Specifically Not of Interest. "Applications that are not led by a State, municipal entity, transit authority, or non-profit (See Section III.A)" are specifically not of interest.

Amendment 000003 - Extend the Concept Paper Submission Deadline from June 19, 2024 at 5:00PM ET to June 20, 2024 at 5:00PM ET in observance of the Juneteenth National Independence Day Federal Holiday.

Amendment 000004 - Extend the following deadlines: Submission Deadline for Full Applications, Expected Submission Deadline for Replies to Reviewer Comments, Expected Date for EERE Selection Notifications, and Expected Timeframe for Award Negotiations. Section II.A.i. Update Anticipated Period of Performance for Topic Areas 1 and 2 (Phase 1). Section IV.D.xvi.

DE-FOA-0003072: WASTE: Waste Analysis and Strategies for Transportation End-uses

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 aid communities with resource and energy recovery strategies associated with their organic waste streams. Organic waste streams represent major sources of fugitive methane emissions, volatile organic compounds, and other pollutants. The White House set a goal of reducing methane emissions by 30% by 2030. By developing strategies that can prevent the landfilling of these wastes, one of the major sources of fugitive methane can be mitigated. Holistic waste management strategies can also benefit communities by reducing other impacts associated with waste collection and processing infrastructure including reducing truck traffic, odors, litter, and other air, water, and health impacts.

Topic Area 1 is focused specifically on helping communities beyond a conceptualization phase by supporting more in-depth feasibility or scoping analysis. Oftentimes, staff and organizational capacity in communities (particularly in rural, remote, Tribal, or smaller communities) is limited. While technical assistance programs can accomplish some of these objectives, direct financial assistance can close this capacity gap.

Topic Area 2 is targeted towards communities that have previously completed feasibility analysis and are seeking funding to further refine their project concept. Municipal and non-profit staff capacity and availability of funding often makes detailed design work out of reach for many communities and this topic aims to close that gap. Projects selected under Topic Area 2 will have an opportunity to construct and operate their designed pilot facility based on the down-select process described in the FOA.

Questions regarding the FOA must be submitted to FY24WASTEFOA@ee.doe.gov.

Note: DE-FOA-0003072 is a competitive solicitation and private discussions, while the announcement is open, are prohibited. All questions regarding this FOA must be submitted via email to FY24WASTEFOA@ee.doe.gov no later than three business days prior to the application due date. All questions and answers related to this FOA will be posted in EERE eXCHANGE under DOCUMENTS for DE-FOA-0003072.

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 and/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 and/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.

Please see the full FOA in the DOCUMENTS section below.

i. Topic Area 1: Scalable Concentrating Solar Collectors

This topic area solicits innovations to decrease the installed costs of solar collectors to $50/m² with high reliability and efficiency over a 30-year lifetime. Heliostat systems, line-focusing collectors, and other novel collector forms are of interest.

Areas of interest include, but are not limited to:

• Advanced manufacturing
• Automated robotic installation
• Communication and control systems
• Structures and facets
• Solar field analysis tools and standards
• Anti-soiling and cleaning technologies
• Wind and weather impact

ii. Topic Area 2: Scalable Supercritical Carbon Dioxide (sCO₂) Turbomachinery

SETO solicits proposals for RD&D to enable the deployment of sCO₂ turbomachinery for advanced CSP systems. Multiple heat engine and heat pump cycles are of interest to enable cost-effective CST plants coupled with thermal energy storage.

iii. Topic Area 3: Scalable Concentrating Solar-thermal Receivers and Reactors

This topic solicits proposals for novel solar receivers, solar reactors, and improvements to existing solar receiver concepts. Successful receiver or reactor technologies will support the deployment of CST systems that can impact the U.S. market. Targeted outcomes include:

• Development of a complete receiver subsystem with ≥10 MW_th capacity and ≥750 ⁰C outlet temperature that can be integrated and tested with a ≥10 MW_e sCO₂ power cycle.
• Development of a ≥1 MW_th reactor archetype that integrates solar thermal energy with industrial production of chemicals, cement, or minerals. Testing and integration of solar steam or heat with the product of industrial products for scaled up reactor use.
• Enabling near-term cost, reliability, and performance improvements of commercial CST receivers.
• De-risking receiver or reactor concepts to enable novel CST systems which can achieve broad commercial deployment.

DE-FOA-0003269 Modification (0003) extends the Full Application Deadline on the Cover Page.

DE-FOA-0003269 Modification (00002) includes clarification of SOPO page limit on page 57.

DE-FOA-0003269 Modification (000001) includes the addition of Section IV.A.ii (Applicant Education Services).

SETO’s efforts are part of a multiyear, multiprong strategy that is guided by the Industrial Heat Shot,15 a DOE-wide initiative to develop cost-competitive industrial heat decarbonization technologies with at least 85% lower greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions compared to 2020 emissions by 2035. To this end, the FOA titled Concentrating Solar Flux to Heat and Power supports this initiative and is composed of three different topic areas as noted below:

Topic Area 1: Scalable Concentrating Solar Collectors

Topic Area 2: Scalable Supercritical Carbon Dioxide (sCO2)

Topic Area 3: Scalable Concentrating Solar-thermal Receivers and Reactors

DOE is compiling a Teaming Partner List to facilitate the formation of project teams for this FOA. The Teaming Partner List allows organizations that may wish to participate on a project to express their interest to other applicants and explore potential partnerships.

The Teaming Partner List will be available on EERE eXCHANGE and will be regularly updated to reflect new teaming partners who provide their organization’s information.

SUBMISSION INSTRUCTIONS: View the Teaming Partner List by visiting the EERE eXCHANGE homepage and clicking on “Teaming Partners” within the left-hand navigation pane. This page allows users to view published Teaming Partner Lists. To join the Teaming Partner List, submit a request within eXCHANGE. Select the appropriate Teaming Partner List from the drop-down menu and fill in the following information: Investigator Name, Organization Name, Organization Type, Topic Area, Background and Capabilities, Website, Contact Address, Contact Email, and Contact Phone.

DISCLAIMER: By submitting a request to be included on the Teaming Partner List, the requesting organization consents to the publication of the above-referenced information. By facilitating the Teaming Partner List, DOE is not endorsing, sponsoring, or otherwise evaluating the qualifications of the individuals and organizations that are identifying themselves for placement on this Teaming Partner List. DOE will not pay for the provision of any information, nor will it compensate any applicants or requesting organizations for the development of such information.

This Teaming Partner List is for DE-FOA-0003318

The intended FOA would seek applications to fill a critical void in the development of multi-megawatt wind turbines for offshore deployment. Modern offshore wind turbines are the largest rotating machines ever built by humankind. Existing aerodynamic design tools and analysis methods are not well validated for machines of this scale, placing the cost of development and performance expectations from these designs at significant risk. The FOA would support the necessary data and analysis to validate tools used in the design and development of large wind turbine rotors (>10MW) and facilitate the accelerated development and deployment of cost-effective, reliable offshore wind technology.

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy (EERE) intends to issue, on behalf of the Wind Energy Technologies Office (WETO), a Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) DE-FOA-0003183 entitled “Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL), Provision 41007(b)(1), Aerodynamics for Offshore Wind Performance and Reliability”.

The intended FOA would seek applications to fill a critical void in the development of multi-megawatt wind turbines for offshore deployment. Modern offshore wind turbines are the largest rotating machines ever built by humankind. Existing aerodynamic design tools and analysis methods are not well validated for machines of this scale, placing the cost of development and performance expectations from these designs at significant risk. The FOA would support the necessary data and analysis to validate tools used in the design and development of large wind turbine rotors (>10MW) and facilitate the accelerated development and deployment of cost-effective, reliable offshore wind technology.

This Notice is issued so that interested parties are aware of the EERE’s intention to issue this FOA in the near term. All 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.

The Office of Technology Transitions (OTT) is issuing this lab call to solicit proposals for the Energy I-Corps (EIC) program. The goal of EIC is to train researchers at DOE National Laboratories, and DOE plants, and sites to identify market pathways for their technology. This call solicits proposals from DOE National Laboratory, plant, and site technology transfer offices to participate in EIC, for researchers to develop skills in commercialization, and to investigate the market potential for DOE-funded technologies at a critical juncture on the path toward commercialization.

OTT expects to award up to $350K across Topics 1 and 3 in this instance of the EIC lab call. However, additional funding may be available based on proposals' alignment with DOE program office goals. Individual DOE program offices and partner agencies, including OTT, will review and assess relevant applications for possible selection and funding. 

DOE expects to select EIC projects in the following three topics:

Topic 1: EIC Pipeline Development - This topic seeks proposals for projects and programming that have the potential to directly increase participation in EIC Training Cohorts (Topic 2) in future EIC lab calls. Deadline - April 12, 2024; 3pm (ET)

Topic 2: EIC Training Cohort (Cohort 19) - This topic seeks team applications to participate in EIC Cohort 19. Selected teams of researchers will participate in an intensive two-month, curriculum-based program to learn the principles of the business model canvas, define value proposition, and identify customer segments. Teams will develop hypotheses on these elements and interview at least 75 stakeholders as part of the customer discovery process to iterate on their business model canvas and to better understand the market’s adoption readiness of the lab technology. Application *only for Topic 2* via MS Forms link:https://forms.microsoft.com/g/9SrM9yGY2F. Deadline - April 12, 2024; 3pm ET

Topic 3: Post EIC - This Topic is an opportunity to continue advancing EIC Topic 2 technologies toward commercialization. The technology must 1) be from a DOE Laboratory or DOE plant or site AND 2) have gone through either EIC Training Cohort (Topic 2) or the U.S. National Science Foundation's Innovation Corps. EIC Training Cohort graduates and non-graduates can apply to this topic. However, non-graduates are limited to individuals who are employed by or have a contractual relationship with a DOE National Lab, DOE plant or site (e.g. Technology Transfer Office personnel). Deadline - April 12, 2024; 3pm (ET)

Modification 000001: Submission deadline for full applications has been moved from 6/28 to 7/11. Deadline for replies to reviewer comments has been moved accordingly to 8/16. Expected date for selection notifications has been moved to 10/1 and timeframe for negotiations has been moved to October-December 2024.

This Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) is jointly issued by the U.S. Department of Energy Solar Energy Technologies Office (SETO) and Wind Energy Technologies Office (WETO) as part of their Interconnection Innovation Exchange (i2X) program1 to support innovative work to enable simpler, faster, and fairer interconnection of clean energy resources while enhancing the reliability, resiliency, and security of our electrical grid.

The two FOA topic areas are as follows:

Topic Area 1: Improved Efficiency of EMT Simulations for Interconnection Studies of IBRs Projects in this topic area will seek to improve the efficiency of the interconnection study process for new IBRs, such as solar and wind plants and battery energy storage systems, by improving software tools to study plant dynamics to increase long-term plant reliability. Projects will achieve this both by improving the speed of advanced, high-fidelity EMT modeling and simulation tools used in power systems interconnection studies and by developing a better understanding of when such high-fidelity simulations are necessary in the interconnection process.

Topic Area 2: Dynamic Stability-Enhanced Network Assessment Tools Projects in this topic area will develop tools to provide stakeholders with data on transmission system characteristics related to stability, voltage, and grid strength while securing confidential and critical energy infrastructure information. Projects will establish the type of information required by stakeholders, develop a tool or tools, and test and evaluate those tools on at least one real transmission system.

Topic Area 1 is primarily focused on the improvement of software tools, methods, or processes used to conduct EMT studies, the results of which will inform the transmission system interconnection stakeholders in Topic Area 2. Projects in Topic Area 2 do not need to be focused solely on transmission system characteristics based on EMT studies.

The research and development (R&D) activities to be funded under this lab call 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 lab call will enable innovation in research areas aligned to the WPTO Hydropower Program. In addition, this lab call will emphasize increasing diversity of research staff, increasing diversity of voices in research design, and or increasing quantification and emphasis on supporting underserved communities

This lab call solicits proposals in seven topics that cover three of the five core activity areas in the Hydropower Program, including one program-wide topic supporting the Federal Hydropower Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) and DOE’s MOU with the Tennessee Valley Authority.

The three Hydropower Program activity areas and their supporting topics are:

HydroWIRES (Water Innovation for Resilient Electricity System) Activity Area (4 topics)

Topic 1: Modeling Gaps

In partnership with Western Electricity Coordinating Council (WECC), an ongoing HydroWIRES Modeling Gaps project is focusing on developing new models and implementing them with the goal of creating public tools to include robust and updated scenarios for utility planning. Previous work identified seven top modeling gaps to representation of hydropower in power system models. This topic solicits proposals that focus on continued partnership with WECC model users and other practitioners to improve hydro generation representation in power system studies for operation and planning.

Topic 2: Future Grid Strength

HydroWIRES work has highlighted the role of hydropower in providing primary frequency response, ramping, and other benefits during contingency events. While previous studies have offered valuable anecdotes and modeling frameworks, a more comprehensive look at the unique benefits of hydropower at the timescales of grid stability has not been developed yet. This topic solicits proposals that will be comprehensive, national-scale modeling efforts (but with regional insight) that address the unique benefits of hydropower at the timescales of grid stability.

Topic 3: US-Norway Collaboration

Norway is a world leader in hydropower technology, operations, and modeling, which inspired a 2020 US-Norway MOU and international research summit. As HydroCen, the flagship Norwegian research consortium under which these projects were started, concludes, there are new Norwegian and/or European initiatives being launched with similar research themes that may lead to new fruitful international collaborations. This topic solicits new research projects aligned with the HydroWIRES roadmap that are not captured in the existing portfolio or other topics in this call, which are performed in collaboration with Norwegian researchers and/or partners.

Topic 4: Open Topic

This open topic solicits new ideas not captured in the existing HydroWIRES portfolio. Proposals should clearly further the goals of HydroWIRES as described in the research roadmap, and the application should explain how they do this. Collaborations with industry or other external entities outside the labs to co-design, validate, and implement National Lab results are highly encouraged.

Hydrologic Systems Science Activity Area (1 topic):

Topic 5: Extreme Weather and Climate Events:

Extreme events can have devastating effects on the country’s infrastructure, including power generation facilities, and climate change is only increasing the intensity and frequency of extreme events like heat waves, droughts, wildfires, hurricanes, inland flooding, and heavy precipitation. This topic solicits new research projects addressing extreme weather and climate events and their effects on hydropower infrastructure, operation, and planning. Proposals of interest will focus on one or more of the following: event classification, modeling, impact quantification, and mitigation and resilience strategies.

Fleet Modernization, Maintenance, & Cybersecurity Activity Area (1 topic):

Topic 6: Smart Maintenance Implementation Assistance

Traditionally, hydropower owners and operators’ maintenance programs have followed prescriptive, time-based maintenance and inspection programs. These programs may lose asset value by conducting maintenance earlier than needed or may not properly adapt to changing operating conditions (e.g., due to increased need for turbine flexibility) leading to increased failure rates. Predictive maintenance mitigates these challenges by using instrumentation, modeling, and data analytics to understand the remaining useful life and failure probabilities of an asset in real time. This topic solicits projects that accelerate the transition to smart maintenance methodologies by streamlining the implementation of new and existing maintenance analytics resources at existing hydropower facilities through programmatic assistance to hydropower asset owners and operators.

The one Hydropower Program-wide topic is:

Topic 7: Federal Hydropower MOU

Federally owned hydropower represents approximately half of the U.S. hydropower nameplate capacity, including many of the largest facilities in the fleet. Maintaining and modernizing this federal fleet requires significant investment and coordination. WPTO supports this coordination through two Memorandums of Understanding (MOU):

This pilot effort topic solicits “quick win” collaborative projects that minimize bandwidth required and solve targeted challenges within the federal hydro fleet.

The research and development (R&D) activities to be funded under this call for proposals 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 call is organized as two separate topics ($3.5M per topic), each with two subtopics. The duration of all awards will be 2-3 years and no more than half of the upper limit on funding per award may be requested in the first year. The topics are as follows:

Topic 1: Hydropower Hybrids

Topic 1A) Tool Use. This level of technical assistance will use the existing hydro hybrids tool to evaluate opportunities for hybridization, and will be most helpful for utilities and other entities considering hydropower hybrids but still at a relatively early stage of evaluating options.

Topic 1B) Deeper Dives. This level of technical assistance will use the existing hydro hybrids tool in combination with deeper custom modeling and analysis studies to evaluate hydropower hybrid opportunities. This level will be most appropriate for more entities with more specialized questions or who are more advanced in the investigation of a hybrid opportunity, such as having already identified and studied a site of interest.

Topic 2: Pumped Storage Hydropower Valuation

Topic 2A) Tool Use. This level of technical assistance will use the existing PSH valuation tool to evaluate opportunities for PSH development, and will be most helpful for developers, utilities, and other entities considering PSH but still at a relatively early stage of evaluating site options or investigating scenarios.

Topic 2B) Deeper Dives. This level of technical assistance will use the existing PSH valuation tool in combination with deeper custom modeling and analysis studies to evaluate PSH opportunities. This level will be most appropriate for more entities with more specialized questions or who are more advanced in the investigation of a PSH development opportunity, such as having already identified and studied a site of interest.

The Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) intends to issue, on behalf of the Bioenergy Technology Office (BETO) and the Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management (FECM), a Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) entitled MACRO: “Mixed Algae Conversion Research Opportunity”.

If issued, this FOA will support BETO’s research and development (R&D) priorities in the Conversion Technologies Program and FECM’s R&D priorities in the Carbon Dioxide Conversion Program. BETO’s Conversion Technologies Program supports R&D in technologies for converting biomass feedstocks into finished liquid transportation fuels—such as renewable gasoline, diesel, and jet fuel along with co-products or chemical intermediates. FECM’s Carbon Dioxide Conversion Program invests in R&D of technologies that convert captured carbon dioxide (CO₂) into economically valuable products such as chemicals, fuels, building materials, plastics, and bioproducts.

The 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. A diverse range of feedstocks will be required to reach the Biden Administration’s goals to “deliver an equitable, clean energy future, and put the United States on a path to achieve net-zero emissions, economy-wide, by no later than 2050.”[1]

Seaweeds, also known as macroalgae, represent a significant biomass resource potential of 3.3 billion dry metric tons that will be newly described in BETO’s upcoming Billion Ton Report. Rapid growth of the seaweed cultivation industry, in part inspired by the DOE ARPA-E (Advanced Research Projects Agency – Energy) MARINER (Macroalgae Research Inspiring Novel Energy Resources) program efforts, has spurred new interest in working with seaweeds as a renewable biomass feedstock. Due to the expansion of domestic cultivation and the potential of seaweeds to contribute to DOE’s mission areas, this announcement is the first time BETO and FECM have specifically called for research into converting seaweeds to fuels and products.

It is anticipated that the FOA may include the following Topic Areas:

Topic Area 1: Conversion of Seaweeds and Waste Algae to Low Carbon Fuels and Products

Topic Area 1 aims to address gaps in storage, mobilization, and conversion of seaweeds and other wet algal feedstocks to low-carbon products and enable these readily available feedstocks to access new markets. Applications would be sought that will develop laboratory or bench scale technologies and/or processes for utilizing: macroalgae (seaweeds); blends of macroalgae and wet wastes, and/or wet algal wastes for conversion to fuels and products with significant, on a national scale, potential to displace fossil greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Applications will be required to demonstrate that the utilization of these feedstocks to generate products at commercial scale has the potential of at least 50% GHG reductions compared to conventional fuel and/or products.

Topic Area 2: Conversion of Algal Biomass for Low Carbon Agricultural Products

The goal of Topic Area 2 is to utilize carbon dioxide emissions streams from utilities or industrial sources to grow algae for source material and create value-added products. Applications would be sought that use anthropogenic (e.g., fossil fuel derived) carbon dioxide emissions to be used in the algae cultivation process and then convert those macro- and/or micro algae into low-carbon agricultural applications or products such as animal feed. Applications will be encouraged to focus on optimization of the technologies and processes for the conversion of cultivated algae biomass to products and clearly describe the end use products targeted. Applications will be required to show a reduction in CO₂ emissions through life cycle analysis and demonstrate that the targeted products provide benefits compared to current, commercially available products. Applications proposing animal feed as products should describe requirements for necessary testing or demonstrations of the resulting product. Developing successful conversion technologies can further improve, the economics and carbon utilization efficiencies of these products, resulting in additional market share that encourages further algae biomass cultivation and carbon dioxide utilization.

Please note: If a FOA is published, DOE’s government-owned, government-operated (GOGO) National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) will not be eligible for award under the FOA and may not be proposed as a Subrecipient on another entity’s application. An application that includes NETL as a Prime Recipient or Subrecipient will be considered non-responsive. Additionally, DOE/NNSA and non-DOE/NNSA Federally Funded Research and Development Centers (FFRDCs) will be restricted from applying for funding as a Prime Recipient but are eligible to participate as a Subrecipient. The FFRDC effort, in aggregate, shall not exceed 50% of the total estimated cost of the project, including the applicant’s and the FFRDC’s portions of the effort.

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 in or around March 2024 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 Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) is issuing Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) DE-FOA-0003296 on behalf of the Geothermal Technologies Office (GTO). GTO actively pursues research, development, and demonstration projects to facilitate technology validation and demonstration, reduce cost, and improve performance of geothermal technologies. The economic viability of geothermal projects across the resource spectrum depends on developing and improving enabling technologies and detailed understanding of the subsurface, including geologic qualities, permeability, and other attributes.

This funding opportunity comprises two topic areas with separate objectives and technical focus.

Topic Area 1: High-Temperature Tools for Well Integrity Evaluation

Topic Area 1 seeks applications to address ​​wellbore tools and technology to supplement and advance beyond currently available off-the-shelf (OTS) solutions provided by the oil and gas industry for cement and casing evaluation. Current solutions are suitable for the upper end of the oil and gas industry’s temperature needs but are not generally considered adequate for use in hotter, EGS systems.

As advancements and novel methods in casing and cementing are implemented, a critical, early element of success is evaluating their efficacy. Given the harsh conditions often encountered in geothermal borehole environments, obtaining quality inspection and confirmation information can be a costly and difficult task. The projects selected under Topic Area 1 of this FOA will seek to address the availability of downhole cement and casing evaluation tools for use in high temperature and hostile geothermal wellbores.

Topic Area 2: Utilization of Reservoir Thermal Energy Storage (RTES) Technology for Decarbonization of Industrial Processes

Topic Area 2 seeks to demonstrate low-temperature (<130^◦ C) RTES technology with applications to industrial processes such as melting plastic, removing moisture, treating chemicals, and others. RTES takes advantage of large subsurface storage capacities, geothermal gradients, and thermal insulation associated with deep geologic formations to store thermal energy to be extracted in the future for beneficial use on a variety of timescales.

The activities funded through this FOA will advance the Biden-Harris Administration’s goals to achieve carbon pollution-free electricity by 2035 and achieve a net-zero-emissions economy by 2050. Strategic goals for this FOA are derived from DOE’s Enhanced Geothermal Shot and its associated roadmap, and GTO’s GeoVision Roadmap and Multi-Year Program Plan.

Questions regarding the FOA must be submitted to HT.Tools.RTES.FOA@ee.doe.gov

The Teaming Partner List will remain open and will be updated at least weekly until the close of the Full Application period, to reflect new Teaming Partners who have provided their information.

Applicants must submit a Letter of Intent by 5:00pm ET on the due date listed in the FOA to be eligible to submit a Full Application. Letter of Intent and Full Applications will only be accepted through EERE eXCHANGE.

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

The eXCHANGE system is designed to enforce hard deadlines for Letter of Intentand 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.

This Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) is being issued by the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy's (EERE) Advanced Materials and Manufacturing Technologies Office (AMMTO). The goals of this FOA are to advance manufacturing platform technologies in the following specific areas:

• Platforms for next generation battery manufacturing - focusing on manufacturability and scalability of critical battery components and system architectures as well as the role of machines for battery techonlogies (i.e., sodium-ion batteries (NIBs), flow batteries, and nanolayered films)
• Smart manufacturing platforms for battery production - developing innovative ways to revolutionize battery prouction by maximizing the benefits of smart manufacturing

This FOA will support activities to advance platform techonologies that enable flexible, scalable, and highly controllable battery manufacturing processes. Topics include:

1. Platforms for Next Generation Battery Manufacturing

     1.1 Processes and Machines for Sodium-ion Batteries

     1.2 Processes and Design for Manufacturability of Flow Batteries

     1.3 Scalable Manufacturing of Nanolayered Films for Energy Storage

2. Smart Manufacturing Platforms for Battery Production

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 and/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 and/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.

Please see the full FOA in the DOCUMENTS section below.

This FOA will advance research, development, demonstration and deployment (RDD&D) in several areas critical to achieving net-zero greenhouse (GHG) emission by 2050 including:

Development of innovative battery chemistries, reducing GHG emissions in off-road vehicles, improving transportation efficiency via connected vehicles, domestic production of electric steels and improved cybersecurity for electric vehicle charging.

The anticipated FOA targets Vehicle Technologies research and development projects potentially including:

Next Generation Phosphate-Based Cathodes

Na-ion Battery Seedling Projects for Electric Vehicle Applications

Low GHG Concepts for Off-Road Vehicles

Saving Energy with Connectivity

Domestically Produced E-Steels

Cybersecurity for Smart and Secure Electric Vehicle Charging

The anticipated FOA targets technology integration projects potentially including:

• Clean Cities Outreach, Engagement, and Technical Assistance
• Training on Zero Emission Vehicle and Infrastructure Technologies for Critical Emergency Response Workers
• Demonstration and Deployment – Open Topic

NOTE: This deadline for submissions as related to DE-FOA-0003270 has been extended to February 20, 2024, at 5:00 p.m. Eastern Standard Time (EST).  

This request for information (RFI) is intended to inform the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Solar Energy Technologies Office (SETO) on the specific research, development, and demonstration opportunities to enable near term deployment of supercritical carbon dioxide (sCO2) based turbomachinery for concentrating solar power plants.

The activities to be funded under this FOA support BIL section 40208, Electric Drive Vehicle Battery Recycling and Second-Life Applications Program, and the broader government-wide approach to strengthen domestic supply chains for critical materials to maximize the benefits of the clean energy transition as the nation works to curb the climate crisis, empower workers, and advance environmental justice. This BIL section is focused on research, development, and demonstration of:

· second-life applications for electric drive vehicle batteries that have been used to power electric drive vehicles; and

· technologies and processes for final recycling and disposal of electric drive vehicle batteries

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 “Regional Resource Hubs for Purpose-Grown Energy Crops”.

If issued, this FOA will support the Bioenergy Technologies Office’s research and development (R&D) priorities in the area of Renewable Carbon Resources (RCR). The RCR subprogram develops science and engineering-based strategies and technologies to cost-effectively transform renewable carbon resources into high-quality, environmentally sustainable, conversion-ready feedstocks for biofuels and bioproducts. These strategies and technologies are designed to improve the efficiency, sustainability, and reliability of feedstock production, harvesting or collection, storage, preprocessing, and transportation, and identify the key feedstock quality and operational variables for conversion performance.

Developing a domestic supply chain of purpose-grown energy crops is critical to decarbonizing the U.S. transportation and industrial sectors and can contribute to decarbonization of adjacent sectors of the economy, such as the agricultural and power sector. The Regional Resource Hubs for Purpose-Grown Energy Crops FOA will address the U.S. National Blueprint for Transportation Decarbonization by funding high-impact R&D focused on mobilizing low carbon intensity, purpose-grown energy crops. These crops will support the Clean Fuels and Products Shot™ and contribute to the 2050 sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) production targets of the SAF Grand Challenge. In order to verify greenhouse gas benefits and encourage grower adoption and deployment, long-term yield and sustainability of production crop varieties need to be demonstrated along with the agricultural and silvicultural practices that can provide low carbon intensity feedstocks for the production of renewable fuels and products.

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

Area of Interest (AOI) 1: Purpose-Grown Energy Crops

The goal of this AOI will be to demonstrate the long-term yield and sustainability of purpose-grown energy crops across varied agronomic and geographic landscapes that will accelerate feedstock supply chain development through the generation of data for use by analysts, policy makers, and industry. Verification and validation of the effectiveness of improved agronomic practices on reducing the carbon intensity of biomass resources across multiple regions, feedstock types, and growing seasons will also be essential to meet the 85% GHG emission reduction goal of the Clean Fuels and Products Shot™ compared to fossil-based sources by 2035. Feedstocks of interest include, but are not limited to, algae (microalgae, macroalgae, and cyanobacteria), herbaceous crops (switchgrass, miscanthus, energy cane, sweet sorghum, and high-biomass sorghum), short-rotation woody crops (hybrid poplars and shrub willows), and intermediate crops (carinata, pennycress, and camelina). Each application selected from this FOA will become a member of the Regional Biomass Resource Hub Initiative that will work together with DOE’s established Regional Biomass Resource Hub Initiative Coordinator, Idaho National Laboratory (INL), to coordinate experimental plans, report data, and collectively achieve the FOA objectives. Selected projects will be mapped to a Regional Biomass Resource Hub (RBRH) based on the proposed feedstock(s) and region(s) included in their application.

Please note: Due to INL’s role as Initiative Coordinator and involvement in FOA strategy discussions, INL is not eligible to apply for funding as a Prime Recipient under the FOA and may not be proposed as a Subrecipient on another entity’s application. Any application that includes INL as a Prime Recipient or Subrecipient will be deemed ineligible, non-responsive, and will not be further considered.

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 in or around January 2024 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.

Modification 0002: The purpose of this modification is to:

• Update the minimum non-federal cost share amount for Topic 1; and
• Provide clarification on blended cost share.

Modification 0001: The purpose of this modification is to:

• Update estimated funding for Topic Area 4;
• Clarify the requirements for DOE/NNSA and Non-DOE/NNSA FFRDCs regarding a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA);
• Add language to the Content and Form of the Full Application for Topics 4 and 5;
• Add the Community Benefits Plan template;
• Clarify RDD&D Community Benefits Plan language for Topics 2 and 3;
• Add reporting requirements to track progress toward key departmental goals.

The Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) is issuing Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) DE-FOA-0003213 on behalf of the Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technologies Office (HFTO), which coordinates hydrogen activities with offices across DOE as described in the DOE Hydrogen Program Plan. These activities align with the U.S. National Clean Hydrogen Strategy and Roadmap, the U.S. National Blueprint for Transportation Decarbonization, and other DOE initiatives as described below.

Building a clean and equitable energy economy and addressing the climate crisis are top priorities of the Biden Administration. This FOA will advance the Biden Administration’s goals to achieve carbon pollution-free electricity by 2035, “to deliver an equitable, clean energy future, and put the United States on a path to achieve net-zero emissions economy-wide by no later than 2050, to the benefit of all Americans”. The Department of Energy is committed to pushing the frontiers of science and engineering; catalyzing clean energy jobs through research, development, demonstration, and deployment (RDD&D); and ensuring environmental justice and inclusion of underserved communities.

The research, development, demonstration, and deployment (RDD&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 support the goals of the H2@Scale Initiative, which aims to advance affordable hydrogen production, transport, storage, and utilization to enable decarbonization and revenue opportunities across multiple sectors. These objectives align with DOE’s Hydrogen Energy Earthshot^TM (Hydrogen Shot), which targets affordable clean hydrogen production at $1/kg by 2031. Advancing technologies that will facilitate the use of clean hydrogen will support the goal of net zero GHG emissions by 2050.

In addition to RDD&D topics, this FOA will focus on enabling hydrogen deployments through safety and permitting support, equitable community engagement, and developing strategies for effective community benefits.

As part of the whole-of-government approach to advance equity, it is the policy of the Biden Administration that the federal government should pursue a comprehensive approach to advancing equity for all, including people of color and others who have been historically underserved, marginalized, and adversely affected by persistent poverty and inequality. As part of this approach, this FOA encourages the participation of underserved communities and underrepresented groups.

Topics Include:

Topic 1: Components for Hydrogen Fueling of Medium-and Heavy-Duty Vehicles

Topic 2: Standarized Hydrogen Refueling Station of the Future

Topic 3: Hydrogen Fuel Cell Powered Port Equipment

Topic 4: Enabling Permitting and Safety for Hydrogen Deployment

Topic 5: Equitable Hydrogen Technology Community Engagement

Please see the 'Full FOA Document' in the DOCUMENTS section below.

Questions regarding the FOA must be submitted to H2FCFOA@ee.doe.gov

The Teaming Partner List is transferred from Notice of Intent (NOI) DE-FOA-0003212. The list will remain open and will be updated at least weekly until the close of the Full Application period, to reflect new Teaming Partners who have provided their information.

Applicants must submit a Concept Paper by 5:00pm ET on the due date listed in the FOA to be eligible to submit a Full Application. Concept Papers and Full Applications will only be accepted through EERE eXCHANGE.

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

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.

The Critical Materials Accelerator aims to validate and prototype technologies and processes that address critical materials challenges by developing alternatives, diversifying and expanding supply, increasing manufacturing and material efficiency, and establishing a circular economy. The Accelerator intends to speed up the adoption of innovation while promoting safe, sustainable, economic, and environmentally just solutions to meet current and future critical materials supply chain needs​.

This FOA solicits proposals that advance innovation to realize the Department’s critical minerals and materials vision of a reliable, resilient, affordable, diverse, sustainable, and secure domestic supply chains for the clean energy economy. Projects funded under this FOA will de-risk innovation and mature technology development in partnership with industry to reduce demand through alternative materials or technologies, extend the lifetime of critical materials, and advance secure and sustainable critical materials manufacturing technologies. Each topic area of the FOA addresses priority technologies and supply chain gaps identified by the Critical Materials Collaborative.

Topics include:

• Topic 1 – Use of Magnets with Reduced Critical Materials Content
• Topic 2 – Improved Unit Operations of Processing and Manufacturing of Critical Materials
• Topic 3 – Critical Material Recovery from Scrap and Post-Consumer Products
• Topic 4 – Reduced Critical Material Demand for Clean Energy Technologies

MOD 0001: Revised Section III.B. Cost Sharing.

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 and/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 and/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 Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) intends to issue, on behalf of the Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technologies Office, a funding opportunity announcement (FOA) entitled “Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technologies Office FOA to Advance the National Clean Hydrogen Strategy.”

Clean hydrogen and fuel cell technologies are important elements of a comprehensive energy portfolio, particularly for use in hard-to-decarbonize sectors of the economy (such as heavy-duty transportation and industrial applications) and to enable long duration energy storage for a clean electric grid. These elements directly support the Administration’s goals of achieving carbon pollution-free electricity by 2035 and net-zero emissions economy-wide by no later than 2050, benefiting all Americans.

This FOA supports the vision outlined in the U.S. National Clean Hydrogen Strategy and Roadmap, affordable clean hydrogen for a net-zero carbon future and a sustainable, resilient, and equitable economy. The FOA will target Research, Development, Demonstration & Deployment (RDD&D) topics critical to enabling increased adoption of clean hydrogen across sectors, particularly in heavy-duty (HD) vehicles and other heavy-duty transportation applications, which supports the U.S. National Blueprint for Transportation Decarbonization, including the buildout of fueling corridors. Increased adoption of hydrogen technologies will help achieve economies of scale and drive down costs, directly supporting DOE’s Regional Clean Hydrogen Hubs (H2Hubs) Program, an $8 billion federal investment to create networks of hydrogen producers, consumers, and local connective infrastructure to accelerate the use of hydrogen as a clean energy carrier. Improvements in clean hydrogen technologies will also contribute to the long-term viability of the H2Hubs and other commercial-scale deployments. Activities funded under this FOA will also align with the H2@Scale Initiative, which aims to advance affordable hydrogen production, transport, storage, and utilization to enable decarbonization and revenue opportunities across multiple sectors. The FOA’s objectives support DOE’s Hydrogen Shot goal, which targets affordable clean hydrogen production at $1/kg within a decade. In addition to RD&D topics, this FOA will focus on enabling hydrogen deployments through safety and permitting support, equitable community engagement, and developing strategies for effective community benefits.

Hydrogen and fuel cells can help create opportunities and benefits for communities that have been historically underserved, such as improving air quality, providing resiliency, and creating jobs, including good-paying union jobs. Consistent with DOE’s commitment to benefit all Americans, this anticipated FOA will encourage the participation of underserved communities and underrepresented groups.

EERE plans to issue the FOA before or in January 2024 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.

Navigate to TPL-0000033 in EERE Exchange to access the Teaming Partner List for this solicitation.

This notice of intent (NOI) is issued so that interested parties are aware of EERE’s intention to issue this FOA in the near term. All 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.

The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Office of Technology Transitions (OTT) intends to issue its base annual appropriated Technology Commercialization Fund (TCF) solicitation, a call for proposals from DOE National Laboratories, DOE Plants and Sites (DOE National Labs and Facilities). The goal of TCF is to improve America’s energy competitiveness and security by accelerating commercialization and the shepherding of critical clean energy technologies from the Lab to the market, where the private sector will continue to innovate.

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 invest in R&D to support continued innovation and cost reduction for high-voltage direct current (HVDC) voltage-source converter (VSC) transmission systems. This investment is intended to enable future grid upgrades required to integrate increasing renewable energy generation on to the grid, both onshore and offshore.

Topic Area 1: Innovative Designs for HVDC VSC Technology

Please note: In the event that an applicant experiences technical difficulties with a submission, the applicant should contact the eXCHANGE helpdesk at eere-exchangesupport@hq.doe.gov”

Please see the full RFI document in the Documents section below.

Amendment 000001 - The purpose of this amendment is to extend the submission deadline for DE-FOA-0003157 Request for Information (RFI) Sustainable Aviation Fuel Grand Challenge Building Supply Chains from November 2, 2023 to November 17, 2023.

The Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) Grand Challenge set forth long-term goals to reduce cost, enhance sustainability, and expand domestic production of sustainable aviation fuel. The SAF Grand Challenge Roadmap outlines a whole-of-government approach, with coordinated policies and specific activities, that should be undertaken by federal agencies to support achievement of both the 2030 and 2050 SAF Grand Challenge goals.

The SAF Grand Challenge Roadmap lists “Building Supply Chains” as one of six major action areas with the potential to impact the SAF Grand Challenge objectives. This action area encompasses an extremely complicated system of systems and this RFI seeks feedback from stakeholders to better understand the challenges facing critical elements within the SAF supply chain and to identify opportunities to enable the rapid development of effective supply chains capable of meeting future SAF demand.

Responses to this RFI must be submitted electronically to SAFSupplyChainRFI@ee.doe.gov no later than 5:00pm (ET) on November 17, 2023. Responses must be provided as attachments to an email. It is recommended that attachments with file sizes exceeding 25MB be compressed (i.e., zipped) to ensure message delivery. Responses must be provided as a Microsoft Word (.docx) attachment to the email, and no more than 10 pages in length, 12 point font, 1 inch margins. Only electronic responses will be accepted.

This is solely a request for information and not a Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA). EERE is not accepting applications.

Please see the full RFI document in the Documents section below.

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 FOA will advance the Biden Administration’s goals to achieve carbon pollution-free electricity by 2035 and to “deliver an equitable, clean energy future, and put the United States on a path to achieve net-zero emissions, economy-wide, by no later than 2050” to the benefit of all Americans. The research, development, and demonstration (RD&D) activities to be funded under this FOA will support the government-wide approach to the climate crisis by driving innovations that can lead to the largescale deployment of clean energy technologies.

Specifically, this FOA will implement two approaches to energy storage in concentrated solar-thermal (CST) systems: thermochemical storage via solar fuel production and local thermal energy storage (TES) for dispatchable energy. The two technologies 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.

MOD 00001:  Modified the Full Application Deadline and expected date for Selections Notifications; see the cover page of the FOA.

This Teaming Partner List is for the Critical Materials Accelerator Notice of Intent issued by the Advanced Materials and Manufacturing Technologies Office (AMMTO).

DOE is compiling a Teaming Partner List to facilitate the formation of new project teams for the FOA. All entities interested in participating as part of an applicant team can provide their contact information for the Teaming Partner List. The list allows organizations to express their interest and to explore potential partnerships, including representation from Minority Serving Institutions (e.g., Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs)/Other Minority Serving Institutions); and partnerships with Minority Business Enterprises, Minority Owned Businesses, Woman Owned Businesses, Veteran Owned Businesses, or tribal nations.

The Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) intends to issue, on behalf of the Advanced Materials and Manufacturing Technologies Office (AMMTO), a Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) entitled, “Critical Materials Accelerator”.

The global effort to reduce carbon emissions is accelerating demand for clean energy technologies and the materials they rely on. The United States seeks to strengthen domestic supply of materials that are essential to a decarbonized energy infrastructure. Projects funded under this FOA will prototype and mature technologies or processes that address critical material challenges in high impact areas.

By accelerating innovative critical material manufacturing technologies, the U.S. positions itself at the forefront of clean energy production while securing a reliable domestic critical material supply chain needed to enable a clean energy future. This effort not only promotes secure and sustainable practices but also creates valuable American manufacturing jobs. It further supports communities with mining and energy backgrounds while establishing responsible and ethical networks for critical material supply.

EERE is not accepting applications for this Notice of Intent (NOI). This NOI is issued so that interested parties are aware of EERE’s intention to issue this FOA in the near term. All 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.

The Office of Technology Transitions (OTT) is issuing this lab call to solicit proposals for the Energy I-Corps (EIC) program. The goal of EIC is to train researchers at the National Laboratories, plants, and sites to learn about market pathways for their technology. This call solicits proposals from National Laboratory, plant, and site technology transfer offices to participate in EIC, for researchers to develop skills in commercialization, and to investigate the market potential for DOE-funded technologies at a critical juncture on the path toward commercialization.

OTT expects to award up to $500K across Topics 1 and 3 in this instance of the EIC lab call. However, additional funding may be available based on proposals alignment with DOE program office goals. Decisions on Topic 2 funding will be made by individual DOE program offices and partner agencies.

DOE expects to select EIC projects in the following three topics:

Topic 1: EIC Pipeline Development - This topic seeks proposals for projects and programming that have the potential to directly increase participation in EIC Training Cohorts (Topic 2) in future EIC lab calls. Deadline - November 3, 2023; 3pm ET

Topic 2: EIC Training Cohort (Cohort 18) - This topic seeks team applications to participate in EIC Cohort 18. Selected teams of researchers will participate in an intensive two-month, curriculum-based program to learn the principles of the business model canvas, define value proposition, and identify customer segments. Teams will develop hypotheses on these elements and interview at least 75 stakeholders as part of the customer discovery process to iterate on their business model canvas and to better understand the market’s adoption readiness of the lab technology. Deadline - October 27, 2023; 3pm ET

Topic 3: Post EIC - This topic intends to support a small subset of the most promising EIC Training Cohort (Topic 2) graduates and U.S. National Science Foundation's Innovation Corps graduates who have a high likelihood of commercializing their National Lab, plant, site technology. The funds are not meant to support the teams’ full commercialization effort. Instead, the funds are intended to cover costs of the next actionable step in technology commercialization and facilitate the teams in reaching their next source of more substantive support to continue their commercialization journey. Deadline - November 3, 2023; 3pm ET

The U.S Department of Energy (DOE)’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) intends to issue, on behalf of the Wind Energy Technologies Office (WETO) and the Office of Electricity (OE), a Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) entitled “Innovative DEsigns for high-performAnce Low-cost HVDC Converters (IDEAL HVDC)”.

The activities under this anticipated FOA 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, the planned FOA would invest in research and development to support continued innovation and cost reduction for high-voltage direct current (HVDC) voltage source converter (VSC) transmission systems.This investment is intended to enable future cost-effective grid upgrades required to integrate increasing renewable energy generation on to the grid, both onshore and offshore.

DOE is compling a "Teaming Partner List" to facilitate the formation of new project teams for this FOA. The Teaming Partner List allows organizations to express their interest and to explore potential partnerships, including representation from Minority Serving Institutions (e.g., Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs)/Other Minority Serving Institutions); and partnerships with Minority Business Enterprises, Minority Owned Businesses, Woman Owned Businesses, Veteran Owned Businesses, or tribal nations.

Updates to the Teaming Partner List will be available in the EERE Exchange website. The Teaming Partner List will be regularly updated to reflect new teaming partners who provide their organization’s information.

The U.S Department of Energy (DOE)’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) intends to issue, on behalf of the Wind Energy Technologies Office (WETO) and the Office of Electricity (OE), a Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) entitled “Innovative DEsigns for high-performAnce Low-cost HVDC Converters (IDEAL HVDC)”.

The activities under this anticipated FOA 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, the planned FOA would invest in research and development to support continued innovation and cost reduction for high-voltage direct current (HVDC) voltage source converter (VSC) transmission systems.This investment is intended to enable future cost-effective grid upgrades required to integrate increasing renewable energy generation on to the grid, both onshore and offshore.

This notice of intent (NOI) is issued so that interested parties are aware of EERE’s intention to issue this FOA in the near term. All 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.

FOA Modification 000001: Full Application due date extended to 11/30/2023.

Through this Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA), the Solar Energy Technologies Office (SETO) will provide funding for multi-stakeholder collaborations to reduce material usage, improve installation quality and resilience of PV systems, and address handling of PV systems at the end of life. This FOA calls for diverse teams to assess impact of the developed technologies on all the life stages of PV systems in terms of energy use, cost, and environmental impact. The holistic technological solutions developed in the projects funded by this FOA will facilitate rapid growth of PV deployment in the U.S. in the next decade.

Topic Area 1: MORE Connection: Connecting PV Materials, Design, Installation, Performance, and End of Life

This Topic Area will use $12 million of non-Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) funding to fund collaborations of diverse stakeholders who can bring expertise from all life stages of the PV system lifecycle to reduce cost and lifecycle impacts of a PV system and its components, including co-located storage. Projects funded in this topic area will develop technology and design solutions to optimize the interconnected energy, economic, and environmental impact metrics in pursuit of rapid and sustainable scale-up of PV technologies.

Specific areas of interest include:

· Design of PV systems and PV system components that minimizes the use of materials, especially critical materials.

· Development of characterization and non-destructive testing of bill of materials (BOM) of PV system components throughout their life.

· Development and implementation of holistic design for engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) of PV systems that can simultaneously optimize energy, economic, and environmental metrics during the system’s useful life under relevant operating conditions, in a high deployment environment.

· Scalable hardware and software solutions for robust, error-free, low-maintenance tools, components, and methods for installation, quality management, and maintenance.

Topic Area 2: Solar Partnership to Advance Recycling and Circularity (Solar PARC)

This topic area uses funds designated by the BIL and seeks to fund one research partnership at a maximum of $8 million dedicated to improving materials recovery efficiency and developing safe end-of-life (EOL) practices for PV system components, including modules, inverters, and other balance-of-system (BOS) components. The partnership will focus on technologies and methods to enable low-cost reuse, refurbishing, repair, and recycling of photovoltaic materials, and best practices for safe disposal of these materials, and will include data collection, analysis, and working groups to enable effective collaborations and technology transfer.

The teaming list for the FOA is TPL-0000021: TEAMING PARTNER LIST FOR DE-FOA-0002985 MATERIALS, OPERATION, AND RECYCLING OF PHOTOVOLTAICS (MORE PV).