EERE Funding Opportunity Announcements

The mission of the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Hydrogen and Fuel Cells Program is to enable the widespread commercialization of a portfolio of hydrogen and fuel cell technologies through basic and applied research, technology development and demonstration, and diverse efforts to overcome institutional and market challenges. The Fuel Cell Technologies Office (FCTO) operates within the Hydrogen and Fuel Cells Program. The FCTO seeks input from industry, academia, research laboratories, government agencies, and other stakeholders on how and which components in the hydrogen and fuel cell manufacturing process can and should be standardized. It also seeks to identify manufacturing pathways to reduce costs in both the near and longer-term, as well as how to address any critical barriers regarding manufacturability and supply chain development.

This RFI is not a Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA); therefore, EERE is not accepting applications at this time. EERE may issue a FOA in the future based on or related to the content and responses to this RFI; however, EERE may also elect not to issue a FOA. There is no guarantee that a FOA will be issued as a result of this RFI. Responding to this RFI does not provide any advantage or disadvantage to potential applicants if EERE chooses to issue a FOA regarding the subject matter. Final details, including the anticipated award size, quantity, and timing of EERE funded awards, will be subject to Congressional appropriations and direction.

Any information obtained as a result of this RFI is intended to be used by the Government on a non-attribution basis for planning and strategy development; this RFI does not constitute a formal solicitation for proposals or abstracts. Your response to this notice will be treated as information only. EERE will review and consider all responses in its formulation of program strategies for the identified materials of interest that are the subject of this request. EERE will not provide reimbursement for costs incurred in responding to this RFI. Respondents are advised that EERE is under no obligation to acknowledge receipt of the information received or provide feedback to respondents with respect to any information submitted under this RFI. Responses to this RFI do not bind EERE to any further actions related to this topic.

Responses to this RFI must be submitted electronically to fctomanufacturing@ee.doe.gov no later than 5:00pm (ET) on January 31,2017. 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 5 pages in length, 12 point font, 1 inch margins. 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.

The Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) intends to issue, on behalf of the Fuel Cell Technologies Office, a Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) entitled “Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technologies Research, Development, and Demonstrations”.  This Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) will cover a broad spectrum of the FCTO portfolio with topics ranging from research and development (R&D) to demonstration and deployment projects.  In particular, the R&D areas of interest for this FOA include hydrogen production via microbial biomass conversion; low PGM catalyst development for PEM fuel cell applications; development of an integrated intelligent hydrogen dispenser; and fuel cell and hydrogen manufacturing R&D focusing on hydrogen delivery pipeline manufacturing R&D.  This FOA also includes demonstration topic areas that will help to accelerate adoption of hydrogen and fuel cell technologies with specific interest in mobile hydrogen refuelers, fuel cell powered range extenders for light duty hybrid electric vehicles, and a Communities of Excellence topic featuring hydrogen and fuel cell technologies.  

The FOA will include two general Areas of Interest each with several Subtopics:

Area of Interest 1: Fuel Cell and Hydrogen Technologies Research and Development (R&D)

1a. Hydrogen Production R&D: Microbial Biomass Conversion.

1b. Fuel Cell Technologies R&D: Low Platinum Group Metal Catalysts and Supports.

1c. Hydrogen Delivery R&D: Integrated Intelligent Hydrogen Dispensers for 700 bar Gaseous Refueling of Fuel Cell Electric Vehicles.

1d. Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Manufacturing R&D: Hydrogen Delivery Pipeline Manufacturing.

Area of Interest 2: Demonstration and Deployments to Enable Early Adoption of Fuel Cell and Hydrogen Technologies.

2a. Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technology Validation: Mobile Refueling.

2b. Market Transformation: Demonstration and Deployment of Plug-In Fuel Cell Hybrid Electric Light- Duty Vehicle.

2c. FCTO Crosscutting: America’s Climate Communities of Excellence.

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

Once the FOA has been released, EERE will provide an avenue for potential Applicants to submit questions. NO APPLICATIONS WILL BE ACCEPTED THROUGH THIS NOTICE.  Please do not submit questions or respond to this Notice of Intent.  Prospective applicants to the FOA should begin developing partnerships, formulating ideas, and gathering data in anticipation of the issuance of this FOA.  It is anticipated that this FOA will be posted to EERE Exchange February 2015.