EERE Funding Opportunity Announcements

The Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) is issuing, on behalf of the Building Technologies Office (BTO), a Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) titled “Buildings Energy Efficiency Frontiers & Innovation Technologies (BENEFIT) – 2022/2023”.

The 2022/2023 BENEFIT FOA will invest up to $15.35M - $45.2M across 5 topic areas to allow all interested parties to research and develop high-impact, cost-effective technologies and practices that will reduce carbon emissions, improve flexibility and resilience, as well as lower energy costs.

Topic 1: Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning and Water Heating: Technologies with improved materials, components, equipment design and engineering, lower cost manufacturing processes, and easier installation.

Topic 2: Thermal Energy Storage (TES): Development and validation of next generation plug-and-play TES products with improved cost and performance and ease of installation to accelerate adoption of TES in HVAC applications.

Topic 3: Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS): Development, validation, and demonstration of product innovations that reduce the cost of BESS integration, improve the coordination between distributed BESS and the electrical grid, as well as help meet building decarbonization targets.

Topic 4: Plug Loads/Lighting: Integration of plug load controls with connected lighting systems in commercial buildings with minimal cost and complexity to support building electrification.

Topic 5: Opaque Building Envelope: Development, validation, and demonstration of high-impact, affordable. opaque building envelope retrofit and diagnostic technologies.

BTO is compiling a “teaming” partner list to facilitate widespread participation in this FOA. This list allows organizations with expertise in the topics to express their interest to potential applicants and to explore potential partnerships. Please see the Teaming List section of the FOA document for more information.

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 Building Technologies Office (BTO), a Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) entitled “Buildings Energy Efficiency Frontiers & Innovation Technologies (BENEFIT) - 2022”.

This potential FOA is expected to support the development, validation, and demonstration of novel building technologies and retrofit practices that have significant potential for equitable carbon savings through building electrification, energy efficiency, and demand flexibility. The FOA will also enhance building and grid resilience, affordability of efficient technologies and practices, and ensure environmental justice and inclusion of underserved communities.

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

• Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning (HVAC) and Water Heating (WH)
• Thermal Energy Storage (TES)
• Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS)
• Plug Loads/Lighting
• Opaque Building Envelope

BTO is compiling a “teaming” partner list to facilitate widespread participation in this FOA. This list allows organizations with expertise in the topics to express their interest to potential applicants and to explore potential partnerships. Please see the Teaming List section of the NOI document for more information.

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.

Amendment 000003: The purpose of this amendment is to incorporate “Appendix G -- 2021 DOE EERE Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) Applicant Diversity Equity and Inclusion (DEI) Supplement.” 

Amendment 000002: The purpose of this amendment is to revise Section IV.D, Content and Form of the Full Application, to add a required Location of Work component. Please reference the highlighted yellow sections on page 31 and 40 of the FOA for reference.

Amendment 000001: The purpose of this amendment is to provide further information regarding Cost Share Payments and provide clarification that FFRDCs will be treated as a subrecipient instead of doing work through a Field Work Proposal. See the highlighted yellow sections on page 23 and 25 of the FOA for reference.

The purpose of the announcement is to solicit innovative R&D concepts to enable medium- and heavy-duty original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), suppliers, and fleet partners to develop higher efficiency trucks and freight systems that significantly reduce CO₂ emissions while meeting future criterion emission standards. DOE is seeking vehicle-level efficiency improvements for Class 7-8 regional-haul/long-haul trucks and Class 4-6 vocational trucks as well as system-level freight efficiency improvement (Class 4-8) beyond vehicle hardware. Projects will focus on real world operation with drive-cycle-based fuel economy including representative hub-to-hub routes and last-mile delivery. Predictive models will be developed to guide highest freight efficiency and lowest carbon footprint.

Continued engine research will further optimize efficiency, reduce emissions and allow the use of biofuels and hydrogen, including powertrain artificial intelligence (AI) control for hybrid applications. Projects will pursue a focus on electrification, including hydrogen and fuel cell technology (including hybridization strategies such as fuel cell range extenders), battery electric and plug-in hybrid systems. Projects may also utilize automation/connectivity capabilities to further improve freight efficiency. Fleets operators and companies with large captive fleets are encouraged to be integral parts of teams, from analysis to technology development, and may also lead teams, along with vehicle manufacturers or major suppliers.

The purpose of this amendment is to incorporate “Appendix G -- 2021 DOE EERE Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) Applicant Diversity Equity and Inclusion (DEI) Supplement.” Please reference pages 88 and 89.

The Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) intends to issue, on behalf of the Vehicle Technologies Office (VTO) and the Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technologies Office (HFTO), a Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) titled "SuperTruck 3."

Building a clean energy economy and addressing the climate crisis is a top priority of the Biden Administration. The Administration has laid out a bold plan to lead the world in building a clean energy economy, address climate change, and achieve net-zero emissions no later than 2050. The Department of Energy is committed to pushing the frontiers of science and engineering and catalyzing clean energy jobs through research, development, demonstration, and deployment.

How freight moves is changing dramatically due to a number of factors including new technologies, business models, and consumer demands. Although Class 7-8 trucks are still the most significant consumer of fuel, medium duty Class 4-6 vehicles also offer significant opportunities for higher efficiency and electrification.

The Vehicle Technologies Office (VTO) funds a broad portfolio of research, development, demonstration, and deployment projects to develop new affordable, efficient and clean transportation options to tackle the climate crisis and accelerate the development and widespread use of a variety of innovative transportation technologies. VTO-funded research has greatly reduced the cost of electric vehicle batteries and nearly every plug-in electric vehicle (PEV) on the road today uses VTO-developed battery technology. There are also efficiency opportunities beyond vehicle components and systems. Advances in connectivity and automation have the potential to dramatically improve transportation system-level energy efficiency, energy productivity, and affordability. VTO has developed robust modeling, simulation, and big data analytics capabilities, while research of advanced sensing and perception technologies, system controls, and other connected and automated technologies has advanced rapidly.

HFTO is focused on enabling large scale hydrogen production, delivery, storage, and use across applications and sectors, including medium and heavy-duty transportation. Interest in hydrogen powered medium/heavy-duty fuel cell electric vehicles is growing rapidly due to the benefits of zero tailpipe emissions and low life-cycle greenhouse gas emissions, along with extended driving range, fast fueling times, high fuel efficiency, high power operation, and zero noise pollution.

In partnership with industry, EERE’s VTO and HFTO have established aggressive targets to focus research on cost-reduction, efficiency, and performance.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

***Amendment 000003 to DE-FOA-0001535***

The Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) is issuing, on behalf of the Vehicle Technologies Office (VTO), this FOA entitled “Fiscal Year (FY) 2016 Vehicle Technologies Multi-Topic Funding Opportunity Announcement”.

This FOA will include three (3) areas of interest: 1) Plug-in Electric Drive Vehicle Program, 2) Direct Injection Propane Engine and 3) Alternative Fuel Vehicle Community Partner Projects. These topics will be detailed in later sections of this FOA.

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

This goal will be achieved by reducing petroleum consumption through vehicle efficiency technologies; replacing petroleum fuels with alternative fuels, non-petroleum fuel blends, and electric drive technology vehicles; and reducing petroleum consumption through idle reduction technologies as well as through reduction in personal vehicle miles traveled or other means.

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Join us for a Webinar on Wednesday, June 15, 2016

Title: DE-FOA-0001535, "Fiscal Year (FY) 2016 Vehicle Technologies Multi-Topic Funding Opportunity Announcement"

Date: June 15, 2016

Time: 2:30 PM - 3:30 PM ET

Please register prior to the webinar using the following link:

https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/6432621685191300098

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

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

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

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

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

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

The United States (U.S.) Department of Energy (DOE) Building Technologies Office (BTO) is seeking information from the public on sensor and control technologies that can be used within residential and commercial buildings to monitor and optimize energy performance and occupant comfort, as well as support energy-related transactions outside the building envelope. In particular, BTO is interested in the current state-of-the-art in sensor and control technologies, forthcoming research and development (R&D) advances that could reduce cost or improve performance, and the potential market implications of improved building energy management.

There are five categories in which BTO is seeking additional information:

Multi-purpose Plug-and-Play Sensor Packages

Virtual Sensors and Predictive Models

Sub-metering, Continuous Commissioning, and Automated Fault Detection & Diagnostics

Occupant-Centered Sensing and Controls

Other (does not fit in one of the above categories)

Eleven questions are presented, representing various aspects of information that are important for DOE to collect, such as: state of the art, metrics, qualitative criteria, R&D status, cost, market types, possible opportunities, improvements, and market barriers.

This Funding Opportunity Announcement combines early-stage topics (Innovations) with later-stage, roadmap-driven topics (Frontiers) that complement the core funding provided by the program. Because of their different focuses (Innovations: early-stage; Frontier: later-stage, roadmap-driven), this FOA is divided into two sections; an Innovations and a Frontiers section with an additional optional Buildings University Innovators and Leaders Development (BUILD) supplement.

Applications for a BUILD Supplement cannot be submitted as standalone applications.

INNOVATIONS section:

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

Topic 2: Human-in-the-Loop Sensor & Control Systems

Topic 3: Infiltration Diagnostic Technologies

FRONTIERS section:

Topic 4: Plug and Play Sensor Systems

Topic 5: Advanced Air-Sealing Technologies for Existing Buildings

FOA Webinar Information:

Please register for BENEFIT 2016 FOA - Introduction on December 21, 2015 2:00 PM EST at:

https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/8715391438828356098

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

Amendment 000001 to DE-FOA-0001383 BUILDINGS ENERGY EFFICIENCY FRONTIERS & INNOVATION TECHNOLOGIES (BENEFIT) – 2016 includes the following changes:

1. Total available federal funding has increased from $8 million to $20 million.

2. The number of anticipated awards has increased to approximately 17-25.

3. The schedule has been altered to allow an additional week for submission of Concept Papers. The new submission date for Concept Papers is 2/5/2016

4. The 2^nd Webinar has been rescheduled to 3/17/2016.

5. Additional detail regarding building/grid interaction has been added for Topic Areas 1, 2 and 4.

6. Extend the submission date for Full Applications to 4/19/2016.

For questions and answers pertaining to this FOA, please reference the DE-FOA-0001383 BENEFIT 016 FAQ Log in FOA Documents.

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

Applicants that experience issuse with submissions PRIOR to the FOA Deadline: In the event that an Applicant experiences technical difficulties with a submission, the Applicant should contact the eXCHANGE helpdesk for assistance (exchangehelp@hq.doe.gov). The eXCHANGE helpdesk and/or the EERE eXCHANGE System Administrators (eXCHANGE@go.doe.gov) will assist the Applicant in resolving all issues.

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

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.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

• Commercial hardware technologies, products, and solutions;

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

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

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

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

Join us for a Webinar on January 20, 2015

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

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

Title:  FY2015 Vehicle Technologies Office Incubator FOA Webinar

Date:  January 20, 2015

Time:  1:00 PM - 2:00 PM EDT

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

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

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

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

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

The BENEFIT FOA includes the following Areas of Interest:

Incubators (Off-Roadmap):

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

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

Area of Interest 2:  Innovative Sensors & Sensor Systems

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

Frontiers (Roadmap-Driven):

Area of Interest 3:  Advanced Energy-Efficient Clothes Dryers

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

Area of Interest 4:  Highly Insulating Building Envelope Components

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

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

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

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

Incubators (Off-Roadmap):

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

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

Area of Interest 2:  Innovative Sensors & Sensor Systems

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

Frontiers (Roadmap-Driven):

Area of Interest 3:  Advanced Energy-Efficient Clothes Dryers

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

Area of Interest 4:  Highly Insulating Building Envelope Components

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

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

Amendment 000002 to DE-FOA-0000988

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

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

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

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

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

· Energy Storage R&D

· Advanced Power Electronics and Electric Motors R&D

· Advanced Combustion Engine R&D

· Materials Technology

· Fuels and Lubricant Technologies

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

Amendment 000003 to DE-FOA-0000793.  To view the changes associated with amendment, please refer to the FOA document below.

The mission of the Vehicle Technology Program (VTP) is to develop more energy-efficient and environmentally friendly technologies for highway transportation vehicles (cars and trucks) that will meet or exceed performance expectations and environmental requirements, and enable America to use significantly less petroleum and reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.  The VTP focuses on highway vehicles, which account for 55 percent of total U.S. oil use ─ more than all U.S. domestic oil production.  Cost-competitive, more energy-efficient and fuel diverse vehicles will enable individuals and businesses to accomplish their daily tasks while reducing consumption of gasoline and diesel fuels. This will reduce U.S. demand for petroleum, lower carbon emissions, and decrease energy expenditures.

The VTP funds the advanced technology Research & Development (R&D) needed to achieve these goals. In the near to mid-term, transportation energy use can be reduced through improved vehicle energy efficiency from more efficient advanced combustion engines, Hybrid-Electric Vehicle (HEV), Plug-In Hybrid Electric Vehicle (PHEV), and Electric Vehicle (EV) powertrains, and through reduced vehicle weight and ancillary load requirements.

This FOA supports the President’s EV Everywhere Grand Challenge with the goal of enabling U.S. companies to be the first in the world to produce electric vehicles that are as affordable for the average American family as today’s gas-powered vehicles within the next 10 years (by 2022).

Electric drive vehicles such as HEVs, PHEVs, and EVs have been identified as one important way to address the challenges of the nation’s dependence on imported oil and to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.  VTP’s specific goals in this area include enabling the use of advanced electric drive technologies in vehicles by developing low-cost batteries, advanced power electronics and electric motors, along with the development and validation of models and simulation tools to predict the performance of advanced conventional and electric-drive vehicle systems. 

Advanced materials are essential for reducing vehicle weight to boost the fuel economy of modern automobiles, while maintaining safety and performance. Replacing cast iron and traditional steel components with lightweight materials such as high-strength steel, magnesium, aluminum, and polymer composites allows vehicles to carry advanced emissions-control equipment, safety devices, and integrated electronic systems, without an associated weight penalty. Using lighter materials also reduces a vehicle’s fuel consumption, because it takes less energy to accelerate a lighter object. For example, a 10% reduction in vehicle weight can yield a 6%–8% fuel-economy improvement.

Increasing the electric operating range of electric-drive vehicles is one of the keys to achieving mass market adoption in the U.S.  High efficiency occupant heating and cooling systems have the potential to significantly increase vehicle electric driving range while providing superior occupant comfort. Because of the higher efficiency of electric-drive vehicles, auxiliary loads such as passenger cabin heating, cooling, and window defrosting/defogging have a more significant impact on efficiency than in vehicles using internal combustion engines as their primary source of power.  Improving heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems is an essential component in the development of widely-accepted electric-drive vehicles.

As reflected in the FOA document, this FOA contains a total of 12 areas of interest in the general areas of advanced lightweighting and propulsion materials; advanced battery development; power electronics; advanced heating, ventilation, air conditioning systems; and fuels and lubricants.

The Department of Energy’s (DOE), Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) is seeking applications that support the Vehicles Technology Program’s (VTP) general goal to develop technologies that enable cars and trucks to become highly efficient through affordable and improved drivetrain, lightweighting technologies, and cleaner domestic fuels. Specific goals of the VTP Hybrid and Electric Systems Team include enabling the use of advanced electric drive technologies in vehicle systems by developing low-cost batteries, advanced power electronics and electric motor components, and the development and validation of models and simulation tools to predict the performance, fuel economy, and emissions of advanced conventional and electric-drive vehicle systems.

The energy storage goals will be accomplished through the funding of research and development (R&D) ranging from focused, long-term research to more applied R&D.  Most of the longer term research will be done in universities and the national laboratories, but much of the more applied work will be done within the domestic battery industry.  In order to ensure that this R&D is relevant and responsive to the needs of the manufacturers of electric drive vehicles VTP believes that it is important to be able to work with and through a consortium that brings together a significant fraction of the major manufacturers of electric drive vehicles in the US.  One of the goals of this consortium would be to engage the battery manufacturers and other key stakeholders, such as universities, National Laboratories, and manufacturers and developers that supply critical materials and components to the battery industry. The research and development to be carried out under this Funding Opportunity Announcements will be an integral part of the DOE’s effort to develop advanced transportation technologies that will significantly reduce the nation’s dependence on foreign oil, specifically by supporting R&D in the energy storage area for vehicles using electric drive components, including hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs) plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) and electric vehicles (EVs).

The full Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) is posted on the EERE eXCHANGE website at https://eere-exchange.energy.gov. Applications must be submitted through the EERE eXCHANGE website to be considered for award. The applicant must first register and create an account on the EERE eXCHANGE website. A User Guide for the EERE eXCHANGE can be found on the EERE website https://eere-exchange.energy.gov/Manuals.aspx after logging in to the system.

Information on where to submit questions regarding the content of the announcement and where to submit questions regarding submission of applications is found in the full FOA posted on the EERE Exchange website.

Sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy SunShot Initiative, the SunShot Prize: Race to 7-Day Solar aims to motivate local governments, communities, solar companies and electric utilities to collaborate towards improving the “going solar” experience from permit to plug-in for all Americans.

This competition offers a total of $10 million in cash awards to the best teams that bring process certainty and reduce the permit to plug-in time from current durations to a swift seven days for small PV systems (≤100 kW) or seven weeks for large systems (≤1 MW). SunShot will provide seed funding to help support up to 20 teams during a set 18-month performance period that begins in September 2015.

Goal and Prizes

Reduce permit-to-plug-in times towards seven days for PV systems ≤100kW (small system contest) or seven weeks for PV systems ≤1 MW (large system contest) and win cash prizes totaling $10 million.

Challenge and Rules

Install a number of PV systems time efficiently during a set 18-month period that aggregates to minimum 10 MW (small system contest) or 15 MW (large system contest) with best scores for repeatability, time performance and replicability. Read the rules to learn about these performance metrics.

Through the Plug and Play Photovoltaics Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA), the Department of Energy will invest up to $25 million over five years to advance the development of a commercial plug-and-play photovoltaic system, which is envisioned as an off-the-shelf product that is fully inclusive with little need for individual customization. Homeowners can install the system without special training or tools. The homeowner simply plugs the system into a PV-ready circuit and an automatic PV discovery process initiates communication between the system and the utility.

The plug-and-play concept has been implemented very successfully in the computer and automotive industries. The Department of Energy believes that these same innovations can be applied to the PV industry to reduce costs and simplify installations. This funding opportunity seeks to fundamentally change the design and installation of residential PV systems and help automate utility interconnection and permitting processes.

Universities, industry, utilities, local authorities having jurisdiction, national laboratories, and other stakeholders are encouraged to submit letters of intent by May 16, 2012 and full applications by June 18, 2012. For more information, download the full text of the FOA below.

This is a Request for Information (RFI). DOE may issue a Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) as described herein, may issue a FOA that is significantly different than the FOA described herein or DOE may issue no FOA at all.

The SunShot Initiative is investigating the development of transformational Plug and Play technologies and systems to reduce the so-called soft costs of the Balance of System, which include permitting, inspection, and grid interconnection.  When installing a PV system is as simple as plugging an appliance into a wall outlet, the residential PV market will grow at an accelerated rate, both due to the simplicity of installation and the associated reduction in cost of the overall system. The potential funding opportunity will address the process-related issues and barriers by taking a fresh look at the grid and distributed PV systems as a whole and exploring new technology pathways to reduce total system costs and ease installation. The topic areas cover, but are not limited to, PV module technology, power electronics design, grid integration approaches, racking hardware design, and system installation process. Respondents are asked to comment on the questions in the RFI (see document under "FOA Documents" below).  Respondents are also encouraged to comment on the value of the anticipated Plug and Play PV systems, as well as your organization’s anticipated interest in participating in such an opportunity.

All responses to this RFI must be delivered electronically in Microsoft Word (.doc or .docx) format as an attachment to an email sent to the following email address: PlugandPlayRFI@go.doe.gov. 

Note:  Only those applicants who successfully submitted a Letter of Intent by June 9, 2011 are eligible to submit a Full Application to this Funding Opportunity Announcement.

The objective of this Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) is to significantly reduce market barriers and the balance of system non-hardware cost components of Photovoltaic (PV) systems.

Under this FOA, DOE intends to support software and database development, advance the utility and regulatory environment and simplify and streamline the process of installing solar systems.

There are three main topics to which an application may be submitted under this FOA:

Topic 1:  Codes, Standards and Processes

Topic 2:  Software Design Tools and Databases

• Sub-Topic 2A: Utility-Scale Project Siting Tool
• Sub-Topic 2B: Plug-and-Play Tools to Facilitate Preparation and Review of Permit Applications
• Sub-Topic 2C: Database of PV Permitting Processes in Authorities Having Jurisdiction (AHJ)
• Sub-Topic 2D: PV System Verification Tool
• Sub-Topic 2E: Utility Rates Database 

Topic 3:  Regulatory and Utility Solutions