EERE Funding Opportunities

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.

The Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) intends to issue, on behalf of the Water Power Technologies Office (WPTO), a Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) entitled “Oceans of Opportunity: U.S. Wave Energy Open Water Testing”.

This FOA supports WPTO’s efforts to advance the commercial readiness of wave energy technologies through open water testing and system validation at multiple scales, serving the broader goals of the Biden administration 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.

Topic Area 1 leverages wave energy technologies that provide power to distributed blue economy applications.

Topic Area 2 aims to develop functional wave energy technologies for coastal and island stakeholders (may or may not be grid-connected).

Topic Area 3 allows for maturing grid connected technologies that demonstrate reliable power generation direct to a utility.

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 of the information contained in this Notice 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 Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) intends to issue, on behalf of the Water Power Technologies Office (WPTO), a Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) entitled, entitled “Oceans of Opportunity: U.S. Wave Energy Open Water Testing,” on or about September 2024, via the EERE Program Information Center website https://epicweb.ee.doe.gov/EPICWeb.

If Applicants wish to receive official notifications and information from EERE regarding this FOA, they should register in the EERE Program Information Center. When the FOA is released, applications will be accepted only through the EERE Program Information Center.

Register and create an account in the EERE Program Information Center at https://epicweb.ee.doe.gov/EPICWeb using your Login.gov account.

For more information, the following training materials will cover the process of registering for an account and managing user accounts (for AORs and AAs).

• Account Registration (Video)
• Account Registration: Individual (Quick Guide)
• Account Registration: Industry, Academia, Non-Profit, and Government (Quick Guide)
• How to Manage Users (Video)

This Teaming Partner list is for DE-FOA-0003323: Water Power Innovation Network

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.

DE-FOA-0003323: Water Power Innovation Network

AMENDMENT 00001: The purpose of this modification is to adjust the timeline for this FOA, which includes changes to the following dates and a revised Statement of Project Objectives template.

• Submission Deadline for Concept Papers
• Submission Deadline for Full Applications
• Expected Date for EERE Selection Notifications
• Expected Timeframe for Award Negotiations

AMENDMENT 00002: See details under Modifications on pages 2-4 of the FOA. Full details are included in the FOA. In summary, the purposes of this modification are to add clarity to the proposed programming and services during Budget Period 1; and clarify the Content and Form of the Concept Paper and Full Application to include language for the Technical Volume Work Plan and down-select deliverables. SOPO template included.

AMENDMENT 00003: See details under Modifications on pages 2-4 of the FOA. Full details are included in the FOA. In summary, the purposes of this modification are to update the Expected Date for EERE Selection Notifications and Expected Timeframe for Award Negotiations, add clarification to the down-select deliverables and add clear requirements to the Content for the Full Application regarding what information to include for Budget Period 1 versus Budget Period 2. Revised SOPO template included.

The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Water Power Technologies Office (WPTO) is issuing this $4.8 million funding opportunity announcement (FOA) “Water Power Innovation Network” to support business creation, entrepreneurship, and regional innovation for water power systems and solutions. WPTO enables research, development, and testing of emerging technologies to advance marine energy as well as next-generation hydropower and pumped storage systems for a flexible, reliable grid.

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

Topic Area 1: Water Power Incubation and Acceleration. This topic area will fund programs that accelerate the commercialization and adoption of water power systems and solutions through incubation and acceleration programming and services that support entrepreneurs and small businesses in marine energy and/or hydropower.

Please see the full FOA in the DOCUMENTS section below.

Questions regarding the FOA must be submitted to WPTOFOA@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.

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.

The Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) intends to issue, on behalf of the Wind Energy Technologies Office (WETO), a Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) entitled “Offshore Wind National and Regional Research and Development.”

This FOA may target technologies, education, and supply chains with applicability to offshore wind energy deployments in all regions of U.S. waters including the Atlantic Ocean, Pacific Ocean, Great Lakes, and the Gulf of Mexico.

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

1. Floating Offshore Wind Platform Research and Development
2. Alternative Fixed-Bottom Offshore Wind Foundation Types and Installation Techniques
3. Technology Advancement for Bird and Bat Research Offshore
4. Development of a Manufacturing and Supply Chain Offshore Wind Consortium based in the Great Lakes Region
5. Floating Offshore Wind Center of Excellence
6. Protecting the Future Offshore Wind Fleet against Lightning

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 of the information contained in this Notice 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)'s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) intends to issue, on behalf of the Water Power Technologies Office (WPTO), a Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) entitled “Water Power Innovation Network”.

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

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

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.

Amendment 000001 - The FOA has been amended in sections I.B. and Appendix H.

Significant RD&D is required to reach the goal of affordable, low-carbon Intensity transportation fuels and chemical products. The RD&D activities to be funded under this FOA will support the government-wide approach to addressing the climate crisis by driving innovation and deployment of clean energy technologies.

The 2024 Regional Resource Hubs for Purpose-Grown Energy Crops FOA supports the focus of the BETO Renewable Carbon Resources Program in developing strategies and supporting technology development to reduce the cost, improve the quality, increase the quantity, and maximize the environmental benefits of using renewable carbon resources. The FOA addresses enabling the mobilization of low carbon intensity purpose-grown energy crops across varied agronomic and geographic landscapes through the generation of data and research findings. The FOA seeks applications that will support resource mobilization, including improvements to quality, yield, cost, mechanization of propagation/planting systems, pest management, carbon intensity reduction, ecosystem services, and more from the cultivation of purpose-grown energy crops. Data generated over the course of four to ten years will be used to improve modeling projections, adapt crops and/or crop management strategies to address varying climates, understand variations in soil and belowground carbon storage, quantify ecosystem services, and reduce the carbon intensity for specified purpose-grown energy crop systems. There is a single Topic Area in this FOA with four Subtopic Areas, each focusing on different feedstock categories.

The Topic Area in this FOA seeks to address the following R&D needs:

Topic Area 1: Purpose-Grown Energy Crops

The objective this Topic Area is to fund projects that will enable the mobilization of low carbon intensity purpose-grown energy crops across varied agronomic and geographic landscapes through the generation of data and research findings. Each application selected from this FOA will become a member of the larger Regional Biomass Resource Hub Initiative (RBRH) that will work together with BETO’s established Regional Resource Hub Initiative Coordinator, Idaho National Laboratory (INL), to coordinate experimental plans, report data, and collectively achieve the FOA and Initiative objectives. Each submitted application must specify only one of the following Subtopic Areas.

Subtopic Area 1a. Algae

The objective of Subtopic Area 1a is to support projects that seek to cultivate and harvest as much algae from their given system(s) as possible each year for at least three years. The deliberate cultivation of algae with non-potable water, including all types of microalgae, cyanobacteria, and macroalgae, and algae grown to treat wastewaters is of interest.

Subtopic Area 1b: Herbaceous Energy Crops

Subtopic Area 1b is centered on enhancing the mobilization of low-carbon intensity herbaceous energy crops across varied agronomic landscapes. For the purposes of Subtopic Area 1b, “herbaceous energy crops” is defined as perennial plants and grasses that live for more than two years and are harvested annually after taking two to three years to reach full productivity. Examples of herbaceous energy crops include, but are not limited to, switchgrass, miscanthus, high-biomass sorghum, wheatgrass, and energycane.

Subtopic Area 1c: Intermediate Energy Crops

For the purposes of Subtopic Area 1c, “intermediate energy crops” are defined as crops planted between the harvest of a main crop and sowing of the next crop. Typically grown for environmental benefits such as increasing soil carbon or reducing nutrient leaching and soil erosion, intermediate energy crops have the additional potential to be harvested for conversion into low carbon intensity fuels and products.

Subtopic Area 1d: Short-Rotation Woody Crops

Subtopic Area 1d is focused on enhancing the mobilization of short-rotation woody crops across various geographic landscapes by performing regional field trials to examine long term yield and sustainability. For the purposes of Subtopic Area 1d, “short-rotation woody crops” is defined as fast-growing trees that are harvested within five to eight years of planting. Such trees include, but may not be limited to, species such as, hybrid poplar and shrub willow.

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.

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

Questions regarding the FOA must be submitted to FY24RRHCropsFOA@ee.doe.gov.

The required Concept Paper due date for this FOA is 3/14/2024 at 5PM ET. The Full Application due date for this FOA is 06/13/2024 at 5PM ET.

As stated in the Notice of Intent (search DE-FOA-0003233 in XCHANGE), a Teaming Partner List has been compiled to encourage collaboration and facilitate the formation of new project teams. Visit: TPL-0000037: Teaming Partner List for FOA DE-FOA-0003209 Regional Resource Hubs for Purpose-Grown Energy Crops.

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.

Modification 0002: The purpose of this modification is to revise the Estimated Funding Table for Topic Area 2a.

_____________________________________________________________

Modification 0001: The purpose of this modification is to revise the deadlines for the Full Application and Reply to Reviewer Comments submissions.

_____________________________________________________________

The Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) is being issued by the U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) on behalf of the Water Power Technologies Office (WPTO) and the Wind Energy Technologies Office (WETO).

This FOA supports foundational research at domestic institutions of higher education, including Minority Serving Institutions (MSI), to address challenges faced by marine energy industries and spur innovation and development. Universities offer an array of exceptional capabilities and resources that create a rich ecosystem for high-level research combining intellectual capital, advanced infrastructure, a commitment to knowledge creation and dissemination, and a training ground for the next generation of scientists and scholars.

This FOA will provide funding for foundational R&D activities to advance marine energy and offshore wind technologies, enabling broader utilization of ocean renewable energy sources through the following topic areas:

1. Publicly Available Marine Energy Data Analysis & Test Platform(s) to Produce Publicly Available Data
2. Sustainable & Scalable Offshore Wind, Marine Energy, and Aquaculture
3. Undergraduate Senior Design and/or Research Project
4. Open Topic Area

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

This Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) is issued by the Industrial Efficiency and Decarbonization Office (IEDO) to advance transformational cross-sector technologies and innovations needed to reduce industrial energy use and GHG emissions through high-impact applied research, development, and pilot-scale technology validation and demonstration projects. The RD&D activities to be funded under this FOA will advance the strategies identified in DOE’s Industrial Decarbonization Roadmap and will support the goals of the Industrial Heat Shot, ultimately helping put the nation on a pathway to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2050.

The Topic Areas included in this FOA are:

• Topic Area 1: Electrification of Industrial Heat
• Topic Area 2: Efficient Energy Use in Industrial Systems
• Topic Area 3: Decarbonizing Organic Wastewater and Wet Waste Treatment

IEDO expects additional funding opportunities to focus on transformational technologies to address subsector-specific challenges in energy- and emissions-intensive industries.

This FOA is part of DOE’s Technologies for Industrial Emissions Reduction Development (TIEReD) Program. This program leverages resources across DOE’s applied research offices to invest in fundamental science, research, development, initial pilot-scale demonstrations projects, and technical assistance and workforce development. Rooted in the principles identified in the 2022 Industrial Decarbonization Roadmap, DOE is building an innovation pipeline to accelerate the development and adoption of industrial decarbonization technologies. The TIEReD Program leverages resources, expertise, and investments from the Offices of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), Fossil Energy and Carbon Management (FECM), Nuclear Energy (NE), ARPA-E, and Science (SC) to achieve deep decarbonization across the U.S. industrial sector. The program complements the demonstration and large-scale deployment efforts led by DOE's Offices of Clean Energy Demonstrations (OCED) and Manufacturing and Energy Supply Chains (MESC) and the Loan Programs Office (LPO).

MOD0001

Changes include an update to the following section:

In Section I.B. on page 9, within Topic Areas, the description of Tier 2 projects was updated to eliminate phases and to require 50% cost share.

MOD0002

Changes include updates to the folloing sections:

In Section I.B on page 11, within Topic Areas, an edit was made in the Note on IEDO FY23 Multi-Topic FOA paragraph. “…anticipated to be covered…” was removed in the first sentence.

In Section III.iii on page 34, within Topic Area Eligibility, an edit was made to the bulleted list of entities eligible as subrecipients but not eligible as prime recipients. “whether for profit or otherwise” was removed in the second bullet, Foreign Entities.

In Section III.B.vi. on page 37, within the first paragraph of the Cost Share Payment section, the last sentence was deleted.

MOD0003

Changes include updates to the following sections:

In Section I.B on page 28, within Topic Area 3, “Applications that employ algae in any part of the treatment process” was added to the Not of Interest statement.

MOD0004

Changes include updates to the following sections:

On the cover page of the FOA, the Submission Deadline for Full Applications has been updated to 3/26/2024 at 5:00 PM ET.

On the cover page of the FOA, the Expected Submission Deadline for Replies to Reviewer Comments has been updated to 5/3/2024 at 5:00 PM ET.

On the cover page of the FOA, the Expected Date of EERE Selection Notifications has been updated to 7/30/2024.

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).

Modification 0004: The purpose of this modification is to extend Full Application deadline from 5/3/24 to 5/17/24 and revise the Expected Submission deadline for Replies to Reviewer comments from 6/28/24 to 7/12/24.

____________________________________________________________

Modification 0003: The purpose of this modification is to revise cost share requirements for federally recognized Indian Tribes under Topic Area 1.

____________________________________________________________

Modification 0002: The purpose of this modification is to extend the Concept Paper deadline to February 9, 2024, and revise the deadlines for Full Applications and the Reply to Reviewer Comments.

____________________________________________________________

Modification 0001: The purpose of this modification is to extend the Concept Paper deadline to February 1, 2024, and revise the deadlines for Full Applications and the Reply to Reviewer Comments.

____________________________________________________________

This Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) is being issued by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) on behalf of the Water Power Technologies Office (WPTO).

This FOA supports three complementary strategies for increasing the flexibility of hydropower: demonstrating hydropower hybrids, supporting innovative advanced hydropower equipment, and developing new operational strategies. WPTO’s HydroWIRES Initiative seeks to understand, enable, and improve the contribution of hydropower, including pumped storage hydropower (PSH) to reliability, resilience, and integration in the rapidly evolving U.S. electricity system. Hydropower’s flexibility is central to enhancing all these contributions. Through these three topics, this FOA will develop a suite of advancements that improve hydropower flexibility at multiple scales: improved components within the plant, improved hybridized capabilities at the plant interconnection, and improved operations across the fleet.

1. Hydropower Hybrids Demonstration
2. Technologies to Increase Flexibility
3. Operational Flexibility

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

The Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) intends to issue, on behalf of the Bioenergy Technologies Office and the Vehicles Technologies Office, a Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) entitled “WASTE: Waste Analysis and Strategies for Transportation End-uses”.

If issued, this FOA will support the development of planning and strategies for utilizing organic waste as a feedstock for various transportation fuel end products. For many communities, organic waste streams present a variety of economic, environmental, and social sustainability challenges. These waste streams include food waste, municipal wastewater sludges, animal manure, fats, oils, and greases. There are significant costs associated with management of organic waste, including treatment, stabilization, hauling, and disposal costs or tipping fees. These waste streams also represent major sources of greenhouse gas emissions and contribute to other environmental issues including air and water quality degradation. Increasingly, State and local laws and regulations are requiring that organic waste streams be diverted from landfills, necessitating the implementation of new processing strategies and development of novel business models to meet these requirements.

Municipal entities and local transit authorities also have significant local demand for the energy that can be derived from these waste streams. There are examples where waste-derived biogas or renewable natural gas^[1] (RNG) are being used to fuel bus fleets and trash collection vehicles or produce hydrogen for hydrogen-fueled vehicles. These opportunities are often community-specific, and the planned FOA is intended to help communities realize these or similar synergies between waste infrastructure and sustainable transportation needs. Permissible fuels from projects funded under this FOA could include renewable natural gas, partially upgraded biogas, hydrogen, biocrude, renewable diesel, renewable di-methyl-ether, or others.

^[1] Note: unless otherwise indicated, for purposes of this FOA, “renewable natural gas” is biogas that has been upgraded to pipeline standard gas and/or another pipeline-transportable, fungible standard.

Recognizing that communities may be at different stages in their planning efforts, the planned FOA will seek a phased approach to achieve the outcomes described above. Topic Area 1 is intended to support feasibility studies. For communities that may have already identified potential solutions for their waste/transportation needs, Topic Area 2 would support more detailed engineering design work to position these entities for future projects and demonstrations.

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

Topic Area 1 is aimed at helping move communities beyond a conceptualization phase by supporting in-depth feasibility analysis relating to waste-to-fuels approaches. While technical assistance programs can accomplish some of these objectives, direct financial assistance can close this capacity gap.

Topic Area 2 is targeted toward communities that have previously completed feasibility analyses and are seeking funding to further refine their project concept. Lack of municipal and non-profit staff capacity and availability of funding often puts detailed design work out of reach for many communities; Topic Area 2 is intended to close that gap for completing detailed engineering design. Topic Area 2 will also allow a limited amount of experimental work, intended to generate the data required to refine the engineering design and/or data needed for permitting or air quality analysis. The experimental work can either take place on-site or be done remotely, provided the waste streams being used are sourced from the recipient community. Model waste streams will not be permitted. The use of real waste streams (as opposed to model waste streams) will increase the likelihood of technical success by ensuring the process is sufficiently robust.

This Notice is issued so that interested parties are aware of the EERE’s intention to issue these FOAs 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 FOAs have been released, EERE will provide an avenue for potential Applicants to submit questions.

EERE plans to issue the FOAs in or around December 2023 via the EERE eXCHANGE website https://eere-eXCHANGE.energy.gov/. If Applicants wish to receive official notifications and information from EERE regarding these FOAs, they should register in EERE eXCHANGE. When the FOAs are released, applications will be accepted only through EERE eXCHANGE.

Modification 0001

This modification incorporates the following changes:

Section I.B: Revised Performance Goal/Target Outcomes for Subtopic 1B.

Section III.E.i: Replaced Value/Funding and Cost Share sections with Section III.E.i.c. Funding, Cost Share, and Subaward with FFRDCs.

Additional revisions made throughout to align with the newest FOA template. Please download and review the FOA document for complete details. The Modifications table begins on page 2.

_______________________________________

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) – 2024”.

The 2024 BENEFIT FOA will invest up to $30M (subject to appropriations) across four topic areas:

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: Innovative, Replicable, and Low-Cost Roof and Attic Retrofits

Technologies for affordable and scalable roof and attic retrofits that improve energy efficiency and address air and water infiltration.

Topic 3: Building Resilience and Capacity Constraints

Novel approaches to maintain essential loads during blackouts and add power capacity to buildings without the need for major infrastructure upgrades; localized thermal management systems and thermally resilient building envelopes to provide cooling and overheating protection against extreme heat events.

Topic 4: Commercial Lighting Retrofit Advancements

Low-cost, high-quality retrofit solutions for lagging sectors in energy-efficient lighting adoption (schools, certain commercial buildings).

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. Please see the Teaming List section of the FOA document for more information.

EERE eXCHANGE is designed to enforce the deadlines specified in this FOA. The “Apply” and “Submit” buttons will automatically disable at the defined submission deadlines. Should applicants experience problems with EERE eXCHANGE, the following information may be helpful.

Applicants that experience issues with submission PRIOR to the FOA deadline: In the event that an applicant experiences technical difficulties with a submission, the applicant should contact the EERE eXCHANGE helpdesk for assistance (EERE-eXCHANGESupport@hq.doe.gov). The EERE eXCHANGE helpdesk and/or the EERE eXCHANGE system administrators will assist applicants in resolving issues.

This notice is intended to announce a potential FOA that will aim to advance the strategies identified in the Industrial Decarbonization Roadmap and support the goals of the Industrial Heat Shot™ through a focus on cross-sector approaches for industrial decarbonization. Cross-sector technologies are decarbonization- enabling components, equipment, and systems that underpin processes and products across the industrial sector. Key themes of IEDO’s strategy for cross-sector technologies include:

1. Transforming electricity into useful industrial heat cost competitively and without putting undue stress on the grid;
2. Developing combustion systems that enable fuel switching to hydrogen and other low- carbon fuels;
3. Developing systems for the onsite production, storage, delivery, and recovery of energy;
4. Reducing barriers to the integration of low-carbon electricity with industrial loads;
5. Improving the energy efficiency of industrial processes; and
6. Reducing the energy used for industrial water and wastewater treatment.

The FOA will address a subset of these priorities, as described in the topics listed below. Topics 1 and 2 are anticipated to allow for multiple tiers of funding: a lower tier for research and development-only projects and a higher tier for projects that include scope for technology demonstration integrated into industrial operations. All topics are expected to allow applications between Technology Readiness Level (TRL) 3 and 7.

Topic Area 1 - Electrification of Industrial Heat
Topic Area 2 - Next-Generation Energy Systems
Topic Area 3 - Decarbonizing Organic Wastewater and Wet Waste Treatment

EERE plans to issue the FOA on or about November 2023 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.

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 Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) intends to issue, on behalf of the Water Power Technologies Office (WPTO), a Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) entitled "Strategies to Increase Hydropower Flexibility."

The FOA supports complementary strategies for increasing and improving the flexibility of hydropower at multiple scales.  WPTO’s HydroWIRES Initiative seeks to understand, enable, and improve the contribution of hydropower, including pumped storage hydropower (PSH) to reliability, resilience, and integration in the rapidly evolving U.S. electricity system. Hydropower’s flexibility is central to enhancing all these contributions.

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

1. Hybridized Hydropower Demonstration
2. Technologies to Increase Flexibility
3. Operational Flexibility

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.

This Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) is being issued by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) on behalf of the Wind Energy Technologies Office (WETO), the Water Power Technologies Office (WPTO), as well as the U.S. Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) and Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE). The goals of this FOA are to:

• Improve the reliability of moorings for floating offshore wind energy and marine energy converters; and
• Reduce noise associated with installing fixed-bottom offshore wind energy foundations.

This Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) is being issued by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) on behalf of the Wind Energy Technologies Office (WETO), the Water Power Technologies Office (WPTO), as well as the U.S. Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) and Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE). The goals of this FOA are to:

• Improve the reliability of moorings for floating offshore wind energy and marine energy converters; and
• Reduce noise associated with installing fixed-bottom offshore wind energy foundations.

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

The Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) intends to issue, on behalf of the Water Power Technologies Office (WPTO) and the Wind Energy Technologies Office (WETO), a Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) entitled "Marine Energy University Foundational R&D."

This FOA supports EERE’s goals of increasing energy affordability, domestic economic prosperity, and energy security while enhancing the reliability and resiliency of the U.S. power grid. To achieve these goals, WPTO and WETO will fund research related to marine energy renewable energy technologies under this FOA. Marine energy is inclusive of energy from waves, tides, currents, and/or ocean thermal gradients.

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

1. Open-Source Marine Energy Converter (MEC) Test Platforms to Produce Open-Source Data
2. Sustainable & Scalable Offshore Wind, Marine Energy, and Aquaculture
3. Undergraduate Senior Design and/or Research Project Development
4. Open Topic

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.

Modification 0003:

The purpose of this modification is to include language for TA2 applications outlining requirements for Letters of Intent, Letters of Support, and Letters of Commitment on page 45 and to update Letters of Commitment language in Section IV.D.iv on page 94. These are required for TA2.

Modification 0002:

The purpose of this modification is to clarify language to:

Better distinguish between site market transformation and technology transformation plan (pages 20, 27, 28, 38, 121, 121).

Further clarifying teaming arrangements in full applications between site developer and technology developers, demonstrating past successful relevant experiences and further demonstrating commitments between partners (page 124).

Highlight of the importance of site commercialization and technology integration, removing potentially confusing references to any 'product' commercialization (page 121).

Highlight stakeholder support to commercialization of the site in the Industry Adoption Plan (page 122).

Modification 0001:

1. The purpose of this modification is to clarify language on Page 17: WPTO's longer term vision for the site is to have this site expand to include additional devices.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Water Power Technologies Office (WPTO) is issuing this Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) “Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL), Section 41006(a)(2): U.S. Tidal Energy Advancement” to significantly advance the state of tidal and/or current technologies in the U.S. Awards made under this FOA will be funded with funds appropriated by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act[1], more commonly known as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL).

Through this FOA, DOE will invest $35,000,000 under Section 41006(a)(2) to fund the first large-scale investment for the development of a pilot tidal and/or current Research, Development and Demonstration (RD&D) site in the U.S., with the aim to position tidal and/or current energy generation as a key clean energy contributor ready for net-zero emissions power sector while creating good jobs. An additional $10,000,000 under Section 41006(a)(2) will be invested in a community-led tidal and/or current energy project, where balancing community energy priorities and technology innovation will accelerate tidal and current energy technologies for the generation of power to promote the resilience and economic development of coastal communities.

Topic Area 1: Tidal and/or Current Site Development

Topic Area 2: Community-Led Tidal and/or Current Energy Planning and Project Execution (Applications must be submitted under DE-TA2-0002845)

Please Note: 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).

Modification 0003:

Modification 0002:

The purpose of this modification is to clarify language to:

Better distinguish between site market transformation and technology transformation plan (pages 20, 27, 28, 38, 121, 121).

Further clarifying teaming arrangements in full applications between site developer and technology developers, demonstrating past successful relevant experiences and further demonstrating commitments between partners (page 124).

Highlight of the importance of site commercialization and technology integration, removing potentially confusing references to any 'product' commercialization (page 121).

Highlight stakeholder support to commercialization of the site in the Industry Adoption Plan (page 122).

Modification 0001:

The purpose of this modification is to clarify language on Page 17: WPTO's longer term vision for the site is to have this site expand to include additional devices.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Topic Area 2 Applicants only

The Water Power Technologies Office (WPTO) is issuing this Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) “Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL), Section 41006(a)(2): U.S. Tidal Energy Advancement” to significantly advance the state of tidal and/or current technologies in the U.S. Awards made under this FOA will be funded with funds appropriated by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act[1], more commonly known as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL).

Through this FOA, DOE will invest $35,000,000 under Section 41006(a)(2) to fund the first large-scale investment for the development of a pilot tidal and/or current Research, Development and Demonstration (RD&D) site in the U.S., with the aim to position tidal and/or current energy generation as a key clean energy contributor ready for net-zero emissions power sector while creating good jobs. An additional $10,000,000 under Section 41006(a)(2) will be invested in a community-led tidal and/or current energy project, where balancing community energy priorities and technology innovation will accelerate tidal and current energy technologies for the generation of power to promote the resilience and economic development of coastal communities.

Topic Area 1: Tidal and/or Current Site Development (Applications must be submitted under DE-FOA-0002845)

Topic Area 2: Community-Led Tidal and/or Current Energy Planning and Project Execution (Applications must be submitted under DE-TA2-0002845)

Please Note: 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).

Mod. No. 0001

Description of Modification:  

On Pages 36 and 41, removed erroneous references to Authorization for non-DOE/NNSA or DOE/NNSA FFRDCs, as the document is not a required element of Applications to this Lab Call.

Lab Call Description:

The Industrial Efficiency and Decarbonization Office (IEDO) is issuing this lab call to solicit proposals to support the Technical Assistance and Workforce Development subprogram. Activities will support the subprogram’s focus on delivering technical assistance and developing partnerships with industry to increase the adoption of energy efficiency, decarbonization technologies, energy management programs, and water/waste reduction technologies and practices across the industrial sector. Topic areas will follow the recommendations of DOE’s Industrial Decarbonization Roadmap and enable expansion and integration of programmatic activities in the areas of energy efficiency, energy management systems, onsite renewables and storage, energy-water nexus, and workforce development. Topic areas include:

Topic 1: Onsite Energy Deployment Program Support – This topic seeks proposals for a technical analysis team that will provide subject matter expertise, research, and analysis covering a broad range of renewable and storage technologies in support of the overall Onsite Energy Program.

Topic 2: Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA) Accelerator – This topic seeks proposals to launch a CEA Accelerator to demonstrate the energy, water, and decarbonization benefits that can be achieved through efficient operation of CEA.

Topic 3: Multiple Benefits Resources – This topic seeks proposals to establish a protocol to help manufacturers understand how to uncover and quantify multiple or non-energy benefits during energy efficiency and decarbonization assessments in manufacturing plants.

Topic 4: Workforce Development Consortium – This topic seeks proposals to launch a workforce development consortium that will convene and financially support three-to-five key manufacturing workforce organizations running successful regional- or industry-specific programs that can be scaled to national and broad reach.

Modification 0002

Changes include updates to the following sections:

1. II.A.i. Estimated Funding
2. III.A.iv. Domestic Entities
3. III.A.v. Foreign Entities
4. Updated file size maximum to 50MB in Sections IV.B and IV.D.i.
5. IV.D.i. Full Application Content Requirements
6. IV.D.iii. Resumes
7. IV.D.xvii. Current and Pending Support
8. IV.J.ix. Risk Assessment

9. VIII.N Export Control
10. Appendix C. Waiver Requests FOR: 1. Foreign Entity Participation;and 2. Foreign Work
11. Appendix D. Required Use of American Iron, Steel, ManufacturedProducts, and Construction Materials
12. Added Section IV.D.xviii. Transparency of Foreign Connections
13. Added Section IV.D.xix. Potentially Duplicative Funding Notice
14. Added Section IV.J.xi. Prohibition Related to Foreign Government-Sponsored Talent Recruitment Programs
15. Added Section IV.J.xii. Foreign Collaboration Considerations
16. Added Section VI.B.xx. Interim Conflict of Interest Policy forFinancial Assistance
17. Added Section VI.B.xxii. Fraud, Waste and Abuse
18. Added Section VIII.O. Prohibition on Certain Telecommunicationsand Video Surveillance Services or Equipment
19. Added an additional category of applications specifically not ofinterest in Section I.C.

________________________________________________________________

Modification 0001

Corrected typo in page limit of Diversity Equity and Inclusion Plan in Section IV.D (page 33) and updated formatting throughout document.

___________________________________________________________________

The purpose of this FOA is to stimulate RD&D to decarbonize the entire life cycle of Water Resource Recovery Facilities (WRRFs), formerly known as Wastewater Treatment Plants (WWTPs). It targets both individual unit processes at earlier stages of technological development, and entire treatment trains at higher levels of technological readiness. It seeks to address both direct and indirect emissions from WRRFs, with the complementary goal of reducing costs, particularly in energy usage and sludge management, to improve the probabilities of real-world adoption.

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.

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.

DOE is compiling a “Teaming Partner List” to facilitate the formation of new project teams for a Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) entitled “Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL), Section 41006(a)(2): U.S. Tidal Energy Advancement as described in the Revised Notice of Intent No. DE-FOA-0002847.

The Teaming Partner List allows organizations who may wish to participate on an application to express their interest to other applicants and to explore potential partnerships.

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 Energy Policy Act of 19921 authorized the Secretary of Energy to establish a fund with the stated purpose of providing competitive grants to federal agencies to assist them in meeting the energy and water conservation requirements of the National Energy Conservation Policy Act (NECPA), 42 U.S.C. 8253 (a)-(b). Through this authority, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Federal Energy Management Program (FEMP) created the Assisting Federal Facilities with Energy Conservation Technologies (AFFECT) program to provide direct funding to federal agencies for the development of capital projects to initiate, supplement, improve or otherwise increase the viability and deployment of widespread energy efficiency, renewable energy, climate change mitigation and adaptation-resilience technology at U.S. federal government-owned facilities. Pursuant to 42 U.S.C. 8256 (b) (3), FEMP will make selections and awards through a competitive process detailed in the Federal Agency Call (FAC).

FEMP will be seeking to make awards that support achievement of the Administration’s goals for federal leadership in clean energy, climate, environmental justice and equity as described in Executive Order (E.O.) 14057, Catalyzing America’s Clean Energy Economy Through Federal Sustainability, E.O. 14008, Tackling the Climate Crisis at Home and Abroad, and section 543 of the National Energy Conservation Policy Act (Pub. L. 95-619), as amended through the Energy Act of 2020 (Pub. L. 117-58; EA2020), codified at 42 U.S.C. 8253.

Applications are sought from federal agencies for technical solutions that are in alignment with three Topic Areas:

Topic Area 1: Projects Under Development Facing Reductions in Scope Due to Adverse Changes in Fiscal/Economic Conditions.

Topic Area 2: Load Management Projects (Energy Performance Contracts)

Topic Area 3: Load Management Projects (Other Procurement Mechanisms)

-----------------------------

Please see the full text for the Federal Agency Call (FAC) in the DOCUMENTS section below.

Questions regarding the FAC must be submitted to AFFECT2022Approp@hq.doe.gov.

Answers to the questions will be posted to an excel spreadsheet found in the DOCUMENTS section below.

-----------------------------

EERE Exchange is designed to enforce the deadlines specified in this FAC. The “Apply” and “Submit” buttons will automatically disable at the defined submission deadlines. Should Applicants experience problems with EERE Exchange, the following information may be helpful.

Applicants that experience issues with submission PRIOR to the FAC deadline:

In the event that an Applicant experiences technical difficulties with a submission, the applicant should contact the EERE Exchange helpdesk for assistance (EERE-ExchangeSupport@hq.doe.gov). The EERE Exchange helpdesk and/or the EERE Exchange system administrators will assist Applicants in resolving issues.

The Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) intends to issue, on behalf of theIndustrial Efficiency and Decarbonization Office, a Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA)entitled “Decarbonization of Water Resource Recovery Facilities (D-WRRF)”.

The purpose of this announcement is to stimulate RD&D to decarbonize the entire life cycle of Water Resource Recovery Facilities (WRRFs), formerly known as Wastewater Treatment Plants (WWTPs). It targets both individual unit processes at earlier stages of technological development, and entire treatment trains at higher levels of technological readiness. It seeks to address both direct and indirect emissions from WRRFs, with the complementary goal of reducing costs, particularly in energy usage and sludge management, to improve the probabilities of real-world adoption.

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.

Modification 0004

1. Update the Expected Submission Deadline for Replies to Reviewer Comments to May 8, 2023.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Modification 0003

1. Add the details for the Buy America Requirements for Infrastructure Projects Waiver Requests in Section IV.D.xv.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Modification 0002:

1. Update the submission deadline for Full Applications from Sunday, March 5, 2023, to Monday, March 6, 2023.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Modification 0001:

1. Remove the requirement of the Community Benefits Plan section within the Content and Form of the Concept Paper in Section IV.C.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) is issuing, on behalf of the Water Power Technologies Office (WPTO), this Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) titled “Bipartisan Infrastructure Law Section 41006: Water Power Projects: Innovative Technologies to Enable Low Impact Hydropower and Pumped Storage Hydropower Growth.” Awards made under this FOA will be funded, in whole or in part, with funds appropriated by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, more commonly known as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL).

This FOA seeks applications to address innovative solutions to retrofit non-powered dams with environmentally sustainable hydropower at a reasonable cost; applications to address development and testing technologies that mitigate challenges to pumped storage hydropower deployment, including market and revenue uncertainty, development costs and financing, long development timelines, permitting challenges, construction risks, and environmental impacts; and applications to address and encourage emerging organizations to support hydropower development. WPTO expects the amount of funding available for projects under this FOA will be approximately $14.5 million and cover the following topic areas:

1. Hydropower Retrofits for Non-Powered Dams;

2. Innovative Pumped Storage Hydropower Technologies; and

3. Hydropower R&D by Emerging Organizations.

Please Note: 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).

This FOA seeks to support the efforts of a diverse group of hydropower stakeholders to work together to discuss and address issues regarding the modernization of the U.S. hydropower fleet, the sustainability of hydropower systems, and the impact of hydropower facilities on the environment. These efforts will enhance and inform the current and future needs of R&D for hydropower technologies and environmental mitigation efforts at DOE and in industry.

The selected recipient will actively convene, engage, and facilitate discussions among a diverse group of hydropower stakeholders including but not limited to representatives from Tribal nations, hydropower developers, owners/operators of hydropower facilities, research institutions, hydropower industry representatives, NGOs, non-profit organizations, resource agencies, other interested parties, etc.

The Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) is issuing, on behalf of the Water Power Technlogies Office (WPTO), this Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) titled “Bipartisan Infrastructure Law Section 40334: Pumped Storage Hydropower Wind and Solar Integration and System Reliability Initiative.” Awards made under this FOA will be funded, in whole or in part, with funds appropriated by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, more commonly known as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL).

Through this FOA, DOE will invest $10 million to carry out project design, transmission studies, power market assessments, and permitting for a pumped storage hydropower (PSH) project to facilitate the long-duration storage of intermittent renewable electricity. Eligibility for this FOA is limited to projects that have received a FERC preliminary permit, and are working toward licensing a PSH project with at least 1000 MW capacity that can participate in multiple markets and store intermittent renewable energy generated on tribal lands.

Modification 0001:

The purpose of this modification is to announce the addition of a $10 million topic area to its proposed funding opportunity DE-EE0002845 BIPARTISAN INFRASTRUCTURE LAW (BIL), SECTION 41006(A)(2): U.S. TIDAL ENERGY ADVANCEMENT to advance tidal and current energy systems, bringing the total funding to $45 million. This new topic area will support at least one tidal or current energy planning and execution project in the United States, preferably led by a community-based organization or local/municipal government entity. With the addition of this topic area, WPTO’s funding opportunity will advance a comprehensive approach to tidal and current energy development in the United States, ranging from funding community-led planning and project execution to making the first large-scale investment in a tidal research, development, and demonstration site.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) intends to issue, on behalf of the Water Power Technologies Office (WPTO), a Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) entitled “Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL), Section 41006(a)(2): U.S. Tidal Energy Advancement.”

To support the development of tidal and current energy systems in the United States, and move the state of these technologies, DOE will provide the first large scale investment for the development of a tidal Research, Development and Demonstration (RD&D) site. This FOA will provide $35 million in total funding supporting Section 41006(a)(2) to fund a tidal or river current site development, preferably led by a project/site developer in the U.S., and fund in-water demonstration of at least one tidal energy system.

The overall goals of this FOA are to:

DOE 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 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.

Modification 0003:

This modification:

1. Extended Full Application due date from 2/24/23 to 3/02/23.

___________________________________________________________________

Modification 0002:

This modification: 

1. Spelled out IOM&D (installation, operations, maintenance, and decommissioning) on pages 29 & 33.

2. Added additional desalination resources to Appendix I.

___________________________________________________________________

Modification 0001:

This modification: 

1. Extended Concept Paper due date from 11/4/22 to 12/2/22.

2. Modified section B. Cost Sharing to revise cost share requirements for institutions of higher education and non-profit organizations.

3. Clarified language regarding communication with NREL during the application/negotiation process on pages 27, 28 and 32.

4. Added in Appendix I for Desalination resources.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) is issuing, on behalf of the Water Power Technologies Office (WPTO), a Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) titled “Marine Energy Systems Innovation at Sea.” This FOA will accelerate the development and field testing of renewable marine energy technologies by focusing on wave and ocean current resources as well as reductions in the energy use and carbon emissions associated with desalination to provide zero-carbon, affordable, and reliable sources of drinking water for disaster relief, emergency response, and small communities facing water scarcity and security issues. WPTO’s focus on desalination directly supports coastal and island resilience, and incorporates end-user needs assessments, translating user requirements for design and advancement of marine energy technologies. Previous research has demonstrated the feasibility of small, modular, wave-powered desalination systems through theoretical studies , laboratory testing, and short-duration at-sea testing. This FOA focuses on innovation of wave energy converters (WECs) for nearshore environments across diverse coastal conditions through long duration at-sea testing and operations (i.e., two weeks to six months) and component/sub-system technology development and testing. It will additionally support commercialization opportunities for novel technologies and a feasibility assessment of an ocean current test facility off the coast of the United States.

Topic Area 1: Marine Energy Powered Desalination System Innovation at Sea

Topic Area 2: Open Topic (Marine Energy Powered Desalination)

Topic Area 3: Ocean Current Test Facility Feasability Assessment

Please Note: 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 Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) intends to issue, on behalf of the Water Power Technologies Office, a Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) entitled “Advancing Fish Passage and Protection Technologies”.

This FOA supports advancing innovative fish passage and protection technologies by supporting manufacturers, equipment vendors, and research organizations in gathering relevant information and data through testing to verify biological effects and performance. The development of technical solutions to enable and improve safe, timely, and effective fish passage and protection at hydropower dams can improve hydropower’s environmental performance, supports infrastructure sustainability, and contributes to fish restoration goals.

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.

***PLEASE NOTE: This FOA has been modified (DE-FOA-0002792.0001). Section III.A.ii and footnote 59 regarding FFRDC eligibility have been updated to indicate that, for Topic 4, only core members of the M2FCT consortium are ineligible to apply as subrecipients. Core national laboratories in M2FCT include Los Alamos National Laboratory, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Argonne National Laboratory, National Renewable Energy Laboratory, and Oak Ridge National Laboratory. Please see the "DE-FOA-0002792_HFTO FOA_FINAL_Mod 0001" document in the Announcement Documents section below.***

The Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) hereby issues Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) entitled “Funding Opportunity in Support of the Hydrogen Shot and a University Research Consortium on Grid Resilience” that will address two unique areas of interest: one with topic areas focused on supporting the DOE Hydrogen Shot on behalf of the Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technologies Office and a second EERE-wide topic area focused on grid resilience through a university research consortium.

This FOA includes the following five topics under two Areas of Interest, as follows:

Area of Interest 1: Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technologies in Support of Hydrogen Shot

Topic 1) HydroGEN: Solar Fuels from Photoelectrochemical and Solar Thermochemical Water SplittingTopic 2) Development and Validation of Sensor Technology for Monitoring and Measuring Hydrogen LossesTopic 3) Materials-based H₂ Storage DemonstrationsTopic 4) M2FCT: High Performing, Durable, and Low-PGM Catalysts/Membrane Electrode Assemblies (MEAs) for Medium- and Heavy-duty Applications

Area of Interest 2: Improving Electricity Grid Resilience

Topic 5) University Research Consortium on Grid Resilience

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

The Teaming Partner List is transferred from Notice of Intent (NOI) DE-FOA-0002807. 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. Any organization that would like to be included on this list should submit the following information to HFTOFOA@ee.doe.gov, with the subject line “Teaming Partner Information FOA-0002792”: Topic Area(s) of Interest, Organization Name, Contact Name, Contact Address, Contact Email, Contact Phone, Organization Type (including MSI designation or disadvantaged community status, if relevant), Area of Technical Expertise, and Brief Description of Capabilities.

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 Applications will be accepted only through EERE eXCHANGE.

Applicants that experience issues with submissions PRIOR to the 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).

***PLEASE NOTE: This FOA has been modified (DE-FOA-0002792.000001). Section III.A.ii and footnote 59 regarding FFRDC eligibility have been updated to indicate that, for Topic 4, only core members of the M2FCT consortium are ineligible to apply as subrecipients. Core national laboratories in M2FCT include Los Alamos National Laboratory, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Argonne National Laboratory, National Renewable Energy Laboratory, and Oak Ridge National Laboratory. Please see the "DE-FOA-0002792_HFTO FOA_FINAL_Mod 0001" document in the Announcement Documents section below.***

Notice of Intent to Issue

Funding Opportunity Announcement No. DE-FOA-0002731

Funding Opportunity Announcement No. DE-FOA-0002800

Funding Opportunity Announcement No. DE-FOA-0002802

The Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) intends to issue, on behalf of the Water Power Technologies Office, three Funding Opportunity Announcements (FOA) entitled “Bipartisan Infrastructure Law: Section 41006. Water Power Projects: Innovative Technologies to Enable Low Impact Hydropower and Pumped Storage Hydropower Growth”, “Bipartisan Infrastructure Law: Section 41006. Water Power Projects: Stakeholder Insight into Hydropower R&D Issues”, and “Section 40334. Pumped Storage Hydropower Wind and Solar Integration and System Reliability Initiative”.

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 Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) intends to issue, on behalf of the Water Power Technologies Office (WPTO), a Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) entitled “Marine Energy Systems Innovation at Sea”.

This notice of intent (NOI) is issused 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 Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) intends to issue a Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) entitled “Funding Opportunity in Support of the Hydrogen Shot and a University Research Consortium on Grid Resilience,” that will address two unique areas of interest: one with topic areas focused on supporting the DOE Hydrogen Shot on behalf of the Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technologies Office and a second EERE-wide topic area focused on grid resilience through a university research consortium.

EERE anticipates that the FOA may include the following five topics under two Areas of Interest, as follows:

Area of Interest 1: Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technologies in Support of Hydrogen Shot

Topic 1) HydroGEN: Solar Fuels from Photoelectrochemical and Solar Thermochemical Water Splitting

Topic 2) Development and Validation of Sensor Technology for Monitoring and Measuring Hydrogen Losses

Topic 3) Materials-based H₂ Storage Demonstrations

Topic 4) M2FCT: High Performing, Durable, and Low-PGM Catalysts/Membrane Electrode Assemblies (MEAs) for Medium- and Heavy-duty Applications

Area of Interest 2: Improving Electricity Grid Resilience

Topic 5) University Research Consortium on Grid Resilience

EERE plans to issue the FOA on or about August 2022 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 Teaming Partner List has moved to EERE Exchange at https://eere-exchange.energy.gov/Default.aspx#FoaId47252393-c846-4779-9760-86414eddda9f under FOA number DE-FOA-0002792.

DISCLAIMER: This “Notice of Intent” is for informational purposes only; the Department of Energy is not seeking comments on the information in this notice and 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. Applications are not being accepted at this time. Any information contained in this notice is subject to change.

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Grid Deployment Office (GDO) is requesting information and feedback from stakeholders on issues related to the development of hydroelectric incentive programs authorized under sections 243 and 247 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (Pub. L. 109-58) (EPAct 2005), as amended by sections 40332 and 40333 of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. See 42 U.S.C. 15882 and 15883.^[1]

This is a Request for Information (RFI) only. GDO will not pay for information provided under this RFI and no project will be supported as a result of this RFI. This RFI is not accepting applications for financial assistance or financial incentives. GDO may or may not issue a Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) based on consideration of the input received from this RFI.

Responses to this RFI must be submitted electronically to WPTORFI@ee.doe.gov no later than 11:59pm (ET) on Tuesday, September 6, with subject line “Organization/Name: Response to RFI on Hydroelectric Incentive Programs.” Responses must be provided as attachments to an email. In lieu of or in addition to providing written responses to this RFI, respondents may request a 30-minute individual unrecorded discussion with a DOE staff member regarding the content of their written responses to the RFI questions. Requests for an individual discussion must be requested no later than 5:00pm (ET) on Friday, August 19, 2022 .

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) or Adobe PDF (.pdf) attachment to the email, and no more than 15 pages in length, 12-point font, 1-inch margins. Only electronic responses will be accepted.

On Tuesday, August 9, 2022, from 1:30 pm to 5:00 pm ET, DOE will hold an informal webinar to discuss general feedback from interested parties regarding the content of this RFI. To register for this informational webinar, please sign up at: https://bit.ly/RFI_HydroIncentiveProgram. Additional webinar information, participant instructions, and information about the capabilities available to webinar participants will be published on https://www.energy.gov/eere/water/hydropower-incentives-funding-bipartisan-infrastructure-law. Participants are responsible for ensuring their systems are compatible with the webinar software.

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

^[1] Section 243 (Hydroelectric Efficiency Improvement Incentives Program) and Section 247 (Maintaining and Enhancing Hydroelectricity Incentives Program) will be referred to as the Hydroelectric Incentive Programs.

Updated 6/6/22

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), Water Power Technologies Office (WPTO) is requesting information and feedback on the data and research needs that may support the broader hydropower community (i.e., system operators, technology developers, facility owners, regulators, researchers, and other stakeholders) in developing and implementing climate change-informed practices for sustainable long-term hydropower operation and resource planning. The requested information will help WPTO design future research and development (R&D) initiatives, tools, and datasets that support the community in addressing the risk of long-term climatic change on hydropower generation.

Amendment 000002 - The purpose of this amendment is to modify Subtopic Area 2B Metrics to replace “reduction in variability” with “extension of performance”. And under the third bullet in Subtopic Area 2b Specific Requirements, replace “variability” with “duration”. See FOA DE-FOA-0002636/000002 for details.

Amendment 000001 - The purpose of this amendment is to modify Appendix G to correct an error to allow the following feedstocks for Topic Area 3: Syngas (derived from other allowable feedstocks). See FOA DE-FOA-0002636/000001 for details.

This FOA (Funding Opportunity Announcement) supports two priority areas in the Bioenergy Technologies Office (BETO) research and development (R&D) portfolio. The first of these priority areas addresses new strategies for energy and resource recovery from waste streams. Waste streams including municipal solid waste, animal manure, wastewater residuals and other organic wastes have been identified as a key feedstock for the production of biofuels and bioproducts. These wastes represent significant environmental liabilities in the forms of fugitive methane emissions, air and water quality impacts, and odors, amongst others. These wastes also disproportionately are cited in disadvantaged communities leading to a multitude of health impacts on the surrounding populations. There are also significant costs associated with the management of these waste streams including treatment, hauling, and disposal or tipping fees. These economic factors make these waste streams an economic liability to the communities managing them but also a cost-advantaged feedstock for the production of biofuels and bioproducts.

The second priority area addressed by this FOA targets improved organisms and inorganic catalysts. BETO’s Conversion R&D Program has identified process robustness as a key challenge that must be addressed prior to scale-up. This includes the development of more robust organisms and catalytic processes for the conversion of sustainable feedstocks and intermediates into biofuels and bioproducts. Topic Area 2 of this FOA (including subtopics 2a and 2b) seeks technologies to improve the economic viability of microbial production processes by improving the productivity and robustness of the engineered microorganisms. Topic Area 3 focuses on inorganic catalyst development and investigating catalyst robustness and the mitigation of negative impacts or impurities found in bio-derived streams. Topic Areas 2 and 3 will ultimately improve the economics of sustainable biofuels production to realize cost goals of under $2.50/gallon by 2030 and to enable more processes that are capable of producing sustainable aviation fuel and meet the White House’s goal of reducing aviation emissions by 20% by 2030.

Topic Area 1: MSW Feedstock Technologies

Topic Area 2: Robust Microbial Cells

Topic Area 3: Robust Catalytic Processes

Topic Area 4: Community Scale Resource and Energy Recovery from Organic Wastes

Questions regarding the FOA must be submitted to FY22FeedstockConversionFOA@ee.doe.gov.

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 lab call is being issued as part of the Technology Commercialization Fund (TCF) by the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Office of Technology Transitions, the Office of Electricity, the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy’s Building Technologies Office, Geothermal Technologies Office, Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technologies Office, Solar Energy Technologies Office, Water Power Technologies Office, and Wind Energy Technologies Office, as well as the Office of Nuclear Energy.

This call solicits proposals from National Laboratory Technology Transfer Offices, in collaboration with partners across the DOE National Laboratory Complex, to develop and implement programming to facilitate an improved and more impactful lab commercialization process.

EERE National Laboratory Guiding Principles require all offices to pursue a merit review of direct-funded National Laboratory work. In line with these principles, the Building Technologies Office (BTO) is issuing this Lab Call for Fiscal Year 2022 (FY 2022) funding. This Lab Call solicits both new and continuing work proposals in six technology areas:

• AREA 1: HVAC&R and Water Heating
• AREA 2: Thermal Energy Storage
• AREA 3: Windows
• AREA 4: Supervisory Building Controls
• AREA 5: Building Electric Appliances, Devices, and Systems
• AREA 6: Building Energy Modeling

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

The purpose of this RFI is to solicit feedback from industry, academia, research laboratories, government agencies, and other stakeholders on issues related to Community Programs for Organic Waste.

EERE is seeking to understand which of these economic, environmental, and social impacts are of highest priority to communities. EERE is also seeking additional information about how to make this program more effective and identify additional technical assistance needs that are most in demand by rural communities.

Note that for the purposes of this RFI, BETO is particularly interested in the following organic waste streams:

• dairy manure
• swine manure
• food waste
• municipal wastewater residuals
• fats/oils/greases

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 CommunityWasteRFI@ee.doe.gov no later than 5:00pm (ET) on March 11, 2022. 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 6 pages in length, 12 point font, 1 inch margins. Only electronic responses will be accepted.

In addition to providing written responses to this RFI, respondents may request a 30-minute individual discussion with a BETO staff member regarding the content of their written responses to the RFI questions. Similarly, if a respondent is unable to submit written responses, or would otherwise prefer to do so, he/she may request a 30-minute individual discussion with a BETO staff member to verbally provide responses to the RFI questions. If a respondent wishes to participate in an individual discussion for either of these reasons, please submit your request to CommunityWasteRFI@ee.doe.gov and you will be contacted by a BETO staff member to schedule a time for the discussion. Requests for an individual discussion must be requested no later than 5:00pm (ET) on March 11, 2022.

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

An informational webinar was held on October 13, 2021. A recording of the webinar is here: https://youtu.be/H7sP4nBg64k

A copy of the slides is found under DOCUMENTS below.

Modification 0003

The purpose of this modification is to update the Replies to Reviewer Comments deadline as listed on the title page. 

Modification 0002

The purposes of this modification are to clarify the definition of hydropower on page 4 and to update Section I.C. Applications Specifically Not of Interest. 
 

Modification 0001

The purpose of this modification is to correct the Replies to Reviewer Comments deadline as listed on the title page. 

The Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) is issuing, on behalf of the Water Power Technologies Office (WPTO) through its HydroWIRES Initiative, a Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) titled “Technology Innovation to Increase Hydropower Flexibility.” The FOA seeks next-generation technologies from manufacturers, equipment vendors, and research organizations to improve the flexible capabilities of the U.S. hydropower fleet. The development of technical solutions to improve hydropower flexibility – either by improving performance across various dimensions of unit-level flexibility, or by reducing potential negative impacts of flexible operations – can improve hydropower’s ability to integrate additional variable renewable resources and support power system decarbonization. 

10/28/2021 Update: The deadline for responses to this RFI is extended until December 7, 2021

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Water Power Technologies Office (WPTO) seeks comments on the testing facilities and capabilities that will be needed by technology developers, manufacturers, designers, construction contractors, owners, regulators, researchers, and other stakeholders to validate and advance emerging and future hydropower technology innovations.

Desirability, convenience, and cost are the three greatest barriers to deep energy building retrofits. The goal of this planned FOA is to fund research that enables faster renovation and construction of affordable, appealing, and energy efficient buildings. This FOA directly supports goals of a carbon-neutral building economy no later than 2050 by focusing on three specific topics areas in need of desirable, convenient and affordable solutions to transform the United States’ building stock. This FOA builds on BTO’s current Advanced Building Construction work: https://www.energy.gov/eere/buildings/advanced-building-construction-initiative.  Information about the latest ABC goals and strategic organization can be found in the factsheet: https://www.energy.gov/sites/prod/files/2021/03/f83/bto-abc-fact-sheet-030321.pdf 

The ABC Initiative uses a multi-pronged approach to address research, development, and market challenges with the goal of integrating highly efficient and low-carbon innovations into the construction industry’s broader modernization efforts. Through competitively awarded R&D projects and cutting-edge building technologies research at DOE’s national laboratories, and the establishment of an ABC Collaborative with key industry partnerships, workforce training, and other strategic activities, the ABC Initiative works to not only drive development of new technologies, practices and approaches but also ensure that these solutions are widely deployed in the market – thus helping the U.S. expand job opportunities, develop a stronger building infrastructure, improve energy affordability.

A key objective of the planned 2021 Advanced Building Construction FOA is to fund R&D that will benefit underserved communities by contributing to the following goals: 

• Highly energy-efficient buildings with low-carbon footprints and lower energy bills
• Faster renovation and construction, with less disruption to building occupants
• Affordable to developers and consumers
• Improved indoor air quality, improved comfort, and reduced maintenance.

As part of a forthcoming FOA, BTO will be seeking applications aimed at developing deep energy retrofit and new construction technologies suitable for environments with extremely high or low temperatures that tackle a combination of envelope, heating, cooling, and water heating issues, and hold appeal for both building owners and occupants. Priority shall be given to those with prior experience serving low-income residents living in extremely hot or cold environments.

The Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) intends to issue, on behalf of the Water Power Technologies Office (WPTO) through its HydroWIRES Initiative, a Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) entitled “Technology Innovation to Increase Hydropower Flexibility ”.

The FOA seeks next-generation technologies from manufacturers, equipment vendors, and research organizations to improve the flexible capabilities of the U.S. hydropower fleet. The development of technical solutions to improve unit flexibility – either via improving performance across various dimensions of flexible operations or reducing negative impacts of flexible operations – can increase the value of hydropower in an evolving power system by improving its ability to integrate additional wind and solar generation. 

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), Office Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), and the Water Power Technologies Office (WPTO) seeks stakeholder input on factors to consider in relation to defining “an area where there is inadequate electric service”. WPTO proposes to define “an area in which there is inadequate electric service” as follows:

“An area in which there is inadequate electric service means a geographic area that lacks access to an interconnected electrical grid or where a customer may not reasonably access electrical energy services; is subject to frequent electric outages, based on common reliability metrics; or where the cost of electricity is significantly above the typical residential electricity cost.”

The above definition will be applied in accordance with the definition of a qualified hydroelectric facility set in Section 242 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005, 42 U.S.C. § 15881 (“Section 242”), as amended by Section 3005(a) of the Energy Act of 2020.

A recording of the FOA Webinar held 7/22/2021 is here: https://youtu.be/0KqRyn57BmE 

A copy of the slides is found under DOCUMENTS below.

Modification 0004

The purpose of this modification is to add additional resources to Appendix G - Example performance Metrics. The word "design" is also added to Topic Area 1, Budget Period 2 title in Table 3 to clarify expectations for the Budget Period. 

Modification 0003

The purpose of this modification is to amend Table 3 for Topic Area 1. See page 2 of the FOA for details. 

Modification 0002

The purposes of this modification are to:

1. Revise Topic Area 1 Anticipated Period of Performance to 48 months: Table 1 on page 11, revised Topic Area 1 award duration to up to 48 months on page 12, and BP2 duration to 39 months in Table 3 on page 16. Change wording on page 12 to say between instead of at least; and

2. Replace “Project partners” with “subrecipients” and “subcontractors” with “vendors” on pages 42, 49,50, and 51.

Modification 0001

The purposes of this modification are to:

1. Add additional text to Table 3. TA1 (both TA1a and TA1b) Scope, deliverables, schedule on pages 15 and 16; and

2. Revise Topic Area 3 requirements in Section III.E. Limitation on Number of Concept Papers and Full Applications Eligible for Review on page 39. 

The Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) is issuing, on behalf of the Water Power Technologies Office (WPTO), a Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) titled “Advancing Wave Energy Technologies through Open Water Testing at PacWave.” This FOA will directly support open water Research and Development (R&D) at the PacWave test site[1] that is needed to advance wave energy converter (WEC) technologies towards commercial viability. This FOA will only fund projects that perform testing at the PacWave test site, projects that propose testing at the PacWave North test site will not be considered for funding. Accordingly, the remainder of this solicitation refers to “PacWave South” simply as “PacWave”.

WEC technologies are still in the early stages of development and the industry has had limited opportunities to deploy and test cost-competitive WEC technologies. Accordingly, WPTO supports a broad spectrum of foundational R&D activities aimed at advancing WEC technologies that can provide electricity to utility grids to help meet the Nation’s growing renewable energy needs, and can provide energy solutions that support the development of the blue economy[2]. In this context, over the last decade WPTO has supported a broad range of R&D including the development of numerical modeling tools, the design and optimization of WEC systems and components, the characterization of WECs and system components through tank and laboratory testing, the characterization and development of materials, the development of WEC control systems, along with limited open water systems testing activities.

Enabled in part by WPTO’s support, the WEC industry and R&D community have developed WEC technologies and system designs to the point where comprehensive open water testing is needed to advance technologies further towards commercialization. To meet the open water testing needs of the WEC community, WPTO recently made a significant investment in the PacWave wave energy test facility that is being constructed off the coast of Newport, Oregon. This pre-permitted, highly-energetic, and grid-connected deep water wave energy testing facility enables system and component testing across a range of scales. WPTO anticipates that PacWave will play a critical role in the development of the WEC industry and that early PacWave testing campaigns will significantly advance WEC technologies.

[1] PacWave is an open ocean wave energy testing facility consisting of two sites, each located just a few miles from the deep-water port of Newport, Oregon on the ever-energetic Pacific Ocean. See the PacWave website and the “PacWave Information and Support” section for additional details - http://pacwaveenergy.org/

[2] WPTO broadly categorizes the blue economy into two themes: (1) Providing power at sea to support offshore industries, science, and security activities and (2) Meeting the energy and water needs of coastal and rural island stakeholders in support of resilient coastal communities. More information about blue economy application of WEC technologies can be found in the Powering the Blue Economy™ report at , which investigates opportunities for marine energy to provide power for remote locations, microgrids, maritime industry activities, or ocean R&D expeditions.-economy-report, which investigates opportunities for marine energy to provide power for remote locations, microgrids, maritime industry activities, or ocean R&D expeditions.

The Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) intends to issue, on behalf of the Water Power Technologies Office (WPTO), a Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) titled “Advancing Wave Energy Technologies through Open Water Testing at PacWave.” 

This FOA supports open water Research and Development (R&D) at the PacWave test site that is needed to advance wave energy converter (WEC) technologies towards commercial viability. This FOA will only fund projects that will advance WEC technologies at the PacWave South test site. Projects that propose testing at the PacWave North test site will not be considered for funding. 

This FOA is focused on advancing WEC systems that vary in size from utility-scale, grid-connected devices, to smaller non-utility, non-grid-connected devices that provide power for Blue Economy applications. Specifically, this FOA aims to support R&D projects across three Topic Areas (TAs). TA1 focuses on testing of WEC system designs intended for remote and microgrid applications as well as open-source WEC system that aim to generate publicly available data and knowledge to benefit the entire WEC industry. TA2 focuses on advancing WEC designs for future deployment at PacWave South. TA3 is an open topic area that will support wave energy R&D projects at PacWave South that advance WECs and supporting technologies.

PacWave is an open ocean wave energy testing facility consisting of two sites, each located just a few miles from the deep-water port of Newport, Oregon on the ever-energetic Pacific Ocean. See the PacWave website and the “PacWave Information and Support” section for additional details - http://pacwaveenergy.org/ 

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.

Building a clean energy economy and addressing the climate crisis is a top priority of the Biden Administration. This Federal Agency Call (FAC) will advance the Biden Administration’s goals to achieve carbon pollution-free electricity by 2035 and “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 (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 disadvantaged communities.

As part of the DOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), the Federal Energy Management Program’s (FEMP) priority is to help federal agencies advance the energy efficiency and resilience of their operations, while addressing climate change and minimizing the carbon footprint. FEMP assists Federal agencies in meeting energy- and climate change-related goals by bringing expertise from all levels of project and policy implementation to identify affordable solutions and facilitate public-private partnerships.

DOE and FEMP intend to play a leading role in meeting the challenge facing our nation and our planet from climate change through advancing a plan to lead the world in building a clean energy economy to address the climate emergency. DOE and FEMP will use its resources to turn the threat of climate change into an opportunity by catalyzing our partners across the Federal government to lead through the power of example toward the goal of building a 100% clean energy economy with net-zero emissions.

FEMP’s Assisting Federal Facilities with Energy Conservation Technologies (AFFECT) 2021 FAC will provide direct funding to Federal agencies for the development of energy and water efficiency projects and processes that address climate change mitigation and/or adaptation. The purpose of the AFFECT 2021 FAC funding is to initiate, supplement, improve or otherwise increase the viability and adoption of climate change mitigation and adaptation actions entailing energy efficiency, clean energy, and operational resilience at U.S. Federal government-owned facilities. This is accomplished through leveraging the use of a privately financed performance contract in the form of an Energy Savings Performance Contract (ESPC), ENABLE contract, or Utility Energy Service Contract (UESC) to enhance Federal agency climate change mitigation via energy efficiency, clean energy, and adaptation at mission critical sites. The AFFECT 2021 FAC is expected to provide ‘value added’ additions to projects allowing for greater impact from the projects in terms of energy cost savings and greenhouse gas (GHG) mitigation, enhanced climate change adaptation and resilience. FEMP also intends for the AFFECT 2021 FAC to provide demonstrated opportunities for replication of projects at other Federal facilities, while building a diversified workforce within the clean energy economy in construction, skilled trades, and engineering to enhance American infrastructure.

Applications must address either or both of the Climate Change Adaptation-Resilient and/or Efficient Areas of Interest identified below, and describe a Replicability Plan highlighting (a) how replication and/or scalability across the agencies’ enterprises will be promoted, and (b) agree to develop a Government Use Case for leveraging across applicable U.S. Federal government-owned facilities.

Through the AFFECT 2021 FAC, FEMP intends to facilitate and promote the use of energy performance contracts to leverage a wider adoption of Climate Change Adaptation-Resilient and/or Efficient projects and processes at all Federal facilities.

Questions regarding the FAC must be submitted to AFFECT2021@ee.doe.gov.

Answers to the questions will be posted to an excel spreadsheet found in the announcement "Documents" section of the FAC posting.

EERE Exchange is designed to enforce the deadlines specified in this FAC. The “Apply” and “Submit” buttons will automatically disable at the defined submission deadlines. Should Applicants experience problems with EERE Exchange, the following information may be helpful.

Applicants that experience issues with submission PRIOR to the FAC deadline:

In the event that an Applicant experiences technical difficulties with a submission, the applicant should contact the EERE Exchange helpdesk for assistance (EERE-ExchangeSupport@hq.doe.gov). The EERE Exchange helpdesk and/or the EERE Exchange system administrators will assist Applicants in resolving issues.

Please see the full text for the Federal Agency Call (FAC) in the DOCUMENTS section below.

The Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) is issuing, on behalf of the Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technologies Office (HFTO), Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) DE-FOA-0002446. The activities supported by this FOA are authorized under the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (EPACT 2005) Public Law 109-58 (Aug. 5, 2005), Title VIII - HYDROGEN, Sections 801 to 816. These provisions are found in the United States Code at 42 U.S.C. §§ 16151 to 16165. Title VIII authorizes the Secretary of Energy to conduct a program of research, development and demonstration on technologies relating to the production, purification, distribution, storage, and use of hydrogen energy, fuel cells, and related infrastructure.

This FOA supports research and development (R&D) to enable “H2@Scale” − a DOE initiative to achieve large scale production, storage, transport, and utilization of hydrogen across multiple sectors.1 Supporting EERE’s core priorities of energy affordability, integration and storage, H2@Scale research, development and demonstration (RD&D) aims to advance the adoption of hydrogen and fuel cell technologies in integrated energy systems across key applications that provide a value proposition as well as reduce emissions. However, a number of challenges remain including cost, performance, durability, manufacturing and scale-up issues, and developing integrated systems that demonstrate the unique technical, economic and environmental benefits of hydrogen and fuel cells.

To address these challenges, HFTO supports a comprehensive RD&D portfolio addressing materials-, component- and systems-level R&D on hydrogen and fuel cell technologies (e.g., MW-scale electrolyzers, fuel cells for heavy-duty transportation applications, hydrogen delivery and fueling infrastructure, among others); and technology acceleration efforts addressing first-of-a-kind demonstrations of integrated energy systems, as well as manufacturing innovations and safety codes and standards. HFTO RD&D relies heavily on collaborations among various industry and university stakeholders and the national laboratories, including through HFTO-managed consortia.

This year, HFTO launched two major collaborative research initiatives leveraging world-class expertise and state-of-the-art equipment at the national laboratories: the Million Mile Fuel Cell Truck (M2FCT) consortium and the H2NEW consortium.2 Under each consortium, DOE national laboratories are working together in cutting-edge R&D and collaborating with the hydrogen and fuel cell communities to identify innovative ways to make hydrogen and fuel cell technologies more affordable and competitive in today’s market. Each consortium is planned at $50 million over five years, along with a similar level for industry and university FOAs, to advance progress in specific hydrogen production and fuel cell RD&D areas:

• M2FCT includes Los Alamos and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratories as co-leads, and focuses on fuel cell durability, performance, and cost to better position fuel cell trucks as a viable option in the long-haul trucking market.
• H2NEW includes National Renewable Energy Laboratory and Idaho National Laboratory as co-leads, and focuses on R&D to enable affordable, durable and efficient large-scale electrolyzers, which produce hydrogen from electricity and water (at both high and low temperatures).

This HFTO FY21 RD&D FOA will provide more than $33,500,000 in Federal funding for topics designed to supplement the current HFTO RD&D portfolio in the advancement of hydrogen and fuel cell technologies, with an emphasis on incentivizing collaborative progress among industry, university and national laboratory stakeholders, including coordination with the M2FCT and H2NEW Consortia. This FOA includes the following four areas of R&D:

2) Efficient and Innovative Hydrogen Production This topic includes two focus areas aimed at developing sustainable generation technologies to enable low-cost production of clean hydrogen at large scale. The first area, carried out in collaboration with DOE’s Advanced Manufacturing Office (AMO), focuses on increasing the production volume of advanced components, stacks, sub-systems, and systems for multi-MW-scale high-temperature electrolyzers to lower hydrogen production costs. This would be coordinated with the H2NEW consortium. The second focus area supports technology development which enables low cost hydrogen production via waste and biomass conversion. Research approaches in this area include microbial conversion technologies viable at large or distributed/community scales, with development of novel systems to bring down cost, improve yield, and enable scale-up.

3) High-flow Fueling Applications This topic includes two focus areas for development of novel hydrogen fueling technologies and processes that can increase hydrogen dispensing rates to facilitate rapid fueling of heavy-duty vehicles. The first topic area focuses on low-cost, reliable, domestically supplied hydrogen fueling station components to enable high-flow hydrogen fueling of heavy-duty trucks. The second focus area supports R&D necessary to develop a high-flow gaseous fueling model and ultimately a standard protocol which can achieve targeted fill rates.

4) Analysis This topic includes three focus areas for the development of a comprehensive set of cost analyses involving all aspects of hydrogen and fuel cell technologies. Projects would define the current state-of-the-art in key areas, develop and refine system configurations and designs, provide guidance on R&D gaps, and help to direct future R&D priorities in fuel cell, hydrogen production, and hydrogen storage technologies.

***NOTICE: New Application System Launched***

EERE issued this FOA in December of 2020 via the new EERE Program Information Center (EPIC) website https://epic.ee.doe.gov/

*******HOWEVER, PLEASE NOTE, the FOA has been moved to the Exchange website https://eere-exchange.energy.gov. Applications, for those that submitted an eligible Conept Paper under this FOA in EPIC, must be submitted through Exchange by the deadline listed below.

In addition, all questions pertaining to this FOA must now be submitted to HFTOFOA@ee.doe.gov. The list of Q&A's from EPIC, to date, is posted below.

Mod 005-

The purpose of this modification is to update the number of pages allowed for Reply to Reviewer Comments in the text on page 64.

Mod 004- The purpose of this modification is to provide clarification on where to upload 1-page letters of prospective interest in hosting research from offshore wind developers with projects in relevant geographic locations. See pages 52, 58, and 59.

Mod 003- The purpose of this modfication is to update the following in Table as shown on FOA Cover Page:

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.

Mod 002 - The purpose of this modification is to make the following change to Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) Number DE-FOA-0002237: "Offshore Wind Energy Environmental Research and Instrumentation Validation": Provide clarification that Concept Papers and Full Applications for Topic Areas 1, 2 and 3--Sub-Topic 1 may cover more than one technology and research focus. See pages 49 and 52.

Mod 001 - The purpose of this modification is to make the following changes to Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) Number DE-FOA-0002237: "Offshore Wind Energy Environmental Research and Instrumentation Validation":

1) Delete references to EERE Program Information Center (EPIC) and replace with references to EERE Exchange. (All submissions shall be submitted to through the EERE Exchange Website at: https://eere-exchange.energy.gov/. All questions related to this FOA shall be sent to the FOA Inbox OSWENVFOA@ee.doe.gov.;

2) Update the individual award celling as shown on Page 35;

3) Remove references to Executive Order 13950, Combating Race and Sex Stereotyping;

4) Add Implementation of Executive Order 13798, Promoting Free Speech and Religious Liberty to Section VI.B.xvii;

5) Add Table of Personnel to Section VI.B.xviii; and

6) Add Budget for DOE/NNSA FFRDC to Section IV.D.xi.

In conjunction with the National Oceanographic Partnership Program (NOPP), and in coordination with partnering agencies, the Department of Energy (DOE), Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), Wind Energy Technologies Office (WETO) is releasing a Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) to support regionally focused, coordinated research efforts to increase understanding of the environmental impacts of offshore wind development as well as to advance and validate technical readiness of tools for monitoring and minimizing impacts.

This FOA will support work across three Topic Areas:

1) Development of methodologies and evaluation of offshore wind impacts on wildlife in U.S. Atlantic waters;

2) Development of methodologies and evaluation of offshore wind impacts on the ecology of commercially fished species in US Atlantic waters; and

3) Environmental baseline studies and environmental monitoring technology development and validation focused on U.S. waters off of the U.S. West Coast, in preparation for future floating offshore wind development.

DOE anticipates issuing a single award of up to $7.5 million for Topic Area 1, a single award of up to $3.5 million for Topic Area 2, and 3–4 awards ranging from $750,000 to $2 million for Topic Area 3. Additional cost share of 30% is required for Topic Areas 1 and 2 and 20% is required for Topic Area 3.

To apply to this FOA, applicants must submit application materials through this EERE Exchange website.

Modification 00003

The purpose of this modification is to:

1) Revise Submission Deadline for Full Applications to April 16, 2021 at 5pm ET as listed on the title page and page 25.

Modification 000002

The purpose of this modification is to:

Modification 000001

The purposes of this modification are to:

1) Revise the Submission Deadline for Full Applications and Submission Deadline for Reply to Reviewer Comments dates as listed on the NOTA's title page and on page 25;

2) Add the Expected Date for Concept Paper Encourage/Discourage Notifications and the Expected Date for Full Application Reviewer Comments on NOTA page 25; and

3) Correct references to “Concept Paper Requirements” on page 29, these are corrected to “Technical Volume Requirements”.

The objectives of this Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) Notice of Opportunity for Technical Assistance (NOTA) are to:

* Provide hydropower decision-makers—such as utilities and system operators—with National Lab expertise and capabilities to address challenges and capture opportunities for their systems;

* Validate National Lab-led modeling, analysis, and tools developed under the HydroWIRES initiative for the benefit of the broader community; and

* Further our collective understanding ofpossible roles for hydropower under evolving power system conditions that reach beyond those considered by most planners and operators today.

WPTO anticipates providing Technical Assistance (TA) to up to 6 recipients. Each recipient will receive assistance valued at up to $400,000. WPTO will provide the funding to the TA team that will provide the TA for the selected projects. There is no financial assistance available under this NOTA; only TA will be provided. WPTO will not purchase hardware, software, or provide any direct funding to selected organizations through this NOTA. Recipients will not be required to provide cash cost share, although in-kind contributions for data, information, and critical review of results are necessary for project success.

WPTO is under no obligation to pay for any costs associated with preparation or submission of applications. WPTO reserves the right to provide TA in whole or in part, to any, all, or none of the applications submitted in response to this NOTA.

An informational webinar was held on November 4, 2020, at 2PM EST. The following is the link for the webinar presentation: https://doe.webex.com/recordingservice/sites/doe/recording/playback/9f950d90ed0440138b28dd6ccf6a2b7b

Webinar Password: nSFav3Qy

Webinar Text-Alternative version: https://www.energy.gov/eere/water/de-foa-0002363-notice-opportunity-technical-assistance-nota-improving-hydropower-s-value

In recent years a growing number of utilities responsible for clean water have been moving from strict wastewater treatment to water resource management, some formally renaming themselves as water resource recovery facilities (WRRFs). Energy efficiency in equipment, processes, and operations is a fundamental part of this transition, and energy savings in facility retrofits can reach 50 percent. In addition to energy efficiency improvements, wastewater contains about five times more energy than is needed for its treatment, creating an opportunity for new, innovative technologies and approaches to recovering that energy content.

Looking even more broadly than municipal wastewater treatment facilities - across the entire energy-water nexus - water and wastewater contain a significant amount of recoverable chemical, thermal, and hydrodynamic energy content. Treatment efficiencies and energy recovery options across the energy-water nexus create the possibility for a growing percentage of treated water and wastewater systems in municipal, industrial, agriculture, utility, oil and gas and other sectors to achieve net-zero energy consumption, and even to become net producers of energy under favorable circumstances.

Energy is often the second-highest operating cost (behind labor costs) for water and wastewater treatment systems. Black & Veatch’s client surveys indicate that energy costs at water and wastewater utilities account for well over 10% of total operating costs for a large majority of utilities, with a significant number of utilities having energy costs that exceed 30 percent. Increasingly stringent regulations for contaminants are pushing water and wastewater treatment systems to use even more advanced – and energy intensive – treatment technologies. The energy use of these systems is expected to increase by up to 20 percent in the coming decades due to more stringent water quality standards and growing water demand based on population growth. Additionally, water and wastewater treatment facilities, pipes, and related infrastructure in cities around the country are approaching their end of expected service life. Therefore, a unique window of opportunity exists to replace the aging infrastructure with new, innovative approaches to water and wastewater treatment, resource recovery, and water reuse by looking more broadly at interconnected, cross-sector opportunities (i.e. municipal, industrial, agriculture, oil and gas, etc.) across the energy-water nexus to develop water and wastewater treatment systems of the future – advanced water resource recovery systems.
The goal of this Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) is to conduct research, development, and deployment on technology innovations that enable advanced water resource recovery systems. Topic Area 1 of this FOA seeks to advance the development of transformative technologies beyond early stage research and development (R&D) to become pilot ready (TRL 4-6). Whereas, Topic Area 2 of this FOA seeks to test currently developed, pilot ready technologies (TRL 6-7) though design, build, and operations in industrially relevant conditions to enable commercialization.

This FOA is being issued by the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) Advanced Manufacturing Office (AMO) as part of the DOE’s Water Security Grand Challenge (WSGC). The WSGC is a White House initiated, U.S. DOE led framework to advance transformational technology and innovation to meet the global need for safe, secure, and affordable water. Using a coordinated suite of prizes, competitions, R&D, and other programs, the Water Security Grand Challenge has set the following goals for the United States to reach by 2030:

As part of the WSGC, DOE announced a $1 million Water Resource Recovery Prize to accelerate resource recovery from municipal wastewater across the United States. DOE also announced the selection of the National Alliance for Water Innovation (NAWI) to lead DOE’s Energy-Water Desalination Hub, an early stage R&D consortia focused on desalination technologies. This FOA seeks to leverage these investments to further develop technologies for advanced water resource recovery systems.

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

Answers to the questions will be posted to an excel spreadsheet found in the annoucement Documents section of the FOA posting.

EERE Exchange is designed to enforce the deadlines specified in this FOA. The “Apply” and “Submit” buttons will automatically disable at the defined submission deadlines. Should applicants experience problems with EERE Exchange, the following information may be helpful.

Applicants that experience issues with submission PRIOR to the FOA deadline: In the event that an applicant experiences technical difficulties with a submission, the applicant should contact the EERE Exchange helpdesk for assistance (EERE-ExchangeSupport@hq.doe.gov). The EERE Exchange helpdesk and/or the EERE Exchange system administrators will assist applicants in resolving issues.

Applicants that experience issues with submissions that result in late submissions: In the event that an applicant experiences technical difficulties so severe that they are unable to submit their application by the deadline, the applicant should contact the EERE Exchange helpdesk for assistance (EERE-ExchangeSupport@hq.doe.gov). The EERE Exchange helpdesk and/or the EERE Exchange system administrators will assist the applicant in resolving all issues (including finalizing submission on behalf of and with the applicant’s concurrence). Please note, network traffic is at its heaviest during the final hours and minutes prior to submittal deadline. Applicants who experience this during the final hours or minutes and are unsuccessful in uploading documents will not be able to use this process.

As part of the Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), the Federal Energy Management Program (FEMP)’s mission is to help federal agencies advance the energy efficiency, resilience, and security of their operations. FEMP assists Federal agencies in meeting energy-related goals by bringing expertise from all levels of project and policy implementation to identify affordable solutions and facilitate public-private partnerships.

FEMP’s Assisting Federal Facilities with Energy Conservation Technologies (AFFECT) 2020 Federal Agency Call (FAC) will build on FEMP’s prior AFFECT grant program efforts to provide direct funding to Federal agencies for the development of energy and water efficiency projects and processes. The purpose of the AFFECT 2020 FAC funding is to initiate, supplement, improve or otherwise increase the viability and adoption of energy efficiency and operational resilience at U.S. Federal government-owned facilities. This is accomplished through leveraging the use of a privately financed performance contract in the form of an Energy Savings Performance Contract (ESPC), ENABLE contract, or Utility Energy Service Contract (UESC) to enhance Federal agency energy efficiency goals at mission critical sites. In addition, AFFECT will address the issue of aging infrastructure and deferred maintenance and repairs. The AFFECT 2020 FAC is expected to provide ‘value added’ additions to projects allowing for greater impact from the projects in terms of energy cost savings, enhanced resilience, or improved energy- or cyber-security. FEMP also intends for the AFFECT 2020 FAC to provide demonstrated opportunities for replication of projects at other Federal facilities.

Questions regarding the FAC must be submitted to AFFECT2020@ee.doe.gov.

Answers to the questions will be posted to an excel spreadsheet found in the announcement "Documents" section of the FAC posting.

EERE Exchange is designed to enforce the deadlines specified in this FAC. The “Apply” and “Submit” buttons will automatically disable at the defined submission deadlines. Should Applicants experience problems with EERE Exchange, the following information may be helpful.

Applicants that experience issues with submission PRIOR to the FAC deadline: In the event that an Applicant experiences technical difficulties with a submission, the applicant should contact the EERE Exchange helpdesk for assistance (EERE-ExchangeSupport@hq.doe.gov). The EERE Exchange helpdesk and/or the EERE Exchange system administrators will assist Applicants in resolving issues.

Modification 0001 has been made to this FOA to correct information on estimated funding for Topic Area 3 on page 25.

The Office of EnergyEfficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) is issuing on behalf of the Water Power Technologies Office (WPTO), a Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) titled "Marine Energy Foundational Research and Testing Infrastructure." This FOA addresses priorities in the following Topic Areas:

Topic Area 1: Foundational Research and Development (R&D)

Topic Area 2: Atlantic Marine Energy Center (AMEC)

Topic Area 3: Foundational Research Network Facilitator (FRNF)

Topic Area 4: Current Energy Technology Testing Infrastructure

Please carefully review the complete FOA, which can be accessed under the "Documents" heading below.

FOA Q&A can also be accessed under the "Documents" heading. Please review the Q&A before submitting a question, as a similar question may already have been answered.

Please note the "Submission Deadlines" below. The EERE Exchange system is designed to enforce hard deadlines for Concept Paper and Full Application submissions. The APPLY and SUBMIT buttons automatically disable at the defined submission deadlines. The intention of this design is to consistently enforce a standard deadline for all applicants. Applicants are encouraged to submit Concept Papers and Full Applications at least 48 hours in advance of the related Submission Deadline. For this FOA, Applicants must submit a Concept Paper by the stated deadline in order to be eligible to submit a Full Application.

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 at EERE-ExchangeSupport@hq.doe.gov.

Please note that The Statement of Project Objectives (SOPO) template was updated on May 28, 2020.

Informational Webinar:

A pre-recorded informational webinar is available to provide information on the FOA to potential applicants. Please see the link below to access this webinar information:

https://youtu.be/W4Ah2eOFUGo

A PowerPoint version of the webinar can be accessed under the "Documents" heading below.

DE-FOA-0002165: Notice of Request for Information (RFI) on Water Security Grand Challenge Resource Recovery Prize

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) invites public comment providing information and feedback on the design of a potential prize competition with a goal of increasing resource recovery from municipal wastewater treatment plants across the United States, and in so doing, lower the ultimate cost of treatment by extracting additional value from the wastewater (i.e., improve energy efficiency). Through this potential prize, DOE would seek novel, systems-based solutions from multidisciplinary teams to implement resource recovery at small-to-medium-sized wastewater treatment plants. Specifically, the intent is to encourage teams of wastewater treatment plants, engineering and design firms, technology developers, resource customers (e.g., farmers, electric and gas utilities), and others to develop holistic community and/or watershed-based resource recovery plans for their respective wastewater treatment systems. Input from this RFI may be used to further develop the competition objectives, rules, metrics, and incentives.

This is a Request for Information (RFI) only. EERE will not pay for information provided under this RFI and no project will be supported as a result of this RFI. This RFI is not accepting applications for financial assistance or financial incentives. EERE may or may not issue a Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) based on consideration of the input received from this RFI.

For questions and answers pertaining to this RFI, please reference the DE-FOA-0002165 Water Recovery Prize FAQ Log in the Documents section.

Responses to this RFI must be submitted electronically to WaterResourceRecoveryPrize@ee.doe.gov no later than 5:00pm (ET) on October 23, 2019. Responses must be provided as attachments to an email. Include Water Security Grand Challenge Resource Recovery Prize in the subject of the title. 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 20 pages in length, 12 point font, 1 inch margins. Only electronic responses will be accepted.

As part of the Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), the Federal Energy Management Program (FEMP)’s mission is to promote widespread energy efficiency and renewable energy technology adoption in the Federal sector. FEMP assists Federal agencies in meeting energy-related goals by bringing expertise from all levels of project and policy implementation to identify affordable solutions and facilitate public-private partnerships.

FEMP’s Assisting Federal Facilities with Energy Conservation Technologies (AFFECT) 2019 Federal Agency Call (FAC) will build on FEMP’s prior AFFECT grant program efforts to provide direct funding to Federal agencies for the development of energy and water efficiency projects and processes. The purpose of the AFFECT 2019 FAC funding is to initiate, supplement, improve or otherwise increase the viability and adoption of energy efficiency at U.S. Federal government-owned facilities through the use of a privately financed performance contract such as an Energy Savings Performance Contract (ESPC) or Utility Energy Service Contract (UESC), etc., or demonstration of a Federal agency’s enterprise-wide approach to implementing energy efficiency. An enterprise-wide approach is defined as an all-inclusive strategy to energy management for an entire portfolio of sites. Through the AFFECT 2019 FAC, FEMP intends to facilitate and promote the wider adoption of energy and water efficiency projects and processes at all Federal facilities.

This Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) will provide funding to address the highest priority R&D areas within biofuel technologies, bioproducts, and biopower. It includes Areas of Interest (AOIs) from all five BETO programs: Feedstock Supply and Logistics; Advanced Algal Systems; Conversion; Advanced Development and Optimization; and Sustainability and Strategic Analysis. Each AOI supports BETO’s objectives to reduce the minimum selling price of drop-in biofuels, lower the cost of biopower, enable high-value products from biomass or waste resources, and improve the quality of feedstock characterization and reliability of biorefinery operations.

Topics under this FOA include:

• AOI 1: Cultivation Intensification Processes for Algae
• AOI 2a: Relating Biomass Physical and Chemical Characteristics to Feedstock Performance in Handling and Conversion Operations
• AOI 2b: Impact of Storage and Handling on Biomass Characteristics
• AOI 2c: Improving Economics and Development of Coproducts
• AOI 3: Efficient Wood Heaters
• AOI 4: Systems Research of Hydrocarbon Biofuel Technologies
• AOI 5: Optimization of Bio-Derived Jet Fuel Blends
• AOI 6: Renewable Energy from Urban and Suburban Wastes
• AOI 7a: Advanced Bioprocessing
• AOI 7b: Agile BioFoundry
• AOI 8a: Designing Highly Recyclable Plastics
• AOI 8b: Designing Novel Methods for Deconstructing and Upcycling Existing Plastics
• AOI 9: Rethinking Anaerobic Digestion
• AOI 10: Reducing Water, Energy, and Emissions in Bioenergy

Please carefully review the complete Funding Opportunity Announcement, which can be accessed under the "Documents" heading below.

FOA Q&A can also be accessed under the "Documents" heading. Please review the Q&A before submitting a question, as a similar question may already have been answered.

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

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

Applicants that experience issues with submissions PRIOR to the FOA Deadline should contact the Exchange Helpdesk for assistance at EERE-ExchangeSupport@hq.doe.gov. Applicants are responsible for meeting each submission deadline. Applicants are strongly encouraged to submit their Concept Papers and Full Applications at least 48 hours in advance of the submission deadline.

The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Building Technologies Office (BTO) Advanced Building Construction with Energy-Efficient Technologies & Practices (ABC) FOA supports research and development of solutions that can be applied to many segments of the building sector, including existing and new buildings, residential and commercial, and across multiple climate zones. BTO is seeking applications aimed at developing deep energy retrofit and new construction technologies that holistically tackle a combination of envelope, heating, cooling, water heating, and ventilation issues, and hold appeal for both building owners and occupants.

BTO is interested in three topic areas:

Topic 1: Integrated Building Retrofits

Topic 2: New Construction Technologies

Topic 3: Advanced Technology Integration

For questions and answers pertaining to this FOA, please reference the DE-FOA-0002099 ABC 2019 FAQ Log in the Documents section below.

Informational Webinar: A playback of the Informational Webinar mentioned in the FOA can be found by following this link:

https://doe.webex.com/doe/lsr.php?RCID=8bd63921da034e8996909acf73ffdab1

Passcode: 2019abcFOA 

A full transcript of the Informational Webinar can be found in the Documents section below.

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.

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) Building Technologies Office (BTO). BTO’s overall goal is to improve the energy productivity of buildings without sacrificing occupant comfort or product performance. The goal is to use energy more productively and efficiently, not simply to use less energy. Progress towards achieving this goal will make building energy costs more affordable to the benefit of American families and businesses.

BTO research is focused on reducing energy intensity for major segments of the sector with the most opportunity for energy savings, while balancing the need to maintain occupant comfort and productivity, and product performance. This includes both new and existing buildings, both residential and commercial, including their energy-consuming and labor-saving equipment. The development of next-generation building technologies, including building materials, components, equipment, energy models and systems, is critical to increasing energy productivity in a cost-effective manner.

BTO’s Emerging Technologies (ET) program invests in the research and development to create the next-generation building technologies, tools and systems to enhance energy efficiency. The program focuses on the most energy-intensive technologies for residential buildings and in commercial buildings, where the opportunity for cost-effective energy savings is greatest. These technologies include air conditioning, space heating, water heating, lighting and sensors & controls, all of which are addressed in this FOA.

Achieving BTO’s priorities across the building technology landscape requires sustained, multifaceted innovation. With this FOA, BTO intends to fund high-impact, early-stage research in the following areas:

Topic 1: Flexible Building Technologies

Topic 2: Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning (HVAC) Technologies

Topic 3: Solid-State Lighting (SSL) Technologies

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

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@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 applicant through eXCHANGE within 24 hours of the FOA's posted deadline

Modification 0003 has been made to this FOA to change "two (2)Budget Periods are anticipated", to "one (1) Budget Period is anticipated" FOA AOI 4, within Section II.A.ii. of the FOA. See "FOA 2080 WPTO Research Mod 0003" under the "Documents" heading below.

Modification 0002 has been made to this FOA to make corrections in Section I B AOI 3 on page 41. See "FOA 2080 WPTO Research Mod 0002" under the "Documents" heading below.

Modification 0001 has been made to this FOA to correct the AOI 3 and AOI 4 Specific Technical Volume information on pages 76 and 77.

The Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) is issuing, on behalf of the Water Power Technologies Office (WPTO), a Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) titled “Water Power Technologies Office 2019 Research Funding Opportunity.” This FOA addresses priorities in the following Areas of Interest:

Area of Interest 1: Hydropower Operational Flexibility

Area of Interest 1a: Quantify Hydropower Capabilities for Operational Flexibility

Area of Interest 1b: Operational Strategies for Increasing Hydropower Flexibility

Area of Interest 2: Low-Head Hydropower and In-Stream Hydrokinetic Technologies

Area of Interest 2a: Modular Technologies for Low-Head Hydropower Applications

Area of Interest 2b: Modular Technologies for River Current Energy Converter Applications

Area of Interest 3: Advancing Wave Energy Device Design

Area of Interest 4: Marine Energy Centers Research Infrastructure Upgrades

Please carefully review the complete FOA, which can be accessed under the "Documents" heading below.

FOA Q&A can also be accessed under the "Documents" heading. Please review the Q&A before submitting a question, as a similar question may already have been answered.

An informational webinar was held on April 11, 2019 at 12:00 PM EST. A copy of the webinar PowerPoint presentation can be accessed under the "Documents" heading below; recording is available at https://youtu.be/s2LpyJsUfzM

Please note the "Submission Deadlines" below. The EERE Exchange system is designed to enforce hard deadlines for Concept Paper and Full Application submissions. The APPLY and SUBMIT buttons automatically disable at the defined submission deadlines. The intention of this design is to consistently enforce a standard deadline for all applicants. Applicants are encouraged to submit Concept Papers and Full Applications at least 48 hours in advance of the related Submission Deadline. For this FOA, Applicants must submit a Concept Paper by the stated deadline in order to be eligible to submit a Full Application.

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 at EERE-ExchangeSupport@hq.doe.gov.

This Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) advances the H2@Scale concept. The focus of H2@Scale is to enable affordable and reliable large-scale hydrogen generation, transport, storage, and utilization in the United States across multiple sectors.

By producing hydrogen when power generation exceeds load, electrolyzers can reduce curtailment of renewables and contribute to grid stability. Hydrogen produced from existing baseload (e.g., nuclear power) assets can also be stored, distributed, and used as a fuel for multiple applications. Such applications include transportation, stationary power, process or building heat, and industrial sectors such as steel manufacturing, ammonia production and petroleum refining. Key challenges to the H2@Scale concept include affordability, reliability, and performance of emerging hydrogen and fuel cell technologies.

Topics under this FOA to advance H2@Scale include:

Topic 1: Advanced hydrogen storage and infrastructure R&D including novel materials or hydrogen carriers for transporting and storing hydrogen, and materials for hydrogen infrastructure components.

Topic 2: Innovative concepts for hydrogen production and utilization including advanced water splitting materials, affordable domestic hydrogen production technologies, co-production of hydrogen for additional sources of revenue, and reversible fuel cell technologies.

Topic 3: H2@Scale Pilot - integrated production, storage, and fueling systems including innovative approaches that successfully integrate and optimize the complete system encompassing hydrogen production, storage, distribution, and use.

Please carefully review the complete Funding Opportunity Announcement, which can be accessed under the "Documents" heading below.

FOA Q&A can also be accessed under the "Documents" heading. Please review the Q&A before submitting a question, as a similar question may already have been answered.

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

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

Applicants that experience issues with submissions PRIOR to the FOA Deadline should contact the Exchange Helpdesk for assistance at EERE-ExchangeSupport@hq.doe.gov. Applicants are responsible for meeting each submission deadline. Applicants are strongly encouraged to submit their Concept Papers and Full Applications at least 48 hours in advance of the submission deadline.

This RFI has been modified to extend the deadline for responses to April 5, 2019. Please see "Waves to Water RFI_Mod 0001" under the "Documents" heading below.

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) Water Power Technologies Office (WPTO) is seeking feedback on its proposed “Waves to Water” prize via this Request for Information (RFI). The Waves to Water prize seeks to address water security and energy needs in remote and coastal communities through small, modular, cost-competitive desalination systems that use the power of the ocean to provide potable drinking water.

The objective of this effort is to develop technology solutions that harness ocean energy to desalinate water. Through an anticipated multi-phased contest, the prize seeks to accelerate an innovation cycle timeline that can typically take years and support new innovators and organizations seeking to pair desalination systems with marine energy.

Responses to this RFI must be submitted electronically to WPTOPrizes@ee.doe.gov no later than 5:00pm (ET) on April 5, 2019.

Please review the complete RFI, which can be accessed under the "Documents" heading below.

Modification 0001: EERE is compiling a Teaming Partner List to facilitate the widest possible national participation in the formation of applicant teams for Topic 3. Information about the Topic 3 Teaming Partner List is included in the full text of the NOI. The Topic 3 Teaming Partner List is available in the Documents section below.

-----------------------------------

The Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) intends to issue, on behalf of the Fuel Cell Technologies Office (FCTO), Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) DE-FOA-0002022 entitled “Fiscal Year 2019 H2@Scale Funding Opportunity Announcement.”

Hydrogen is one part of DOE’s all-of-the-above energy portfolio, and can offer options for affordable and secure energy for transportation, as well as for stationary and industrial applications. The United States produces over 10 million metric tons of hydrogen per year, used primarily for petroleum refining and fertilizer production, but there are a number of opportunities to increase hydrogen generation and utilization across the country.

“H2@Scale” is an initiative to enable affordable and reliable largescale hydrogen generation, transport, storage, and utilization in the United States across sectors. For example, electrolyzers can produce hydrogen by splitting water when power generation exceeds demand. This can reduce or prevent curtailment of renewables, optimize baseload (e.g., nuclear power) assets, and enable grid stability and resiliency, while also producing hydrogen as a fuel or feedstock for end users. In addition, hydrogen produced from existing baseload assets can be stored, distributed, and used as a fuel for transportation, stationary power, process or building heat, and industrial sectors (e.g. steel manufacturing), creating an additional revenue stream for those assets.

Please see the full text of the Notice of Intent in the Documents section below.

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

EERE plans to issue the FOA in February of 2019 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.