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["INSTRUCTIONS"]
[1,"All questions pertaining to this funding opportunity announcement should be emailed to FY20BETOMultiTopicFOA@ee.doe.gov. "]
[2,"All questions pertaining to EERE Exchange should be emailed to EERE-ExchangeSupport@hq.doe.gov. Include FOA name and number in subject line."]
[3,"All questions and answers pertaining to this FOA will be posted on EERE Exchange within this spreadsheet."]
[4,"DOE will attempt to respond to a question within 3 business days, unless a similar question and answer has already been posted in this spreadsheet. "]
[5,"All questions should be submitted not later than 3 business days prior to the application due date. Questions submitted after this date will not be answered."]
[6,"Questions are assigned a number in accordance with when they are reviewed by DOE.  "]
[7,"Questions are assigned a topic area by DOE when reviewed."]
[]
["TIPS"]
[1,"Applicants may sort questions and answers in the question tabs of this spreadhseet by selecting the drop-down box arrow on the column headers and selecting any of the listed attributes."]
[2,"Applicants may search for questions and/or keywords by holding CTRL+F on the keyboard and typing in a phrase or keyword."]

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["ADMINISTRATIVE QUESTION AND ANSWER LOG"]
["DE-FOA0002203 - FY20 Bioenergy Technologies Office Multi-Topic Funding Opportunity Announcement"]
["Question #","Date Submitted","Topic","Question","Answer"]
["Column1","Column2","Column3","Column4","Column5"]
[1,null,"Eligibility","Can we apply for the grant under the above FOA?","Please review DE-FOA-0002203, the  FY20 Bioenergy Technologies Office Multi-Topic FOA found at: https://eere-exchange.energy.gov/ for specific eliligibilty requirements, Topic Areas, and Areas Specifically not of Interest. "]
[2,null,"Technical Topics","Are program officers associated with these topics available to discuss which AOI is the best fit?","DOE Personnel are prohibited from discussing FOA Topics with specific applicants until the application period has closed.  Please submit specific clarifying questions to the FOA mailbox. "]
[3,null,"Cost Sharing","Is there a minimum cost sharing rate that is require for this Funding Opportunity?","Please see section III.B and Appendix A."]
[4,null,"Due Dates","How long after the submission of the concept paper do we get feedback about whether or not we would be encouraged to submit the full proposal?","Applicants that submit a responsive Concept Paper should receive an encourage/discourage notification in Spring 2020."]
[5,null,"Concept Paper","Are there any examples of completed Concept Paper Submission that are public and can be shared?","No there is not.  Please see the FOA, section IV.C for requirements of the Concept Paper."]
[6,null,"Application Content/Format","This FOA states that only new applications will be accepted.  Will DOE treat a resubmission of a proposal that was declined by DOE before as a new application? If yes, are the PIs required to disclose that this is a resubmission?","The purpose of the statement found in the FOA, section II.A.iii is to note that \"renewal\" or continuation applications will not be accepted.  Previously declined applications are considered \"new\" applications.  No disclosure is necessary."]
[7,null,"Application Content/Format","The FFRDC Contractor Authorization letter that’s required should be addressed to whom, name and mailing address, please?","Please Address FFRDC authorization letters to:\nTo Whom It May Concern\nU.S. Department of Energy, \n1000 Independence Ave, SW \nWashington, D.C., 20585"]
[8,"2020-01-23","Application Content/Format","Our proposal details using agricultural wastes to produce biofuels. Is there a preferred feedstock? ","Please review DE-FOA-0002203, the  FY20 Bioenergy Technologies Office Multi-Topic FOA found at: https://eere-exchange.energy.gov/ for specific eliligibilty requirements, Topic Areas, and Areas Specifically not of Interest. "]
[9,"2020-01-23","Application Content/Format","Can an applicant submit an application proposal addressing two topic areas in the same proposal? ","Please see FOA Section IV.B. Concpet Paper Requirements.  An applicant may only address one topic area per Concept Paper. "]
[10,"2020-01-23","Technical Topics","Does biodiesel (from eligible feedstocks) satisfy the definition of \"biofuels ready to sell into the commercial market without further upgrading or blending\" ?","Per section I.C of the FOA, biodiesel is specifically not of interest for this FOA. \n• Applications that propose the production of biodiesel produced from transesterification or hydrotreating or hydrocracking of agronomic, natural plant oils (e.g., soybeans, palm, coconut, safflower, castor). \n\nFurther, the commercial market for B100 (biodiesel used in commercial applications without blending) is mainly as a blendstock, per the DOE’s AFDC: https://afdc.energy.gov/fuels/biodiesel_blends.html .   \n"]
[11,"2020-01-24","Technical Topics","For Topic Area 6b does DOE want us to focus on one technology for plastic recycling or do they want us to include a few different technologies?","Please see FOA Section I.B.VI. for Topic Area 6 Areas of Interest and Areas not of Interest. Applications can use multiple technologies and must meet the Subtopic 6b Specific Requirements."]
[12,"2020-01-24","Technical Topics","I had a question with regard to feedstock eligibility for the Bio-restore priority in the solicitation DE-FOA-0002203. As per Appendix C  among biomass types that are not eligible for this topic are plant based materials that are “generally intended for use as food or animal feed…….including oil crops”\n\nWe are working with an oilseed crop which is an industrial crop and not intended for food. However its byproduct, the meal is being considered as a high protein supplement for animal feed. does this disqualify our feedstock. In general are oilseed crops going to be an acceptable feedstock for this announcement. \n","Please see FOA Appendix C Acceptable Feedstocks.  Oilseed crops are generally recognized as for food and/or feed, not energy, and they are therefore not of interest for this topic area."]
[13,"2020-01-25","Intellectual Property","Can Applicants request a waiver to Government Rights in Subject Inventions? Could an Applicant put this stipulation in with the option to withdraw the submission if that were not acceptable?","Please see FOA section VIII. K. Government Rights in Subject Inventions. The US government cannot guarantee an Awardee will be the primary contractor on future potential uses of Subject Inventions created under awards from this FOA.  EERE will not make eligibility determinations for potential applicants prior to the date on which applications to this FOA must be submitted. The decision whether to submit an application in response to this FOA lies solely with the applicant.”"]
[14,"2020-01-27","Technical Topics","On p. 18 of the FOA, in the Topic Area 3 metrics, for “algae areal productivity” and “DAC CO2 delivered and utilized by algal system” (i.e., 3rd and 4th entries in the table), can the applicant’s baseline be conditions in the absence of DAC?","Please see FOA Section I.B.iii. Topic Area 3. For the 3rd entry in the Topic Area 3 Metrics Table on page 18, “algae areal productivity,” yes, the applicant’s baseline can be in the absence of DAC. An applicant’s baseline may also be with the use of CO2 from DAC, if the applicant has productivities for such a system. Please note, the minimum target means the applicant’s algae areal productivity must increase by a minimum of at least 10% over that baseline, utilizing CO2 from DAC. \n\nFor the 4th entry in the Topic Area 3 Metrics Table on page 18, “DAC CO2 delivered and utilized by algal system,” if the applicant’s baseline is in the absence of DAC, that would mean the baseline is 0%, i.e. the cultivation system has not been preliminarily tested with CO2 from DAC. This is also allowable as long as the applicant understands that the minimum target is a minimum 20% increase from 0% of CO2 from DAC delivered and utilized in their cultivation system (so 20% of the cultivation system required CO2, if 0% is the applicant’s baseline). \n"]
[15,"2020-01-28","Eligibility","I am a Co Founder of a Solar Company (small business), I want to know that am I eligible to apply for the grant named \" FY20 Bioenergy Technologies Multi-Topic FOA \"?","Please see FOA Section III. G. Questions Regarding Eligibility. EERE will not make eligibility determinations for potential applicants prior to the date on which applications to this FOA must be submitted. The decision whether to submit an application in response to this FOA lies solely with the applicant."]
[16,"2020-01-28","Labs/FFRDCs","Are industrial partners and national labs able to receive funding for topic area 6b if the proposal is led by a university?","Yes, industrial partners and national labs can be included in applications under Topic Area 6. See FOA Section I.B.vi. Topic Area 6.  \"The prime applicant to this Topic Area must be a university located in the United States and the applicant must partner with at least one other university in the United States. Please see the Topic Area 6 Specific Requirements below.  Applications must also propose collaboration with at least one university in both Canada and Mexico to leverage capacity and capitalize on North American resources.  National laboratory and/or private sector partnerships as part of the proposed projects are also strongly encouraged.\"  "]
[17,"2020-01-28","Technical Topics","One of the metrics for the topic 3 is the algal areal productivity g/m2/d. Does this mean that Applicants have to use outdoor open pond for biomass production? Can Applicants use photo bioreactor (PBR) for this project? \nCan Applicants use open pond to demonstrate cultivation productivity, but use PBR for biomass production for the biofuel and byproduct development? \n","Please see FOA Section I.B.iii. Topic Area 3. The productivity in the metrics table for Topic Area 3 does request areal algae productivity in g/m2/day. This does NOT mean you have to use outdoor open ponds for your cultivation/algal biomass production. You can use open ponds, photobioreactors, or a hybrid cultivation system for algal biomass cultivation. The productivity measurement would be the equivalent to g/m2/day for your system. It is anticipated that the testing will be iterative and will include outdoor cultivation regardless of the cultivation system proposed.\n\nWith the answer above, one could use an open pond to demonstrate productivity and a photobioreactor for biomass production for biofuel and byproduct development, but it’s not necessary. The same cultivation system can and likely would/should be used for both.\n"]
[18,"2020-01-31","Technical Topics","On page 18 of DE-FOA-0002203, under the heading Applications Specifically Not of Interest, can you clarify the intent of the second bullet as it could be read as a constraint on funding for capital equipment required for proposals addressing Topic Area 3. ","Please see FOA Section I.B.iii. Topic Area 3 Applications Specifically Not of Interest.  DOE will not fund the construction of Buildings and Research Facilities under this FOA.  The installation of equipment that is reasonable, allocable, and necessary for the scope of the proposed project may be funded under this FOA. "]
[19,"2020-01-31","Technical Topics","With regard to DE-FOA-0002203 (CFDA Number: 81.087), Appendix C of the FOA (Pages 98 – 99) which states Algae biomass is not eligible as a feedstock for Topic Area #4.  Can naturally formed wild algae to be considered as an acceptable feedstock?","Please see FOA Section I.C. Applications Specifically Not of Interest and FOA Appendix C.  Algae is not considered as an acceptable feedstock for Topic Area 4 of this FOA. "]
[20,"2020-02-04","Application Content/Format","The FOA indicates that data from the BFD must be included in the application. Must these data be included in the concept paper? ","Please see FOA Section IV.B. Content and Form of the Concept Paper.  A Block Flow Diagram is not required for the submission of a Concept Paper.  Please see FOA Section IV.C. Content and Form of the Full Application. A Block Flow Diagram is required for the submission of a Full Application. "]
[21,"2020-02-04","Technical Topics","Under Topic Area 1, should applicants demonstrate actual production of liquid fuels, or is it sufficient to demonstrate reduction of the problem to one with a known engineering solution? Are applicants required to include testing at all stages if the proposed project is multi-stage? ","Per section B.i: Topic Area 1 “During the proposed project, the unit operations are not intended to comprise a fully integrated system, but rather to support future integration of the entire process. Similarly, applicants may propose engineering solutions, on a unit operation basis, to existing cellulosic biorefinery facilities.\nApplicants may propose to address scale-up challenges associated with the production of an intermediate with the intent that the proposed intermediate would be further upgraded to fuels and products in a biorefinery or an existing petroleum refinery. As described in the “Topic Area 1 Specific Requirements” section below, such applications must address how at least 50% of the biogenic carbon in the product(s) would be converted to a biofuel and how this would be measured.” \nAs such it is not the intent of Topic Area 1 to demonstrate a technology to its final fuel product, however. The applicant must make the case that the produced intermediate can and will be utilized to produce a biofuel, which contains 50% of the biogenic carbon, in the eventual commercialized technology.\n"]
[22,"2020-02-04","Technical Topics","Is there a common baseline biomass value, productivity, and DAC CO2 percentage that will be provided for applicants such that all proposals that are not necessarily reviewed by common reviewers will be compared to the same \"baseline\" standard?  For example, perhaps all applications could be compared to a $500/t biomass value, 15 g/m2-d productivity, and 0% DAC CO2 percentage, which is roughly speaking the current start of the art.","No, there is not a common baseline biomass value, productivity, and DAC CO2 percentage that will be provided for applicants. As stated on page 17 of the FOA, ‘Applicants must provide: The DAC baseline percentage of CO2 delivery to the algae cultivation system; A research and development plan to increase the delivery and utilization by a minimum of 20% over their baseline.” Similarly, as stated on page 18, in the Topic Area 3 Metrics, minimum and stretch targets are all from the applicant’s baseline. The reason various parameters of the baseline are not provided is because it is anticipated applicants will propose different cultivation systems, strains, DAC systems, etc., likely resulting in different baseline values within each applicant’s own systems and technical data sheet. For more information on how applications will be reviewed, please see page 69, Section V.A.ii, as well as Section V.B."]
[23,"2020-02-04","Technical Topics","Is there a standardized non-DAC cost of CO2 that will be used for evaluating proposals?  For example, pipeline CO2 for EOR sells for less than $20/t.  Are all applicants therefore required to demonstrate a cost of their DAC system to be less than $18/t (10% decrease in the cost)?","No, there is not a standardized non-DAC cost of CO2 that will be used for evaluating proposals for similar reasons to the question about a standardized baseline. It is anticipated that applicants will have varying non-DAC costs for their CO2 depending on many factors such as location, volume, delivery method, purity, etc. \n\nIn the example provided in the question where the cost of CO2 was $20/t; the minimum metric, per page 18, Topic Area 3 Metrics, would be a ‘10% decrease in the cost of CO2 delivered via DAC versus non-DAC CO2 delivery.” This means that, for that example, the minimum metric goal for delivered CO2 via DAC versus the $20/t via pipeline CO2 for EOR, would be $18/t. This is just an example. It is anticipated that applicants’ baseline CO2 non-DAC delivery costs will vary for many reasons. It is not expected that applicants receive their CO2 as pipeline CO2 for EOR at the price point in the example. For more information on how applications will be reviewed, please see Section V.A.ii and Section V.B.\n"]
[24,"2020-02-04","Technical Topics","For SCUBA (Topic Area 1), the metric is 500 hours cumulative run time at 0.5 metric tonnes per day. This equates to processing a quantity of approximately 10 tonnes of feedstock. Is a demonstration run required that will process approximately 10 tonnes of biomass feedstock cumulative with approximately 2.1 tonnes of that amount processed in a single continuous 100 hour run?","500 cumulative hours of run time with a minimum flow of 0.5 Dry Tonnes Per Day is the minimum requirement, which includes a minimum 100 hours of continuous run time.  If the applicant decides to run at a higher flow rate, 500 hours of cumulative run time including a minimum 100 hours of continuous run time will still be required."]
[25,"2020-02-05","Eligibility","Can DOE confirm wether or not an applicant's concept using anaerobic digestion is suitable for this FOA?","“Please refer to the FOA Section I.B, Topic Area 1 Applications Specifically Not of Interest, which states in part:\n• Applications proposing the use of traditional, commercial anaerobic digestion. However, alternative reactor designs such as anaerobic membrane bioreactors or other novel configurations that are not commercial, and otherwise meet the requirements, are acceptable. \n• Applications only proposing to produce biogas without further processing into drop in liquid biofuels.”\n\nPlease also see FOA Section III. G. Questions Regarding Eligibility. EERE will not make eligibility determinations for potential applicants prior to the date on which applications to this FOA must be submitted. The decision whether to submit an application in response to this FOA lies solely with the applicant. DOE will not make a recommendation regarding proposed projects potentially addressing the objectives of the FOA.”\n"]
[26,"2020-02-06","Technical Topics","Can you please confirm that DCO is an eligible feedstock under the above-referenced definition, which will be converted using enzyme technology?  Can you please confirm that a blended fuel is eligible under Topic 1?","FOA Section III. G. Questions Regarding Eligibility. EERE will not make eligibility determinations for potential applicants prior to the date on which applications to this FOA must be submitted. The decision whether to submit an application in response to this FOA lies solely with the applicant. DOE will not make a recommendation regarding proposed projects potentially addressing the objectives of the FOA.\n\nPlease review the sections and experts below to make your determination. \n\n1. Please see FOA Section I.C: Applications Specifically Not of Interest:\n\na. Applications that propose the use of food or feed carbohydrates, lipids, or proteins (e.g., maize or wheat dextrose, beet sucrose, sugar cane or grain sorghum syrup, soybean oil or meal), and/or derivatives (e.g., amino acids from maize dextrose, glycerol from the transesterification of soybean oil). \nb. Applications that propose the production of biodiesel produced from transesterification or hydrotreating or hydrocracking of agronomic, natural plant oils (e.g., soybeans, palm, coconut, safflower, castor).\n\n2. Please see FOA Appendix C – Acceptable Feedstocks for information regarding the acceptable feedstocks by topic area for this FOA. \n3. Please see FOA Section I.B.i. Topic Area 1 Specific Requirements and Topic Area 1 Applications specifically not of interest. \n"]
[27,"2012-02-07","Technical Topics","Will you please confirm that the FOA seeks projects on redesigning of the AD system that would produce an end-product other than methane/biogas, or if producing traditional products is fine, as long as reactor re-design is the focus of the proposal?","As stated under ‘Applications Specifically Not of Interest’, any application that proposes to have methane as an end product would be considered non-responsive, regardless of process configuration."]
[28,"2020-02-07","Technical Topics","Firstly, we're interested to know if there is interest in a central heatersystem that would generate biochar co-product, and if system efficiencies could be calculated from the biomass input energy less the biochar energy content.\n\nSecondly, we'd be interested to know what thermal output is considered as appropriate scale for these residential applications. \n\nWe'd be interested to know how much interest there is in earliy TRL stage new product architectures vs. incremental improvements on established combustion systems.\n","Residential wood heaters proposed under this FOA must comply with criteria for residential wood heaters as defined by the Environmental Protection Agency in the Standards of Performance for New Residential Wood Heaters, New Residential Hydronic Heaters, and Forced Air Furnaces, Federal Register, Vol. 80, No. 50, March 16, 2015.\n\nA beginning or final Technology Readiness Level (TRL) was not specified for Topic Area 5.   \n"]
[29,"2020-02-07","Technical Topics","We understand that food waste is one type of municipal solid waste (MSW) but can not represent all types of MSW. We are wondering if high-purity stream (carbohydrates, protein, fat, and minerals)  could still fit into the subtopic 2a: Advanced Fractionation and Decontamination of Municipal Solid Waste for Improved Conversion Efficiency? ","FOA Section III. G. Questions Regarding Eligibility. EERE will not make eligibility determinations for potential applicants prior to the date on which applications to this FOA must be submitted. The decision whether to submit an application in response to this FOA lies solely with the applicant. DOE will not make a recommendation regarding proposed projects potentially addressing the objectives of the FOA. \n \nPlease sections Please see FOA Appendix C – Acceptable Feedstocks for information regarding the acceptable feedstocks by topic area for this FOA.\n\n“Wet Waste” for the purpose of this FOA, “wet waste” refers to the following: primary, secondary, tertiary, and post-anaerobic digestion sludge (i.e., biosolids) from municipal wastewater treatment systems; food wastes from industrial, commercial, and residential sources; organic-rich wastewaters from industrial and commercial operations; manure slurries from animal husbandry operations.\n\n Applicants are permitted to select one or more types of non-recyclable MSW for their application.\n"]
[30,"2020-02-07","Application Content/Format","Will DOE accept applications to this FOA via e-mail? ","Please see FOA Section IV. Application and Submission Information. All submissions must conform to the following form and content requirements, including maximum page lengths (described below) and must be submitted via EERE Exchange at https://eere-exchange.energy.gov/, unless specifically stated otherwise. EERE will not review or consider submissions submitted through means other than EERE Exchange, submissions submitted after the applicable deadline, or incomplete submissions."]
[31,"2020-02-07","Application Content/Format","We have a specific project we have been looking at funding for, and we are not sure if it will fit in to either TOPIC 2 or TOPIC 6. Would you have time for a brief phone conference to help us see if our project fits in with what you guys are looking for? Or provide any other thoughts on how we can get our project funded? ","FOA Section III. G. Questions Regarding Eligibility. EERE will not make eligibility determinations for potential applicants prior to the date on which applications to this FOA must be submitted. The decision whether to submit an application in response to this FOA lies solely with the applicant. \n\nPlease see FOA Section VII. Questions/Agency Contacts. Upon the issuance of a FOA, EERE personnel are prohibited from communicating (in writing or otherwise) with applicants regarding the FOA except through the established question and answer process as described below. Specifically, questions regarding the content of this FOA must be submitted to: FY20BETOMultiTopicFOA@ee.doe.gov. Questions must be submitted not later than three (3) business days prior to the application due date and time. Please note, feedback on individual concepts will not be provided through Q&A. "]
[32,"2020-02-10","Application Content/Format","I'd like to know if I could apply for your grant and if not could you possibly help me find grants or funding instruments that can help me start my business?","FOA Section III. G. Questions Regarding Eligibility. EERE will not make eligibility determinations for potential applicants prior to the date on which applications to this FOA must be submitted. The decision whether to submit an application in response to this FOA lies solely with the applicant. "]
[33,"2020-02-11","Application Content/Format","Do you have any interest for the sales of your products to our region Saudi Arabia ?","FOA Section III. G. Questions Regarding Eligibility. EERE will not make eligibility determinations for potential applicants prior to the date on which applications to this FOA must be submitted. The decision whether to submit an application in response to this FOA lies solely with the applicant. "]
[34,"2020-02-11","Application Content/Format","I am contacting your office regarding a question from a constituent interested in applying for this program.\n\nDo you have a general contact or related office where I may direct this individual?\n","Please see FOA Section VII. Questions/Agency Contacts. Upon the issuance of a FOA, EERE personnel are prohibited from communicating (in writing or otherwise) with applicants regarding the FOA except through the established question and answer process as described below. Specifically, questions regarding the content of this FOA must be submitted to: FY20BETOMultiTopicFOA@ee.doe.gov. Questions must be submitted not later than three (3) business days prior to the application due date and time. Please note, feedback on individual concepts will not be provided through Q&A. "]
[35,"2020-02-12","Technical Topics","We are interested in applying for this FOA with a project to produce biofuel. \n\nCan EERE tell us if our concept fits into scope of this FOA?\n","Please see FOA Section VII. Questions/Agency Contacts. Upon the issuance of a FOA, EERE personnel are prohibited from communicating (in writing or otherwise) with applicants regarding the FOA except through the established question and answer process as described below. Specifically, questions regarding the content of this FOA must be submitted to: FY20BETOMultiTopicFOA@ee.doe.gov. Questions must be submitted not later than three (3) business days prior to the application due date and time. Please note, feedback on individual concepts will not be provided through Q&A. \n\nFOA Section III. G. Questions Regarding Eligibility. EERE will not make eligibility determinations for potential applicants prior to the date on which applications to this FOA must be submitted. The decision whether to submit an application in response to this FOA lies solely with the applicant. "]
[36,"2020-02-12","Technical Topics","1. While a technology making just ethanol (or other alcohols) is not eligible, would a technology processing biomass, and making a range of products (e.g, a mix of fuel pellets [75% by mass], fermentable sugars for ethanol [15%], and renewable chemicals [10%]) be considered eligible, as not being only ethanol?\n\n2. It is not clear how \"utilizable biogenic carbon\" is defined.  Would it be acceptable to define it as \"carbon recovered for production of chemicals and liquid fuels\"?  As an example, if a technology were capable of recovering a portion of a biomass stream used in an existing industry (e.g. fuel pellets, pulp and paper, cogeneration) as liquid fuels feedstock and chemicals, could the \"utilizable biogenic carbon\" be the portion of the biomass carbon that was removed from the biomass being passed to the existing industry?    Or is the only acceptable definition \"All the carbon in the biomass\"?\n","1) The intent of Topic Area 1 would allow for applications whose main product is a non-alcohol biofuel or biofuel(s) which contain 50% of the utilizable carbon. Meaning, if an application produced two allowable (non-alcohol) biofuels and a product the total amount of carbon in the two biofuels stream could be no less than 50% of the carbon in the saleable project and co-product streams.\n\nPer section I.B.i - Topic Area 1 Specific Requirements: “The primary biofuel stream(s) must contain at least 50% of the utilizable biogenic carbon.”\n\nPer section I.Bi - Topic Area 1 Applications Specifically Not of Interest: “Applications whose overall proposed process will only produce alcohols or other intermediates without conversion to finished drop-in biofuels (i.e., biofuels ready to sell into the commercial market without further upgrading or blending) or other products.”\n\n2) Utilizable carbon can be define as the total carbon in the non-waste, product streams of the process regardless of the feedstock source.  \n"]
[37,"2020-02-12","Technical Topics","Is \"blending\" other wet waste with food waste is required for Topic Area 2b?","There is no requirement in Topic Area 2b for blending wet waste with food waste."]
[38,"2020-02-12","Technical Topics","Is cyano-BECCS something that could be supported through this RFP?\n\n","Please see FOA Section VII. Questions/Agency Contacts. Upon the issuance of a FOA, EERE personnel are prohibited from communicating (in writing or otherwise) with applicants regarding the FOA except through the established question and answer process as described below. Specifically, questions regarding the content of this FOA must be submitted to: FY20BETOMultiTopicFOA@ee.doe.gov. Questions must be submitted not later than three (3) business days prior to the application due date and time. Please note, feedback on individual concepts will not be provided through Q&A. \n\nFOA Section III. G. Questions Regarding Eligibility. EERE will not make eligibility determinations for potential applicants prior to the date on which applications to this FOA must be submitted. The decision whether to submit an application in response to this FOA lies solely with the applicant.\n"]
[39,"2020-02-12","Application Content/Format","Do applications to this FOA have to meet the minimum funding amount? Can an applicant propose a project requesting less than the minimum funding amount for a topic area? ","The Federal funding amounts referenced in FOA Section II.A. are guidelines provided based on the objectives and requirements.  If an applicant believes they can meet all of the FOA objectives and requirements with less than the estimated minimum then they may submit an application with a lower amount. "]
[40,"2020-02-13","Other","When will potential applicants receive a response to questions? ","Please see FOA Section VII. Questions/Agency Contacts. All questions and answers related to this FOA will be posted on EERE Exchange at: https://eere-exchange.energy.gov. Please note that you must first select this specific FOA Number in order to view the questions and answers specific to this FOA. EERE will attempt to respond to a question within three (3) business days, unless a similar question and answer has already been posted on the website."]
[41,"2020-02-13","Technical Topics","For the subtopic 2a: Advanced Fractionation and Decontamination of Municipal Solid Waste for Improved Conversion Efficiency, will this subtopic accept concepts of the development of sorting/preprocessing technology to fractionate food waste (one type of municipal solid waste)? ","Please see FOA Appendix C.  Yes, food waste is an acceptable feedstock. It is included in the definition of wet waste, which is an acceptable feedstock. This definition, taken from the FOA, is given below:\n \n“Wet Waste” for the purpose of this FOA, “wet waste” refers to the following: primary, secondary, tertiary, and post-anaerobic digestion sludge (i.e., biosolids) from municipal wastewater treatment systems; food wastes from industrial, commercial, and residential sources; organic-rich wastewaters from industrial and commercial operations; manure slurries from animal husbandry operations.\n \n"]
[42,"2020-02-13","Application Content/Format","If an applicant has a proposed technology that is both applicable to section 2a. and 2b, should there be a separate submission for both sub-topics?  Can applicants apply to multiple topics with a single application? ","Please see FOA Section IV.B. Concpet Paper Requirements.  An applicant may only address one topic area per Concept Paper. "]
[43,"2020-02-13","Technical Topics","The FOA states, \"Applicants are strongly encouraged to leverage existing field sites with established biomass production. Sites can be in a research, pre-commercial, or commercial setting.\"\n\nCan a portion of the proceeds from this grant be applied to the construction of a facility that can process the energy crops grown in connection with the study?  \n"]
[44,"2020-02-13","Technical Topics","Is green waste grown and collected within an urban environment an Eligible biomass type under Topic 4?","Please see FOA Appendix C – Acceptable Feedstocks.  Urban and Suburban waste is not an acceptable feedstock for Topic Area 4. "]
[45,"2020-02-14","Technical Topics","Would jack pine plantations with active management be allowed under the Energy Crop definition used in the FOA?","Please see FOA Appendix C – Acceptable Feedstocks. Eligible biomass types include energy crops or biomass that, when produced/harvested, provides environmental benefits (other than excluded biomass types).  Woody crops are not in the list of excluded biomass types.  "]
[46,"2020-02-14","Eligibility","1) Topic 6, p.26:  Education and outreach states as an example “Intensive summer engagement programs for undergraduates from institutions outside of the project core.”  Please expound on what you mean by “outside of the project core”\n2) Topic 6, p. 26:  Specific Requirements states “Applicants must partner with at least one university in both Canada and Mexico.”  Please clarify whether other research institutions in Canada and Mexico, such as industry institutes and private colleges, are eligible partners and what level of accreditation is required. \n","“For the purposes of this topic, universities are defined as educational institutions that grant at least the equivalent of a bachelor’s degree. “Outside the project core” means an institution that is not a co-primary investigator, and can include community colleges. Note that the latter is merely an example of one possible option, not a requirement.”"]
[47,"2020-02-16","Application Content/Format","In the FOA, it states\"Applicants may provide graphs, charts, or other data to supplement their Technology Description.\" Can the graphs/charts/other data be presented beyond the 2-page limit of the 'technical description and impacts' part?","Please See FOA Section IV. B Content and Form of the Concept Paper.  Applicants can submit an Addendum (1 Page Maximum) which can include graphs, charts, or other datea to supplement their Technology Description."]
[48,"2020-02-17","Technical Topics","What should be the baseline for the subtopic 2b metric: Improve carbon conversion efficiency by at least 50%, landfill or anaerobic digestion (AD)? Should we select one on our own? In addition, is only the carbon converted to the final product counted? How about byproducts, e.g., VFAs produced with methane production in AD?"]
[49,"2020-02-17","Technical Topics","Regarding Topic Area 2c focus area (SWIM). It appears that the goal is to utilize algae for tertiary wastewater treatment of municipal wastewater with a goal of achieving <0.3 mg/L P in the plant effluent.  We believe it is feasible to show that full diversion and treatment of the side recycle stream (over 100,000 gallons per day) will yield a final P concentration of <0.3 mg/L in the plant effluent, however, it would raise the cost of the project due to the need for detailed plant modeling and experimentation. We were wondering if an alternative performance metric may be acceptable in this case (e.g. % P removed from the side stream). "]
[50,"2020-02-18","Other","Just following up to see if we can arrange a call sometime soon! The FOA letter is due March 5th.","Please see FOA Section VII. Questions/Agency Contacts. Upon the issuance of a FOA, EERE personnel are prohibited from communicating (in writing or otherwise) with applicants regarding the FOA except through the established question and answer process as described below. Specifically, questions regarding the content of this FOA must be submitted to: FY20BETOMultiTopicFOA@ee.doe.gov. Questions must be submitted not later than three (3) business days prior to the application due date and time. Please note, feedback on individual concepts will not be provided through Q&A. "]
[51,"2020-02-18","Technical Topics","Does the final 750 cm2 cell have to be one cell that is that size, or a collection of smaller cells in a stack, where the area adds up to 750 cm2?","Please see FOA Section I.B.vii. Topic Area 7: Scalable CO2 Electrocatalysis. Topic Area 7 Metrics state that the active surface area should be >750 cm2 per cell."]
[52,"2020-02-18","Cost Sharing","I have questions about cost sharing. With whom can I speak about these questions? ","Please see FOA Section VII. Questions/Agency Contacts. Upon the issuance of a FOA, EERE personnel are prohibited from communicating (in writing or otherwise) with applicants regarding the FOA except through the established question and answer process as described below. Specifically, questions regarding the content of this FOA must be submitted to: FY20BETOMultiTopicFOA@ee.doe.gov. Questions must be submitted not later than three (3) business days prior to the application due date and time. Please note, feedback on individual concepts will not be provided through Q&A.  Please see FOA Section III.B. Cost Sharing and Appendix A Cost Share Information."]
[53,"2020-02-18","Technical Topics","Would giant reed be an acceptable feedstock for this FOA? There are states that consider giant reed a noxious weed but we would not grow in these states.\n\nTo preclude efforts being made to prepare a Concept Paper that would only be rejected due to the crop we propose to cultivate, I would appreciate knowing in advance whether DOE would consider giant reed a crop that falls under the following on page 99 of the FOA:\n\n“Projects may not cultivate any crop species that is recognized by the governing state or federal agency as invasive or noxious, or species or varieties of plants that are determined potentially invasive by peer-reviewed or published risk assessment tools or other credible sources.” \n"]
[54,"2020-02-19","Technical Topics","Under Topic 1, can an applicant propose scaling up a unique biomass transportation process to a biorefinery? ","“FOA Section III. G. Questions Regarding Eligibility. EERE will not make eligibility determinations for potential applicants prior to the date on which applications to this FOA must be submitted. The decision whether to submit an application in response to this FOA lies solely with the applicant. DOE will not make a recommendation regarding proposed projects potentially addressing the objectives of the FOA.\nThe intent of the Topic Area is that the proposed technology will directly enable a liquid biofuel.  Feedstock logistics are not explicitly called out as not of interested, however, it may be difficult to address the specific requirements of the FOA with focusing on feedstock logistics systems.  Specifically:\n• Topic Area 1 Applications Specifically Not of Interest: \no Applications whose overall proposed process will only produce alcohols or other intermediates without conversion to finished drop-in biofuels (i.e., biofuels ready to sell into the commercial market without further upgrading or blending) or other products.”\n"]
[55,"2020-02-19","Application Content/Format","a. Cost sharing – can this include non = cash contributions – technical, consultant and other such quantified non equipment contributions.  \nb. If yes – how to quantify.  Can we use consultant labor and time and details on level of efforts – items such as engineering support and design calculations, support for project funding with financing proforma development and labor for project management and oversight and reporting.    \nc. Is there a limit on such non equipment capital fees – 25-35% or no limit cost sharing? \nd. How much is overhead allotted to be.  Same for profit if this is accepted. ?\ne. I would presume time sheets or labor hours would be accounted with actual invoices etc. to confirm.\nf. Is the initial white paper more abstract like or where are the details – I presume cash flow, budget, schedule, project details, how to measure performance etc.. – where are these requirements?  Is this part of the detailed application and the white paper is more of an abstract level tech description of the project outlining the proposed purpose and outcomes that are intended?  Where is all this info.\n","a. Please see FOA Section III.B. Cost Sharing. Please see 2 CFR 200 and 2 CFR 910 by visiting www.ecfr.gov for information pertaining to Cost Share under Federal awards. \nb. Please see FOA Section III.B. Cost Sharing. Please see 2 CFR 200 and 2 CFR 910 by visiting www.ecfr.gov for information pertaining to Cost Share under Federal awards. \nc. Please see FOA Section IV.C.vii. Budget Justification Workbook. Please see 2 CFR 200 and 2 CFR 910 by visiting www.ecfr.gov for information pertaining to Capital Costs under Federal awards.\nd. Please see FOA Section IV.C.vii. Budget Justification Workbook.  Please see 2 CFR 200 and 2 CFR 910 by visiting www.ecfr.gov for information pertaining to Overhead under Federal awards.\ne. Please see 2 CFR 200 by visiting www.ecfr.gov for information pertaining to Payment under Federal awards. \nf. Please see FOA Section IV.B. Content and Form of the Concept Paper.\n"]
[56,"2020-02-20","Application Content/Format","We are responding to the FY20 Bioenergy Technologies Multi-Topic FOA DE-FOA-0002203.  As part of this submission, we are required to submit a “Block Flow Diagram and Supplemental Data” (BF&SD).  I have not been able to find the recommended templates.   Could you please email me BF & SD templates to enable us to submit our application?  ","The Block Flow Diagram Template has been provided in EERE-Exchange under the Announcement Documents for this FOA, DE-FOA-0002203.  It is titled Topic Area 1 SCUBA Block Flow Diagram-Supplemental Data Template."]
[57,"2020-02-20","Technical Topics","Must the algal technology proposed be used for tertiary treatment of municipal wastewater or could it be used in upstream and recycle streams within the treatment plant? If the latter are permitted, is it acceptable to create a defensible, alternative metric for phosphate removal performance (as opposed to the <0.3 mg/L stated in the FOA)?"]
[58,"2020-02-20","Due Dates","With the upcoming Concept Paper submission due date, would it be possible to have an estimate of when I will receive a reply to pending questions? ","Please see FOA Section VII. Questions/Agency Contacts. EERE will attempt to respond to a question within three (3) business days, unless a similar question and answer has already been posted on the website."]
[59,"2020-02-20","Technical Topics","Would a partnership with a dairy farm that processed the flush manure waste from 2,500 dairy cows qualify as a waste treatment facility under Topic 2c?  Or do we need to partner with a facility that uses traditional treatment methods just for the purpose of getting baseline cost metrics, but we could perform the work at the dairy to demonstrate the technology?","Please see FOA Section I.B.ii. Topic Area 2: Waste to Energy Strategies for the Bioeconomy for Applications of Interest and Applications Specifically Not of Interest.  Dairy farms would not meet the definition of a municipal wastewater facility. "]
[60,"2020-02-20","Technical Topics","Are there particular bioproducts that are of interest?  We have been considering the use of the protein portion of the algae for a feed for the farm’s cows, while also extracting the valuable dye, phycocyanin, as a co-product for increased economic value.  Would that be considered a good fit for the program?  ","Please see FOA Section I.B.ii Topic Area 2: Waste to Energy Strategies for the Bioeconomy for Areas of Interest and Applications Specifically Not of Interest.\n\nFOA Section III. G. Questions Regarding Eligibility. EERE will not make eligibility determinations for potential applicants prior to the date on which applications to this FOA must be submitted. The decision whether to submit an application in response to this FOA lies solely with the applicant. DOE will not make a recommendation regarding proposed projects potentially addressing the objectives of the FOA. To view examples of what bioproducts work the Bioenergy Technologies Office has supported in recent, previous funding opportunities, please visit the 2019 and 2017 Peer Review website: https://www.energy.gov/eere/bioenergy/2019-project-peer-review.\n"]
[61,"2020-02-19","Technical Topics","We are interested in Topic area 6a: Biopower from organic wastes.\nAccording to the solicitation, hydrogen as the final product is not considered within the scope of this work.\nHowever, if the final product is biopower (i.e., electricity), is it ok to convert wet organic wastes to hydrogen and use fuel cell to convert hydrogen to power?\nPlease let us know whether our biopower concept is within the scope of interest.\nThank you.\n\nWet biomass  hydrogen production with suppressed CO production (also integrated CO2 capture  production of biopower (electricity) without the need of subsequent gas cleanup\nThis can be negative emission biopower technology.\n","Please see FOA Section I.B.vi. for Topic Area 6  Applications Specifically Not of Interest. \"Applications that propose any of the following end products:\no Hydrogen (except as a component of syngas), ethanol, biogas, dimethyl ether, and methanol. Note: while these are not acceptable as end products, they are acceptable as intermediates, if the application is clear how the intermediates will be incorporated into processes to produce products with an emphasis on waste plastics as a feedstock (for Subtopic 6b), or biopower (including appropriate intermediates) (for Subtopic 6a) by project completion.\"\n"]
[62,"2020-02-20","Labs/FFRDCs","Do FFRDCs need to provide letters of commitment as part of the full proposal or is the Authorization from cognizant Contracting Officer for FFRDC sufficient to demonstrate the FFRDC commitment to the project?","Please see FOA Section IV.C.xi. and xii. for the required documents pertaining to a FFRDCs commitment to a proposed project."]
[63,"2020-02-21","Technical Topics","What are the Topic Area 1 Metrics for unit operations that would convert a portion of the biofuels process stream to a co-product? The metrics shown in the table on the bottom of page 7 of the FOA appear to me the metrics for the entire biofuels process stream. If that is the case, it would seem that the requirements for a co-process stream should be less.","The downstream minimum equipment requirements are based on a minimum feed rate equivalent.  With that said, if co-processing with a non-allowable feedstock the allowable feedstock portion must meet the minimum requirements listed in the table.”"]
[64,"2020-02-21","Technical Topics","This question relates to one of the SCUBA metrics. For the process we are developing, the throughput metric will involve processing 10 tonnes of feedstock in a period of 20 days, and similar quantities of intermediates and biofuel products. This equates essentially to an expectation of pilot-scale manufacturing within a DOE budget of $3-4M. Is our understanding of BETO's expectation correct?","The intent of the Topic Area would focus on the problematic unit operations. During the proposed project, the unit operations are not intended to comprise a fully integrated system, but rather to support future integration of the entire process. Similarly, applicants may propose engineering solutions, on a unit operation basis, to existing cellulosic biorefinery facilities.  As such, a finished fuel is not required explicitly, however, if it is needed to fulfill other requirements of the Topic Area (e.g. a task in the SOPO describing how the project will pursue ASTM approval) the applicant may need to include in their proposal."]
[65,"2020-02-21","Application Content/Format","Do you have a template or example for \"Topic Area 6: Letters of collaboration with universities from Canada and Mexico?\"  ","Please see FOA Section IV.B.iv. Letters of Commitment.  There is no uniform template for Letters of Commitment. Typical Letters of Commitment are written on the organization's official letterhead and include a description and dollar value of the commitment to the project."]
[66,"2020-02-21","Cost Sharing","Is there a person I can talk to on the phone for a few minutes to get some general overview information? And, are there tutorials or webinars available with introductory information about cost-sharing procedures?","Please see FOA Section III.B. Cost Sharing and FOA Appendix A - Cost Share Information. Please see 2 CFR 200 and 2 CFR 910 by visiting www.ecfr.gov for additional information pertaining to Cost Share under Federal awards. "]
[67,"2020-02-24","Application Content/Format","Are the “required application documents” required For the Concept Paper phase?  Or is that for the full application phase?  ","Please see FOA Section IV.B. Content and Form of the Concept Paper for the requirements for Concept Paper submission.  The required application documents are for the Full Application submission."]
[68,"2020-02-24","Application Content/Format","Although there are seven Topic areas described in the FOA text … there are no links for topics # 5, 6, and 7.\n\nIs there additional information or “documents” describing more detail about Topic Area # 6?  And also for Topic # 2?\n","Please view the full Funding Opportunity at EERE-Exchange.energy.gov.  FOA Section I.B. Topic Areas describes all seven (7) topics of interest for this Funding Opportunity Announcement."]
[69,"2020-02-24","Application Content/Format","The Concept Paper on-line application form only allows to name one “topic area” … are there any benefits to our project if we can capture portions of multiple topic areas?","Please see FOA Section IV.B. Concpet Paper Requirements.  An applicant may only address one topic area per Concept Paper.  Applicants may elect to submit applications to multiple topic areas. "]
[70,"2020-02-25","Technical Topics","I have one question about FY 20 BETO Multi-topic FOA: under Topic 1, can I propose scaling up a unique biomass transportation process to a biorefinery? This is more on a logistic side where we use pipeline to transport biomass in large scales (up to 4 M dry t/yr) to biorefinery. ","“FOA Section III. G. Questions Regarding Eligibility. EERE will not make eligibility determinations for potential applicants prior to the date on which applications to this FOA must be submitted. The decision whether to submit an application in response to this FOA lies solely with the applicant. DOE will not make a recommendation regarding proposed projects potentially addressing the objectives of the FOA.\nThe intent of the Topic Area is that the proposed technology will directly enable a liquid biofuel.  Feedstock logistics are not explicitly called out as not of interested, however, it may be difficult to address the specific requirements of the FOA with focusing on feedstock logistics systems.  Specifically:\n• Topic Area 1 Applications Specifically Not of Interest: \no Applications whose overall proposed process will only produce alcohols or other intermediates without conversion to finished drop-in biofuels (i.e., biofuels ready to sell into the commercial market without further upgrading or blending) or other products.”\n"]
[71,"2020-02-25","Eligibility","1) Would the DoE be willing to either grant us an exception for the University requirement if we agree to meet all the other educational requirements?  We think we can are are willing to provide the other requirements and even get foreign university partners, but as a private organization, we don't meet the first requirement.  \n\n2) If no, we are willing to partner with a university that can meet the education requirements, but could benefit from a partnership with a small business with patents in this field.  \n","1) Please see FOA Section I.B.vi. Topic Area 6 Biopower and Products from Urban and Suburban Wastes: North American Multi-University Partnership for Research and Education (Only U.S. Universities Eligible as Prime Applicants).  “The prime applicant to this Topic Area must be a university located in the United States and the applicant must partner with at least one other university in the United States.” \n\n2) Please see FOA section I.B.vi. Topic Area 6 Applications Specifically not of Interest. “Applications submitted by any entity other than a. U.S. university. \n"]
[72,"2020-02-24","Technical Topics","For Topic Area 3, I see a question (#14) was answered in the affirmative regarding acceptability of using a baseline in the absence of DAC (0% DAC).  Would it also then be considered responsive to propose use of non-DAC sources of CO2 in a baseline metric in instances where the goal of the project is to replace non-DAC (i.e., a concentrated CO2 stream) with DAC over the course of the life of the project, thereby enhancing total CO2 delivery from DAC sources to at least 20% of the total amount of CO2 delivered and utilized by the algal system?","Yes, it would be considered responsive if the baseline metric uses a non-DAC source of CO2 with the goal to replace that non-DAC CO2 with DAC CO2 over the course of the project (to the required minimum goal of 20% DAC CO2 delivered and utilized by the algal system). In fact, it is anticipated that many existing algae cultivation systems are currently operated with some other form of CO2 (i.e., a non-DAC concentrated CO2 stream) than direct air captured CO2."]
[73,"2020-02-25","Technical Topics","One of the specific requirements for Topic Area 1, listed on page 5 of the FOA, is that “The primary biofuel stream(s) must be a liquid at standard temperature and pressure (STP).” Is there any flexibility in this requirement, if the primary biofuel stream is a liquid at pressures that are close to STP?","Please see FOA Section I.B.i. Topic Area 1 SCale Up of Bench Applications (SCUBA) for Specific Areas of Interest and Applications Specifically not of Interest.   “The primary biofuel stream(s) must be a liquid at standard temperature and pressure (STP).”"]
[74,"2020-02-25","Application Content/Format","I would like more information on how to apply and the requirements for Grant DE-FOA-0002203.","Please visit EERE-Exchange.Energy.gov to view this Funding Opportunity Announcement."]
[75,"2020-02-25","Technical Topics","In topic 1, food-based feedstocks are explicitly prohibited.  What about Gen 1.5-type feedstocks?  ","Per FOA section I.B.i. Topic 1 Areas of Interest and Applications Specifically Not of Interest:\n\n• Those that propose using feedstocks that contain any plant based material that is generally intended for use as food or animal feed.\n\nAdditional information pertaining to acceptable feedstocks is in FOA Appendix C. \n"]
[76,"2020-02-25","Foreign Entities/Work","For the topic 6b, we are assembling a team of two US universities, one Canadian and one Mexican university. It is not fully clear to me if non-US universities can actually receive funding for the proposed project, and if the work can be performed at these non-US universities. Are they expected to come up with their own funding for the project? And can the work be performed at these universities if we submit a request for waiver of the Performance of Work in the United States?","Please see FOA Section I.B.vi. Topic Area 6 Specific Requirements.  \n• Applicants proposing DOE funding for or cost share from foreign entities must submit a foreign waiver request as described in Section III.A.iii.\n• Applications that include work outside of the U.S. must submit a waiver request as described in Section III.A.iii."]
[77,"2020-02-26","Other","I went to the questions page for the DE-FOA-002203: FY20 Bioenergy Technologies Mulit-Topic FOA and I cannot see any questions or answers that have been posted for this FOA.  Is there a different link to view the questions and answers?  Is this the correct link  https://eere-exchange.energy.gov/FAQ.aspx?FoaId=23bcb339-aa53-4821-9421-d109747cb168 to view the posted questions and answers?","Please see FOA Section VII. Questions/Agency Contacts.  Questions and Answers are uploaded in an Excel Spreadsheet are posted in the Announcement Documents for the Funding Opportunity Announcement."]
[78,"2020-02-26","Technical Topics","In Topic Area 1 Applications Specifically Not of Interest the following is listed: Those that propose using feedstocks that contain any plant based material that is generally intended for use as food or animal feed. Would processing a wet cake that uses cellulose and hemicelluloses to produce biofuels while also enriching animal feed qualify as an eligible feedstock under this FOA?","In the described case the cellulosic and hemi cellulosic fractions would be eligible.  However, it is up to the applicant to make the case that the animal feed stream is viable as FOA Section I.B.i. for Topic Area 1 Applications Specifically Not of Interest still applies.\n\n• Those that propose using feedstocks that contain any plant based material that is generally intended for use as food or animal feed.\n\nAdditional information pertaining to acceptable feedstocks is in FOA Appendix C. \n"]
[79,"2020-02-26","Technical Topics","1) In regards to topic 2b - one of the specific requirements for sub-topic 2b addresses scale, and indicates that \n\"Successful applications will propose to develop and run systems at a relevant scale (e.g., 5–50 L reactor volume).\"  If a project is a significantly larger scale than noted in the example (e.g. 5-50 L), is that acceptable?  In other words, is there a maximum size that would be acceptable for this demonstration.\n2) Can an applicant submit a concept paper for more than one topic and if they do, will they only be considered for an award for only one of the two topics submitted?\n3) In regards to the subtopic 2b area of interest noted as follows; \"Solutions, whether thermochemical, biochemical, electrochemical, or some combination thereof, capable of handling widely variable blends of food wastes and other organic feedstocks without significant operational disruption.\"  This area of interest does not mention anaerobic digestion or a wastewater treatment plant.  Therefore, is it possible to satisfy the intent of this \"area of interest\" by not involving anaerobic digestion or a wastewater treatment plant, as long as the project demonstrates a method that is either thermochemical, biochemical, electrochemical, or some combination thereof, that is capable of handling widely variable blends of food wastes and other organic feedstocks without significant operational disruption?\n","1) Please see FOA Section I.B.ii. Subtopic 2b Specific Requirements. “Successful applications will propose to develop and run systems at a relevant scale (e.g., 5–50 L reactor volume).”  EERE has not set a maximum system size for this topic.\n2) Please see FOA Section III.F. Limitation on Number of Concept Papers and Full Applications Eligible for Review. “An entity may submit more than one Concept Paper and Full Application to this FOA, provided that each application describes a unique, scientifically distinct project and provided that an eligible Concept Paper was submitted for each Full Application.”\n3) This Topic Area does not require the use of anaerobic digestion as the conversion process."]
[80,"2020-02-27","Application Content/Format","Is there any specific file name format for concept paper submission for Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) Number: DE-FOA-0002203?","In EERE-Exchange.energy.gov, the following naming convention has been provided for Concept Paper submissions.  {{ControlNumber}}_{{LeadOrganization}}_{{Topic}}_Concept_Paper"]
[81,"2020-02-27","Technical Topics","Topic 6 on FOA 0002203. On p. 30 of this FOA, the area of not of interest includes: “Applications that propose to convert waste plastic to any form of energy.”\n\nDoes this mean that DOE is not interested in converting waste plastic to fuels? \n","Please see FOA Section I.B.vi. Topic 6 Subtopic 6b: Waste Plastics to Products.  Subtopic 6b Areas of Interest includes \n\n• Processes for the conversion of plastic waste streams derived from urban and suburban waste streams to products with the potential to supplant additional fossil feedstocks in plastic production processes.\n• Potential solutions with the capacity to convert mixed plastics streams into useful products, including exogenous contaminants, are particularly encouraged."]
[82,"2020-02-27","Technical Topics","Topic Area 3:  Algae Bioproducts and CO2 Direct-Air-Capture Efficiency.\n\n\n1.  What is the target amount of biomass?\n2.  Is a focus of this FOA on development of technology for the conversion of algal biomass?\n","Question:\n\nWhat is the target amount of biomass?\n\nResponse: As noted in Section iii., Topic Area 3 Specific Requirements, fifth bullet, ‘Applicants must describe a research plan that shows the ability to reliably cultivate biomass grown outdoors to generate sufficient product intermediate for quality testing by the product(s) developer(s).’ Therefore, the target amount of biomass must be sufficient enough to provide the project team’s product developers enough biomass (or intermediate or direct product from that biomass) to evaluate whether it meets their product specifications or not. \n\nQuestion:\n\nIs a focus of this FOA on development of technology for the conversion of algal biomass?\n\nResponse:\n\nNo, the development of technology for the conversion of algal biomass is NOT a focus of this FOA. It is anticipated that project teams will include partners/technologies that can convert the algal biomass to the desired intermediate/product for product specification testing.\n"]
[83,"2020-02-27","Other","I've been attempting to download the manual on how to submit the concept paper for DE-FOA-0002203: FY20 BIOENERGY TECHNOLOGIES MULTI-TOPIC FOA. Unfortunately, I'm experiencing some difficulties in opening the document.\n\nCan someone send me a soft copy of the template so I may submit my concept paper prior to 3/5/2020?\n","  Can you try opening/downloading the document using a different web browser?  EERE Exchange Support was able to access and download the document links using Google Chrome.\n\n  If you continue to have difficulty downloading documents please identify (by title) the document(s) that you are unable to download.\n"]
[84,"2020-02-27","Cost Sharing","Is is allowable to receive our cost share from a Canadian Business?","Please see FOA Section III.B. and Appendix A for information pertaining to Cost Share."]
[85,"2020-02-27","Application Content/Format","I’m submitting a concept paper to DE-FOA-0002203 topic 2c, and have a couple questions. First, the RFP asks for a letter of commitment from a partner. Is this required at the concept paper stage? Second, the budget for this topic on the RFP states $1-2 million per award. But on the submittal page, I can also pick the option “proof of concept/seedling: $250,000 to $999,999”. Should I choose this or “Development/demonstration: $1-10 million”? ","Please See FOA Section IV.C. Content and Form of the Full Application for the submission of Letters of Comittment. Please see FOA Section II.A.i. Estimated Funding.  \"Individual awards may vary between $1 and $10 million, depending on the Topic Area."]
[86,"2020-02-27","Technical Topics","Topic Area 1 – SCUBA.  We have a question about throughput equivalent metric.  We plan to propose a by-product development using 25% of biocrude from fast pyrolysis, which will significantly reduce minimum fuel selling price (75% of biocrude to fuels). Based on the Metrics table in FOA, we consider the scale of 0.5 DTPD fast pyrolysis, which will produce 135 kg/day of biocrude (27% organic yield).  Since 25% of the biocrude (33.8 kg/day) will be used for byproduct development, it appears that we need to demonstrate “33.8 kg/day scale” operation of byproduct development during the project.  Let me know if this calculation meets the FOA requirement.  ","The proposed calculations seem to fall within the bounds of Topic Area 1’s throughput requirements.  Please note that the proposed project must meet all of the Topic Area 1 Specific biofuels requirements, including:\n\n• American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) approved drop-in fuel pathways are eligible under this Topic Area. Applications that include pathways pending approval are eligible under this Topic Area, as long as the applicant can show during the project that the fuel has a reasonable chance of receiving ASTM approval (e.g., a task in the SOPO describing how the project will pursue ASTM approval). \n\nAnd\n\n• The envisioned biofuel product(s) must meet all applicable regulatory compliance for its (their) intended use. Gasoline and diesel must be acceptable for use on public roadways. Marine and jet fuels must be suitable for commercial use. \n"]
[87,"2020-02-27","Cost Sharing","Are funds from an existing CRADA between the prime institution and industry allowable for the cost share requirement? (Assuming the scope of the CRADA encompasses the proposed work?)","Please see FOA Section III.B. and Appendix A for information pertaining to Cost Share."]
[88,"2020-02-28","Other","1) Will the concept paper be available to the public?\n2) Will the application document be available to the public?\n3) In case of an award, what would be available to the public?\n","Please see FOA Section VII.D. Treatment of Application Information."]
[89,"2020-02-29","Cost Sharing","Topic 4 of this FOA:  Bio-Restore: Biomass to Restore Natural Resources.  This topic area requires growing biomass crops.  Can the value of the land used for growing the crops be listed as a cost-share contribution?  How would that value be determined?","Please see FOA Section III.B. and Appendix A for information pertaining to Cost Share."]
[90,"2020-03-02","Technical Topics","As for the metrics mentioned in the FOA, does the “Active aurface area: >750 cm2 per cell” refer to electrochemically active surface area (ECSA) of the catalyst or the geometric size of the individual (not stack) cells?\n\nTopic Area 7 Metrics: \nBy the end of the performance period, projects should achieve the following: \n• Current density: >200 mA/cm2 \n• Faradaic Efficiency: >90% \n• Active surface area: >750 cm2 per cell \n• Demonstrated lifetime: >1000 hours \n\n","Please see FOA Section I.B.vii. Topic Area 7: Scalable CO2 Electrocatalysis. Topic Area 7 Metrics state that the active surface area should be >750 cm2 per cell."]
[91,"2020-03-02","Application Content/Format","The required application document for the EERE T540 132 Budget \nJustification Workbook does not allow for 5 budget periods.  The \napplication is for Topic Area 6b for 60 months.\nHow should the 60 months Budget Justification Workbook be reported if \nthe budget periods are 5 annual periods of 12 months each?\n","A Budget Justification template for 5 Budget Periods has been uploaded to EERE Exchange."]
[92,"2020-03-02","Application Content/Format","1. Do we have to identify our international university partners at the concept paper stage, or can we reserve the identification of these partners for the full proposal? We have two US universities identified but are still working on our international partners.\n2. Can we add an industry partner to the full proposal, even if this partner is not identified in the concept paper?\n","1) All University partners do not have to be identified at the Concept Paper stage.  2) The teaming can change after the submission of the Concept Paper. "]
[93,"2020-03-02","Technical Topics","My collaborators and I have questions about Topic 6 on FOA 0002203. On p. 30 of this FOA, the area of not of interest includes: “Applications that propose to convert waste plastic to any form of energy.”\n\nDoes this mean that DOE is not interested in converting waste plastic to fuels? \n","Please see FOA Section I.B.vi. Topic Area 6 Subtopic 6b: Waste Plastics to Products.  Applications that proposed waste plastics to fuels is not an area of interest with this FOA. "]
[94,"2020-03-03","Application Content/Format","“Applicants are required to complete a SOPO. A SOPO template is available on EERE Exchange at https://eere-Exchange.energy.gov/.”\n\nI do not see a SOPO template associated with DE-FOA-0002203 under the Required Application Documents.\n\nPlease put the document there or let us know where we could find one.\n","A Statement of Project Objectives (SOPO) template has been uploaded to EERE-Exchange under Full Application Attachments. "]
[95,"2020-03-04","Technical Topics","One of the metrics in subtopic 6b is that the proposed technology must demonstrate a 20 to100% rate of degradation over state of technology. What is the state of technology that we should compare our technology with?  Should it be landfilling plastics, incineration or some other approach?  ","As described in Section IV.C.ii of the FOA, applicants should “describe the state-of-the-art in the applicable field” and in section V.A.ii, applicants will be scored on the “degree to which the current state of the technology and proposed advancement are clearly described.” In the case of various plastic wastes, some plastic streams have access to recycling/reuse technologies and others do not. Therefore, it is incumbent on the applicant to communicate the improvement for the mixed plastic wastes proposed which in some cases could be improving over a baseline of 0% recycling or reuse. In cases where 0% recycle/reuse represents the state-of-the-art, any ability to convert the waste would achieve the topic area metric."]
[96,"2020-03-05","Other","From last one hour or so, I am trying to get a control # for the concept paper. The system is not allowing me to do so as it is “loading” forever. ","As stated throughout the FOA, for technical problems with EERE Exchange, please email EERE-ExchangeSupport@hq.doe.gov."]
[97,"2020-03-05","Concept Paper","I am wondering what should be addressed in our confidentiality statement.","There is no proscribed language for statements regarding confidentiality in the Concept Paper or Full Application cover pages. "]
[98,"2020-03-05","Concept Paper","I am not sure where the concept paper is to be submitted. There is information about the full proposal, but I cannot find the information about submission of the concept paper. Can you please advise?","See FOA section IV. \"Application and Submission Information.\" The application process begins with the applicant clicking the \"Apply\" button in EERE Exchange."]
[99,"2020-03-05","Other","I am updating my sam.gov account and one of the questions is whether or not the grant that I am applying to \"contains the award term and condition described in 2 C.F.R. 200 Appendix XII”. Does this grant contain such a term?\n","Yes, award Terms and Conditions will include the requirements described in 2 CFR 200 Appendix XII \"Award Term and Condition for Recipient Integrity and Performance Matters\" at https://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/text-idx?SID=271881a196465a09e4c8f252caeae527&mc=true&node=ap2.1.200_1521.xii&rgn=div9."]
[100,"2020-03-06","Due Dates","Can you please accept my Concept Paper? I was traveling yesterday and missed the 5:00 deadline.  ","The Concept Paper submission deadline was 3/05/2020. No extensions will be granted."]
[101,"2020-03-06","Other","The DE-FOA-0002203 application is for Topic Area 6b which is 60 months. Page 35 of FOA states the applicant should estimate a three-month duration  for the Verification Task 1 and be a separate Budget Period 1 (BP1). With Topic Area 6b being 60 months, could this be a longer duration?  What duration is recommended for the other 4 BP's?\n","Yes, Budget Period (BP) 1 could be longer than 3 months. \n\nThe length of the other BPs is discussed in the FOA document \"EERE 540.131B: Statement of Project Objectives,\" where it states in section C: \"Go/No-Go Decision Points:  The SOPO should include project-wide go/no-go decision points at the end of each budget period.  A go/no-go decision point is a risk management tool and a project management best practice to ensure that, for the current budget period or period of performance, technical success is definitively achieved and potential for success in future budget periods or periods of performance is evaluated, prior to actually beginning the execution of future budget periods.  Unless otherwise specified in the FOA, the minimum requirement is that each project must have at least one project-wide go/no-go decision point for each budget period (approximately each 12 to 18 month period) of the project.\"  \n"]
[102,"2020-03-10","Application Content/Format","Can you please clarify the location for references/citations in the technical volume? There seems to be conflicting information within the FOA.\nPage 48/49: “References must be included as footnotes or endnotes in a font size of 10 or larger. Footnotes and endnotes are counted toward the maximum page requirement”\nPage 53: “Citations and references may be included as an appendix that does not count against the Technical Volume page limit.” ","Applicants may follow the guidance on page 53: \"“Citations and references may be included as an appendix that does not count against the Technical Volume page limit.”"]
[103,"2020-03-10","Other","  A question arose while our grants division was meeting with the proposed project managers, in regards to the percentage of effort each participating partner is devoting to the project.  In the final application submission, would it be possible to maintain the same business and technical points of contact, but allocate the project workload differently than it was proposed in the concept paper submission?  We expect that a partner organization may have a larger role than we initially anticipated.","Yes, applicants may allocate the project workload differently in the Full Application than it was proposed in the Concept Paper."]
[104,"2020-03-11","Labs/FFRDCs","We will have two FFRDCs as subrecipients.  Do they need to fill out the Subrecipient Budget Justification workbook and the SF-LLL form?","Per FOA section IV.C.xi. \"Budget for DOE/NNSA FFRDC (if applicable),\" If a DOE/NNSA FFRDC contractor is to perform a portion of the work, the applicant must provide a DOE WP in accordance with the requirements in DOE Order 412.1A, Work Authorization System, Attachment 3, available at: https://www.directives.doe.gov/directives-documents/400-series/0412.1-BOrder-a/@@images/file. Save the WP in a single PDF file using the following convention for the title “ControlNumber_LeadOrganization_Topic_WP”. \n\nFFRDCs also are required to submit a SF-LLL \"Disclosure of Lobbying Activities\" form. See FOA section III.E.i. \"Requirements for DOE/NNSA and non-DOE/NNSA Federally Funded Research and Development Centers Included as a Subrecipient\" for additional FFRDC requirements."]
[105,"2020-03-13","Due Dates","I have not submitted my concept papers as I have not been previously aware of the funding provided through this entity. Fortunately I do have a Concept that I can submit ASAP as well as a project in the works that comprises of all the technologies listed within the FOA","The Concept Paper submission deadline was 3/05/2020. No extensions will be granted."]
[106,"2020-03-17","Application Reviews","Is an invitation to submit full proposal necessary after a concept paper has been submitted? The status of our concept paper shows \"in review\".\n","No, Applicants will not receive an invitation to submit a Full Application. EERE expects to complete Concept Paper reivews by approximately 3/20/2020. Per FOA section IV.B. \"Content and Form of the Concept Paper,\" EERE will encourage a subset of applicants to submit Full Applications. Other applicants will be discouraged from submitting a Full Application. An applicant who receives a “discouraged” notification may still submit a Full Application."]
[107,"2020-03-17","Due Dates","Due to the latest news surrounding COVID-19, our organization’s leadership team has decided that a significant amount of staff (60% +) will be executing work remotely from home.  We are in the process of loading information onto the eXCHANGE; however, there is a growing concern that staff should anticipate server issues, which may impede our ability to communicate effectively, which possibly may impact proposal development and meeting the submission deadline.  Are there any plans to extend the submission deadline?","As of today (March 17, 2020), there are no plans to extend the Full Application submission deadline. If circumstances warrant any changes to the FOA, then a formal FOA modification will be published in EERE Exchange. Please check the FOA in EERE Exchange frequently, and be sure to submit required application documents well in advance of the published due date; EERE will not accept late applications."]
[108,"2020-03-17","Due Dates","Is there an email list that I can subscribe to that would notify me of any changes to the funding opportunity DE-FOA-0002203?","No, there is not an email subscription list. EERE posts its FOAs in EERE Exchange, which does not have email notifications for due date changes. As of today (March 18, 2020), there are no plans to extend the Full Application submission deadline. If circumstances warrant any changes to the FOA, then a formal FOA modification will be published in EERE Exchange. Please check the FOA in EERE Exchange frequently, and be sure to submit required application documents well in advance of the published due date; EERE will not accept late applications."]
[109,"2020-03-18","Application Content/Format","Topic area 6b states that 10-20% of the budget should go to the education and outreach component of the proposal. I noticed that the template in the FOA doesn’t have a carve-out for education and outreach. Which section(s) should we add this component and is there a format we should use?","In the Budget Justification workbook cost rows, Applicants may state the SOPO Task number that correspond to the SOPO Tasks for Education & Outreach, and/or make comments in the Additional Explanation box at the bottom of the worksheets. There is no proscribed format."]
[110,"2020-03-18","Application Content/Format","I am having trouble finding the SOPO template for DE-FOA-0002203. Where is it? ","In the FOA in EERE Exchange, under \"REQUIRED APPLICATION DOCUMENTS,\" click on the hyperlink \"View Required Application Documents.\" The EERE_T_540-131_Statement_of_Project_Objectives_(SOPO) template is there for you to download."]
[111,"2020-03-19","Concept Paper","We recently received a decision of Discouraged on our Concept Paper, however, there are not any comments as to how this decision was arrived. Is there someone we can talk to for clarification so we can determine if our proposal can be salvaged so that it is more applicable to the FOA?","Applicants should log into EERE Exchange, navigate ot their submission, and look under \"Concept Paper Response\", where there should be a text box labeled \"Review Comments.\" EERE will not provide applicants with specific guidance on revising application documents. An applicant who receives a “discouraged” notification may still submit a Full Application. EERE will review all eligible Full Applications. However, by discouraging the submission of a Full Application, EERE intends to convey its lack of programmatic interest in the proposed project in an effort to save the applicant the time and expense of preparing an application that is unlikely to be selected for award negotiations."]
[112,"2020-03-20","U.S. Manufacturing Plan","What is the length of the US manufacturing plan? All I can see is that it is a .pdf document that is separate from the technical volume.","There is no required minimum or maximum length for the U.S. Manufacturing Plan. See FOA section IV.C.xv. for USMP requirements."]
[113,"2020-03-23","Application Content/Format","Would I be accurate in my assumption that the Concept Paper needed to be completed before I could apply? I was wondering if an extension can be granted due to the current state of affairs across the country?","Please see FOA Section IV. Application and Submission Information. Only applicants who have submitted an Eligible Concept Paper will be eligible to submit a Full Application."]
[114,"2020-03-23","Eligibility","I received notification of a \"Discouraged\" decision. How might I obtain feedback on the concept paper/proposal to improve future submissions? ","IV.B. Content and Form of the Concept Paper. \"EERE may include general comments provided from reviewers on an applicant’s Concept Paper in the encourage/discourage notification posted on EERE Exchange at the close of that phase.\""]
[115,"2020-03-23","Technical Topics","For Subtopic Area 2b: Is biopower and/or renewable natural gas an acceptable end product?","Please see FOA Section I.B. Subopic 2b Applications Specifically Not of Interest. \"• Applications that propose hydrogen, ethanol, methane, biogas, syngas, dimethyl ether, or methanol as end products. Note, that while these materials are not allowed as end products, they are acceptable as intermediates, if the application is clear how the intermediates will be incorporated into processes to produce biofuels or bioproduct precursors by project completion.\""]
[116,"2020-03-23",null,"Hello, the FOA states that the technical datasheets for areas 2c, 3, and 4 are available in excel format as attachments to the FOA. On the EERE exchange website, it seems 2c, and 3 are available in excel format but Topic Area 4's datasheet is in word format. Did I overlook something or is this an error?","The data sheet for Topic Area 4 is in word format."]
[117,"2020-03-24","Due Dates","Is DOE considering extending the FY20 Bioenergy Technologies Multi-Topic FOA proposal deadline due to the impact of COVID-19?","Answer Pending"]
[118,"2020-03-24","Cost Sharing","I would like to know what is the local match share/split?  Is it a 20/80% or 50/50%?","Please see FOA Section III.B. Cost Sharing and FOA Appendix A - Cost Share Information. Please see 2 CFR 200 and 2 CFR 910 by visiting www.ecfr.gov for additional information pertaining to Cost Share under Federal awards. The minimum Cost Share requirement for all topics in this FOA is 20%. "]
[119,"2020-03-24",null,"I am categorized as a small business. I would like to apply for the grant listed above under topic 1. However, I am having difficulty applying for the grant.\n\nI attached a copy of the application synopsis. Is this a qualification issue, or should I contact technical support?\n","Please visit EERE-Exchange.Energy.gov to view this Funding Opportunity Announcement."]
[120,"2020-03-25","Application Content/Format","For Topic 7, the maximum Federal $ per award is listed as $2.5 million (Table II-1) and the anticipated period of performance is listed as 24-36 months (Table II-2). Are there any limitations on the per year Federal disbursement of funds, i.e. Is it allowable to construct a budget with the maximum Federal $ per award ($2.5 million) at the minimum time period of performance (24 months)?","Applicants may construct a Budget with the maximum Federal Amount per award for the minimum Period of Performance. "]
[121,"2020-03-25","Application Content/Format","The budget form provided has 5 budget periods. Is it possible to get a budget form with 6 budget periods?","The Budget Justification form provided in EERE-Exchange has a maximum of 5 Budget Periods."]
[122,"2020-03-25","Application Content/Format","Could you provide some guidance on a reasonable budget start date? ","EERE anticipates a budget start date of 10/01/2020. "]
[123,"2020-03-26","Due Dates","I recently noticed this FOA, but unfortunately I missed the deadline for Concept Papers on March 5th. I wonder if we are still eligible to submit a proposal, or the deadline would be extendable due to the outbreak of Covid-19. ","Please see FOA Section IV.G. Submission Dates and Times. \"Concept Papers, Full Applications, and Replies to Reviewer Comments must be submitted in EERE Exchange no later than 5 p.m. Eastern Time on the dates provided on the cover page of this FOA.\""]
[124,"2020-03-26","Technical Topics","The wastewater treatment plant currently does not have microalgae based tertiary treatment. I should mention that many wastewater treatment plants in the southeast region do not have tertiary treatment. So for the internal baseline of algal feedstock yield, should I put in “N/A”?"]
[125,"2020-03-26","Technical Topics","What are the budgetary restrictions for equipment budget on the SCUBA grant? Is it limited to one piece of equipment? The FOA does not offer specifics as regards to equipment.","Please see FOA Section I.B.i. Topic Area 1 Specific Requirments. \"• Applications cannot include greater than 10% of the total project budget for earlier stage R&D (<TRL 4), including expenses for equipment, salaries, and supplies.\""]
[126,"2020-03-26","Application Content/Format","Are Letters of Commitment required if not providing Cost Share?  We are an FFRDC participating as a sub for this call.","Please see FOA Section IV.C. Content and Form of the Full Application iv. Letters of Commitment   \"If applicable, also include any letters of commitment from partners/end users (1 page maximum per letter). \""]
[127,"2020-03-27","Application Content/Format","Can the description of the educational and outreach activities be detailed in \"Technical Description, Innovation and Impact\"?   ","Please See FOA Section IV.C. Technical Volume (Project Description) \"Responsiveness to FOA and specific topic requirements: The applicant should describe how the application meets all the FOA and the specific Topic Area Requirements, and is responsive to the Topic Area objectives and areas of interest.\""]
[128,"2020-03-27","Due Dates","Can you waive the concept paper requirements for the FOA - 2203?","Please see FOA Section IV.B. Content and Form of the Concept Paper. \"To be eligible to submit a Full Application, applicants must submit a Concept Paper by the specified due date and time.\""]
[129,"2020-03-28","Technical Topics","Please provide some guidance on how we should specify the \"concentration, and single-pass conversion\"  in projects that consider electrolyzers integrated with fermenters, where the CO2 concentration in the feed to the electrolyzer changes as the microbes grow and might contain 60-90% of CO2, plus other species at steady state.  ","Applicants are encouraged to be as clear as possible in stating what they plan to achieve under optimal settings."]
[130,"2020-03-30","Concept Paper","I have not received any decision email on our concept paper, could you please check to see why I did not receive the notification?","Please see FOA Section VI.A.ii. Concept Paper Notifications. Concept Papers are encouraged/discouraged through EERE-Exchange.energy.gov"]
[131,"2020-03-31","Application Content/Format","Are we not required to submit current and pending support for PI/Co-PI?"]
[132,"2020-04-01","Application Content/Format","I want to consult you if having “discouraged” for the concept paper will reduce my chances during the proposal review. ","Please see FOA Section VI.A.ii. Concept Paper Notifications. \"Applicants may submit a Full Application even if they receive a notification discouraging them from doing so. By discouraging the submission of a Full Application, EERE intends to convey its lack of programmatic interest in the proposed project.\""]
[133,"2020-04-02","Application Content/Format","Our concept paper stated a period of performance of 36 months. Can we increase to 60 months for full proposal?","Yes, applicants may lengthen or shorten their proposed project at the time of full application submission."]
[134,"2020-04-03","Technical Topics","The FOA references “ engineering scale” twice under the topics below. Please explain what is meant by this. How does engineering scale relate to pilot or demo scale? Or is it something unrelated to capacity size?","Engineering-scale is the next process scale beyond laboratory- or bench-scale activities that enables production of small volumes of intermediates or products, demonstrates operational performance of the proposed technologies and facilitates the optimization and design of pilot-scale systems in an integrated environment. Engineering-scale equipment is tested in a relevant environment. This represents a major step up in a technology’s demonstrated readiness. Supporting information includes results from the engineering-scale testing and analysis of the differences between the engineering-scale, prototypical system/environment, and analysis of what the experimental results mean for the eventual operating system/environment.\n\nWith that said, please note that Topic Area 1 Metrics include a throughput equivalent minimum of “0.5 Dry Tonnes Per Day (DTPD) equivalent; 12,500 gallons of intermediate per year for an algal process equivalent; or 8 million British Thermal Units (MMBTU)/day of biogas equivalent”\n"]
[135,"2020-04-04","Application Content/Format","• Please confirm that the SOPO template required for this FOA is the one found under EERE/ Management forms/Forms/ Negotiation Forms\no Statement of Project Objectives (SOPO), EERE 303\n","The SOPO template in EERE-Exchange is a template that can be used by the Applicant to draft and submit with their full application. "]
[136,"2020-04-06","Application Content/Format","DE-FOA-0002203_FY20_BETO_Multi-Topic_FOA has conflicting information on references and citations.  Can you please let me know which bullet below is correct?\n1. Application and submission information (p.48) states:  \"References and citations must be included in footnotes or endnotes in a font size of 10 or larger and count.  Footnotes and endnotes are counted toward the maximum page requirement.\"\n2. Technical Volume (p.53) section states:  \"Citations and references may be included as an Appendix that does not count against the Technical Volume page limit.\nThe preference is to use a bibiography to supplement the Technical Volume section of the proposal and not have it count towards the 25 page limit (bullet #2 above).  What formats are required - Table?, pdf? File Name?, other?  \n","Please see FOA Section IV.C.ii. Technical Volume. \"Citations and references may be included as an appendix that does not count against the Technical Volume page limit.\""]
[137,"2020-04-06","Cost Sharing","Can a independent contractor donate his time as part of the non-federal cost share?\n\nAnd on the SOPO template it says to put the award number and mod number on the top, but I have neither of those two things. Should I leave it blank? If not, then how do I obtain those numbers?\n\nAnd can my employee's take money from their payroll and put it towards the project as an allowable non-federal cost share?\n","1) Please see Appendix A Cost Share Information.\n\n2) Please put the Control Number for your application on the SOPO. \n\n3) Please see Appendix A Cost Share Information."]
[138,"2020-04-07","Application Content/Format","In Topic Area 1 I see from table II-2 that the project duration is 36 – 60 months. \n\nIt is not clear to me into how many periods this should be subdivided. Would 3 periods i) verification Period (3 months), ii) Budget period 1 (12 months)  and iii) Budget period 2 (24 months)  be appropriate. \n","Please see FOA Section I.D. Verification. \"All applicants must include the initial verification task within their scope as Task 1. It must be separated from the rest of the scope of work by a Go/No-Go decision point, and applicants should estimate a three-month duration for the verification effort.\" Please see FOA Section IV.C.ii. Technical Volume (Workplan and Market Transformation Plan) \"Unless otherwise specified in the FOA, at a minimum, each project must have at least one project-wide Go/No-Go decision point for each budget period (12 to 18-month period) of the project.\" "]
[139,"2020-04-07","Application Content/Format","So I'm required to fill out the SF-LLL and the instructions for the SF-LLL says that section 10a and 10b is required, however I do not hire lobbyists or any lobbying agents or organizations ergo I have no name, address, or registrant or individual to fill those boxes. What should I do to fill out this form?","Please write Not Applicable or N/A in sections that do not apply to your organization. "]
[140,"2020-04-08","Application Reviews","Does EERE send official e-mails or other notifications of the positive evaluations of Concept Papers? ","Please see FOA Section VI.A.ii. Concept Paper Notifications. Concept Papers are encouraged/discouraged through EERE-Exchange.energy.gov"]
[141,"2020-04-08","Application Content/Format","On the Budget Justification, on what tab should we list a $250K software license? ","Please see FOA Section VI.I.ii. Allowable Costs. \n\nAll expenditures must be allowable, allocable, and reasonable in accordance with the applicable federal cost principles.\nRefer to the following applicable federal cost principles for more information:\n• Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Part 31 for For-Profit entities; and\n• 2 CFR Part 200 Subpart E - Cost Principles for all other non-federal entities."]
[142,"2020-04-09","Application Content/Format","I have a question regarding discouraged concept papers.  Are we able to remove a portion of the paper( The project is proposing to build a biorefinery, which is not of interest under this FOA topic)  from the paper and still be considered for funding? Or if the paper is initially discouraged; should we not move forward?","Please see FOA Section IV.A.ii. Concept Paper Notifications. \"Applicants may submit a Full Application even if they receive a notification discouraging them from doing so. By discouraging the submission of a Full Application, EERE intends to convey its lack of programmatic interest in the proposed project.\""]
[143,"2020-04-10","Application Content/Format","We are working on the budget and timeline for a three year proposal.  Could you please indicate the budget period lengths (in months) we should be budgeting for?  ","Please see FOA Section IV.C.ii. Technical Volume (Workplan and Market Transformation Plan) \"Unless otherwise specified in the FOA, at a minimum, each project must have at least one project-wide Go/No-Go decision point for each budget period (12 to 18-month period) of the project.\" Please also see FOA Section I.D. Verification. \"All applicants must include the initial verification task within their scope as Task 1. It must be separated from the rest of the scope of work by a Go/No-Go decision point, and applicants should estimate a three-month duration for the verification effort.\"\n\nThe length of the other BPs is discussed in the FOA document \"EERE 540.131B: Statement of Project Objectives,\" where it states in section C: \"Go/No-Go Decision Points:  The SOPO should include project-wide go/no-go decision points at the end of each budget period.  A go/no-go decision point is a risk management tool and a project management best practice to ensure that, for the current budget period or period of performance, technical success is definitively achieved and potential for success in future budget periods or periods of performance is evaluated, prior to actually beginning the execution of future budget periods.  Unless otherwise specified in the FOA, the minimum requirement is that each project must have at least one project-wide go/no-go decision point for each budget period (approximately each 12 to 18 month period) of the project.\"  "]
[144,"2020-04-10","Cost Sharing","Is cost share required to remain at 20% across budget periods?","Please see FOA Section III.B. Cost Sharing.  Cost Share for the Total Project must meet or exceed 20%. Please see FOA Section III.B.xi Cost Share Payment. \"EERE requires prime recipients to contribute the cost share amount incrementally over the life of the award. Specifically, the prime recipient’s cost share for each billing period must always reflect the overall cost share ratio negotiated by the parties...\""]
[145,"2020-04-10","Due Dates","I would like to submit a grant application but didn't send in a concept paper. Is this possible?","Please see FOA Section IV.B.Content and Form of the Concept Paper. \"To be eligible to submit a Full Application, applicants must submit a Concept Paper by the specified due date and time.\""]
[146,"2020-04-14","Technical Topics","Our team respectfully requests that DOE/EERE/BETO add urban/suburban yard wastes to the acceptable feedstocks under Subtopic 2b (Optimizing Community-Scale Wet Organic Waste) for potential processing or co-processing with other wet organic wastes.  ","Please see FOA Section I.B. for Topic Areas Specifically of Interest and Applications Specifically Not of Interest.  Please visit EERE-Exchange.energy.gov for future FOAs which may better align with your organization's interests."]
[147,"2020-04-14","Technical Topics","In the discussion of the Strategic Goals (page 2) the term Minimum Fuel Selling Price is used.  How is the Minimum Fuel Selling Price calculated?","The methods used to derive minimum fuel selling price are discussed here: \n\nEx Situ Catalytic Fast Pyrolysis of Lignocellulosic Biomass to Hydrocarbon Fuels: 2019 State of Technology and Future Research. Web. doi:10.2172/1605092. \nAccessible at:   https://www.nrel.gov/docs/fy20osti/76269.pdf \n"]
[148,"2020-04-16","Application Content/Format","In page 54 of the FOA in the table that describes the required contents of the Technical Volume it states both in the Project Overview and in the Technical Description phrases to describe  how the proposed project meets the Topic Area objectives. Since they both ask us to address the “objectives” can you please clarify what should be under The Project Overview and what under the Technical Description – so that we avoid duplication. "]
[149,"2020-04-16","Other","Do you have samples of “final” LCA & TEA reports that are ideal formats as project outcomes as part of this BETO award? ","There are no sample deliverables available.  Public records of project deliverables such as final technical reports are available at osti.gov.  A search can be filtered by the BETO organization code EE-3B.  "]
[150,"2020-04-17","Application Content/Format","Due to the current economic environment, will you allow Topic Area 1 (SCUBA) proposal of less than $3million?","The Federal funding amounts referenced in FOA Section II.A. are guidelines provided based on the objectives and requirements.  If an applicant believes they can meet all of the FOA objectives and requirements with less than the estimated minimum then they may submit an application with a lower amount. "]
[151,"2020-04-17","Other","Will a PM contact us about questions regarding Topic Area 3 of this FOA?  ","Please see FOA Section VII. Questions/Agency Contacts.  Questions and Answers are uploaded in an Excel Spreadsheet are posted in the Announcement Documents for the Funding Opportunity Announcement.  EERE Personnel will not contact Applicants outside of the established Question and Answer process."]
[152,"2020-04-17","Application Content/Format","When submitting our Concept paper to Topic 6b we indicated a period of performance of 48 months.  We now believe that a 60 month performance period might be more appropriate.  Is this change allowable?","Applicants may change the anticipated Period of Performance for projects in between the Concept Paper Submission and Full Application Submission."]
[153,"2020-04-17","Labs/FFRDCs","Do FFRDCs need to fill out the Subrecipient Budget Justification workbook?","Please see FOA Section IV.C. Content and Form of the Full Application for guidance regarding FFRDC budget documentation. Please also see FOA Section III.E.i. Requirements for DOE/NNSA and non-DOE/NNSA Federally Funded Research and Development Centers Included as a Subrecipient."]
[154,"2020-04-17","Application Content/Format","If a topic is required to participate in the Verification Process, should this 3-month period be set up as its own Budget Period?\n\nWe have a proposal responding to Topic 6B.  In the Technical Volume directions on page 56 of the call, it states the budget periods should be 12-18 months.  Is this expected for Topic 6B specifically, and is it expected for all topics?\n","Please see FOA Section I.D. Verification. \"All applicants must include the initial verification task within their scope as Task 1. It must be separated from the rest of the scope of work by a Go/No-Go decision point, and applicants should estimate a three-month duration for the verification effort.\""]
[155,"2020-04-17","Other","Will the FAQ tab associated with this opportunity be activated soon?","Please see FOA Section VII. Questions/Agency Contacts.  Questions and Answers are uploaded in an Excel Spreadsheet are posted in the Announcement Documents for the Funding Opportunity Announcement.  EERE Personnel will not contact Applicants outside of the established Question and Answer process."]
[156,"2020-04-17","Technical Topics","\n• In regard to pre-PBR air-CO2 concentration, could applicants purchase air-CO2 from a company that has captured the CO2 from air and use that for algal biomass production in PBRs?  \n\nDo we need to submit an award number and modification number with the SOPO template? \n"]
[157,"2020-04-17","Technical Topics","1. Would the harvest of woody invasive species (such as Russian Olive Elaeagnus angustifolia) be considered an acceptable bioenergy crop?\n\n2. On page 21 it mentions that representative samples from experimental plots must be delivered. Is there an acceptable quantity or recommendation that you could provide?\n"]
[158,"2020-04-17","Technical Topics","1. When calculating the carbon conversion efficiency, may I ask whether DOE will expect the conversion efficiency of carbon to that special product to be higher that to the methane through anaerobic digestion? In in other words, is it a problem if the carbon conversion efficiency of food waste to the special product is lower than that to the methane through anaerobic digestion?\n\n2. Is it okay to use simpler food waste but not the complicated ones as model food waste in our bioconversion study?\n\n3. If an Applicant proposes to integrate several processes for converting food waste to a special product that has never been produced from food waste yet, and the processes have only been proven to work individual and never been integrated in reality, should the Applicant set the baseline for the carbon conversion efficiency through the process integration to be 0% or to be a number based on the multiplication of the conversion efficiency from each individual process?\n"]
[159,"2020-04-18","Application Content/Format","Consistent with the instructions in the subject budget document, our program team requests addition of two budget periods (columns) to the required workbook.  ","EERE has provided two Budget Justification templates for Applicants to use.  One template has 3 Budget Periods and the second has 5 Budget Periods. "]
[160,"2020-04-19","Application Content/Format","Is it allowable to change the lead organization from the concept paper when submitting a full application for this FOA?\n\nIs it allowable to for the PI to be from a subrecipient FFRDC?\n\nIs it allowable to have a project manager from the lead organization, but for the PI to be employed by a non-FFRDC subrecipient?\n","1) The Lead Organization can change in between the submission of the Concept Paper and the submission of the Full Application.  \n2) The Principal Investigator may be employed by a subrecipient FFRDC. \n3) The Project Manager and Principal Investigator may be employed by different entities.\n"]
[161,"2020-04-19","Foreign Entities/Work","• Would purchasing commercially available material from a foreign entity affiliated with the prime company be considered “purchase of supplies and equipment”? Is a “Foreign Entity and Foreign Work Wavier From” required?\n• Would commissioning the manufacturing of a component of the technology developed under the proposal for the final scale demonstration at the foreign entity affiliated with the prime company to ensure the ability to scale-up be considered “purchase of supplies and equipment”? Is a “Foreign Entity and Foreign Work Wavier From” required?\n","Please see FOA Section IV.C.xiv. Waiver Requests for Performance of Work in the United States.  \"As set forth in Section IV.I.iii., all work under EERE funding agreements must be performed in the United States. This requirement does not apply to the purchase of supplies and equipment, so a waiver is not required for foreign purchases of these items. However, the prime recipient should make every effort to purchase supplies and equipment within the United States.\""]
[162,"2020-04-20","Cost Sharing","Given the recent economic crisis that is confronting virtually every business in the world, raising cost share has become an especially difficult proposition. Is DOE considering and will they announce a reduction or elimination of the cost share requirements for the Multi-Topic FOA? The 20% requirement is especially difficult to reach for those Topic Areas where the federal dollar amount is high (e.g. SCUBA)."]
[163,"2020-04-21","Labs/FFRDCs","The FFRDC Contractor Authorization letter that’s required should be addressed to whom, name, and mailing address, please?  ","Please Address FFRDC authorization letters to:\nTo Whom It May Concern\nU.S. Department of Energy, \n1000 Independence Ave, SW \nWashington, D.C., 20585"]
[164,"2020-04-21","Application Content/Format","Can the SOPO for topic area 6 exceed the 10 page limit?  If so how long can it be?","Please see FOA Section IV.C.v. \"The SOPO, including the Milestone Table, should not exceed 10 pages when printed using standard 8.5 x 11 paper with 1” margins (top, bottom, left, and right) with font not smaller than 12 point.\""]
[165,"2020-04-21","Application Content/Format","Can you confirm the verification budget period should be 3 months, while other budget periods can be between 12-18 months?","Please see FOA Section I.D. Verification. \"All applicants must include the initial verification task within their scope as Task 1. It must be separated from the rest of the scope of work by a Go/No-Go decision point, and applicants should estimate a three-month duration for the verification effort.\" Please see FOA Section IV.C.ii. Technical Volume (Workplan and Market Transformation Plan) \"Unless otherwise specified in the FOA, at a minimum, each project must have at least one project-wide Go/No-Go decision point for each budget period (12 to 18-month period) of the project.\" "]
[166,"2020-04-21","Cost Sharing","Will waivers to the cost share requirement be considered due to COVID-19 crisis?"]
[167,"2020-04-21","Application Content/Format","Would the budget periods below for period dates and months be acceptable?  \n\nDates: 10/01/2020-09/30/2023 (36 months)\n• Budget Period 1: 10/01/2020-12/31/20 (3 months)\n• Budget Period 2: 01/01/21-06/30/22 (18 months)\n• Budget Period 3: 07/01/22-09/30/2023 (15 months)\n","Please see FOA Section I.D. Verification. \"All applicants must include the initial verification task within their scope as Task 1. It must be separated from the rest of the scope of work by a Go/No-Go decision point, and applicants should estimate a three-month duration for the verification effort.\" Please see FOA Section IV.C.ii. Technical Volume (Workplan and Market Transformation Plan) \"Unless otherwise specified in the FOA, at a minimum, each project must have at least one project-wide Go/No-Go decision point for each budget period (12 to 18-month period) of the project.\" \n\nApplicants may submit projects with the proposed budget period structure."]
[168,"2020-04-22","Application Content/Format","I have a quick question if the support letters from state (e.g. Chief Science Officer for the state) or industry collaborators are allowed in this FOA. If yes, to whom the letter should be addressed and where it can be submitted?","Please see FOA Section IV.C. Content and Form of the Full Application for guidance regarding required forms and documents for the submission of Full Applications to this FOA. Letters of Support may be submitted by an Applicant but are not required for Full Application Submission. Please see FOA Section V.A.ii. for the merit review criterion under which applications will be evaluated."]
[169,"2020-04-22","Application Content/Format","Is a small business subcontract plan required as a part of this submission? I do not see it listed among the required documents,  however, we would like to confirm that it is not necessary to include as a part of our response to this FOA? ","Please see FOA Section IV.C. Content and Form of the Full Application for guidance regarding required forms and documents for the submission of Full Applications to this FOA. "]
[170,"2020-04-22","Eligibility","Does a legally constituted Limited Liability Company (LLC) organized for the purpose of conducting joint research that has three members submitting an application in the name of the LLC, and contemplating participation by all three of the member companies of the LLC, meet the definition of a “research partnership” as mandated by the FOA?"]
[171,"2020-04-22","Foreign Entities/Work","If a project is awarded under this DE-FOA-0002203, Are there any delays/problems expected due to a principal investigator and project manager being a foreign national (working in a US nonprofit organization on an H1B visa)?","Delays/problems are not anticipated. Please be reminded, as stated in section VI.B.iii Foreign National Access Under DOE Order 142.3A, “Unclassified Foreign Visits and Assignments Program” of the FOA, all applicants selected for an award under this FOA may be required to provide information to DOE in order to satisfy requirements for foreign nationals’ access to DOE sites, information, technologies, equipment, programs or personnel. A foreign national is defined as any person who is not a U.S. citizen by birth or naturalization. If a selected applicant (including any of its subrecipients, contractors or vendors) anticipates involving foreign nationals in the performance of its award, the selected applicant may be required to provide DOE with specific information about each foreign national to ensure compliance with the requirements for access approval. National laboratory personnel already cleared for site access may be excluded. Access approval for foreign nationals from countries identified on the U.S. Department of State’s list of State Sponsors of Terrorism must receive final approval authority from the Secretary of Energy or the Secretary’s assignee before they commence any work under the award."]
[172,"2020-04-23","Application Content/Format","Can a proposed subrecipients change between the concept paper submission and full application submission? Specifically, is a partner who has joint appointments at an FFRDC and University able to switch their proposed portion of the project from the FFRDC to the University?","Yes, the composition of the team can change between the submission of the Concept Paper and the Full Application submission."]
[173,"2020-04-23","Other","I am still not able to see any Q&A in the FAQs webpage for this FOA so I don’t know if you have answered my questions below yet.  Is there a system issue or are they not posted for anyone yet?","Please see FOA Section VII. Questions/Agency Contacts.  Questions and Answers are uploaded in an Excel Spreadsheet are posted in the Announcement Documents for the Funding Opportunity Announcement.  EERE Personnel will not contact Applicants outside of the established Question and Answer process. EERE does not directly reply to inquiries through the FAQ e-mail box. "]
[174,"2020-04-23","Labs/FFRDCs","If we have an FFRDC listed as a subcontractor, is the WP replacing the budget template and justification for them since they will be awarded directly, or is the WP just an additional item that the National Lab will need to include?","Please see FOA Section IV.C. Content and Form of the Full Application for guidance regarding FFRDC budget documentation. Please also see FOA Section III.E.i. Requirements for DOE/NNSA and non-DOE/NNSA Federally Funded Research and Development Centers Included as a Subrecipient."]
[175,"2020-04-23","Application Content/Format","I understand that Budget Period 1 should be 3 months for the Verification. But, would we actually budget anything during this 3 month period (salaries, supplies, travel, etc)? Or rather, what would go in the Budget Justification Excel document for Budget Period 1?","Please see FOA Section I.D. Verification for guidance about the Verification process. Applicants should budget the anticipated expenses the project will likely incur during Budget Period 1 – Verification.  These anticipated expenses may include salaries, fringe, travel, supplies, etc.   "]
[176,"2020-04-23","Application Content/Format","FOA: DE-FOA-0002203 / 000001 requires the following naming convention for proposal documents, “ControlNumber_LeadOrganization_Topic_TechnicalVolume”. My question is simply whether DOE want the topic number listed, e.g. : “ControlNumber_LeadOrganization_Topic4_TechnicalVolume” or if the topic name should be states, e.g.: “ControlNumber_LeadOrganization_Bio-Restore:BiomasstoRestoreNaturalResources_TechnicalVolume\". ","The file naming convention should be \"ControlNumber_LeadOrganization_Topic4_TechnicalVolume\". Using the Topic Area number instead of the title of the topic area. "]
[177,"2020-04-23","Labs/FFRDCs","We had a question regarding engagement with FFRDCs.  Is this a requirement? Or strongly recommended? Or how would advise on that?","Please see FOA Section I.B Topic Areas.  Engagement with FFRDCs is encouraged for some of the Topic Areas of Interest but is not required for the submission of a Full Application. "]
[178,"2020-04-23","Application Content/Format","Can we be provided a budget worksheet with six budget periods, to allow for the 3 month verification phase and a 60 month period of performance?","Please see FOA Section II.A.ii Period of Performance for guidance about award period performance. “EERE anticipates making awards that will run up to 24 – 60 months in length, comprised of one or more budget periods.” Projects should not be longer than 60 months (5 years) irrespective of the length of Budget Period 1 or any other Budget Period. "]
[179,"2020-04-23","Cost Sharing","Do we need to meet the 20% cost share requirement on the Initial Verification (Task 1, BP1) ?\n\nOr can we show the 20% cost share requirements for the entire project in later Budget Periods?\n","Please see FOA Section III.B. Cost Sharing.  Cost Share for the Total Project must meet or exceed 20%. Please see FOA Section III.B.xi Cost Share Payment. \"EERE requires prime recipients to contribute the cost share amount incrementally over the life of the award. Specifically, the prime recipient’s cost share for each billing period must always reflect the overall cost share ratio negotiated by the parties (i.e., the total amount of cost sharing on each invoice when considered cumulatively with previous invoices must reflect, at a minimum, the cost sharing percentage negotiated).\""]
[180,"2020-04-26","Application Content/Format","The budget justification states that, if an indirect rate has not been negotiated, \"the entity preparing this form shall submit an indirect rate proposal in the format provided by your DOE contact, or a format that provides the same level of information and which will support the rates being proposed for use in the performance of the proposed project.\"  We do not have a DOE contact.  Please clarify how to find a DOE contact or the correct format.  ","Please view additional Indirect Cost guidance by reviewing the Appendices of 2 CRF Part 200.  2 CFR 200 can be accessed electronically at https://www.ecfr.gov."]
[181,"2020-04-27","Technical Topics","I have a question about details for FOA-002203_FY20_BETO_Multi-Topic_FOA, Topic 1 (SCUBA).  The Block Flow Diagram and Supplemental Data template (Topic_Area_1_SCUBA_Block_Flow_Diagram-Supplemental_Data_Template) states that we are supposed to calculate sustainability metric of  GHGs (g CO2-e/MJ fuel) and Fossil Energy Consumption (MJ fossil energy/MJ fuel product) for each unit operation.  The individual unit operation use steam for heating the process and do not emit GHGs nor consume fossil fuels because the boiler is outside the scope of the Topic Area 1.  Should the GHGs and fossil fuel consumption for each unit operation be estimated based on steam consumption?"]
[182,"2020-04-27","Application Content/Format","How should we incorporate these letters of support into the proposal? Will adding them to the references/citations portion of the technical volume be appropriate? Also, would these letters be sufficient in covering the needed information in the market transformation plan or would further information be required?","Please see FOA Section IV.C. Content and Form of the Full Application for guidance regarding required forms and documents for the submission of Full Applications to this FOA. Letters of support do not alone meet the form of the Market Transformation Plan. Letters of Support may be submitted by an Applicant but are not required for Full Application Submission. Please see FOA Section V.A.ii. for the merit review criterion under which applications will be evaluated."]
[183,"2020-04-27","Technical Topics","For Topic Area 5, would a small bench scale system using fundamentals satisfy the baseline testing requirement?  Alternatively, would well documented test reports/data from previous large scale campaigns be acceptable? Would it be best to negotiate this deliverable once the project has been approved?","Applicants proposing to improve the performance of an existing residential wood heater technology are required to provide baseline data for the as-is or current design.  Novel residential wood heater technologies may not necessarily have integrated system performance data at the appropriate scale.  However, applicants must provide sufficient scientific basis and technical detail to demonstrate the feasibility of the proposed wood heater technology.  \n\nAll applications are subject to an initial verification as described in Section I. D. of the FOA.   The verification team will work with the applicant to define the appropriate breadth and scale of testing to verify the application data by direct observation and reproduction of laboratory tests, as well as verification of experimental procedures and data records. \n"]
[184,"2020-04-27","Application Content/Format","Is it allowable to request federal funds for services the Consultant will provide (time, travel, overhead)? Can Consulatants provide cost share?\n\nWill you please provide clarification on the statement in the budget justification form “Vendors may not provide cost share. Any partial donation of goods and services is considered a discount and is not allowable”. Would a Consultant also be considered a Vendor? Can a vendor provide cost share as long as they are not also requesting federal funds? \n","Any organization or party contributing cost share to the project will be considered a Subrecipient. "]
[185,"2020-04-27","Application Content/Format","We asked a previous question regarding the length of the Budget Periods required in this call and the answer referenced page 35 of the FOA stipulating the 3 month verification process with a Go/No Go decision, but then states the Budget Periods must be 12-18 month periods.  This seems to contradict itself.  Please confirm if a 3 month Budget Period at the Beginning of the Project is allowed/required for the Verification Process.  If so, please confirm that the remaining Budget Periods are required to be 12-18 month periods","Please see FOA Section I.D. Verification. \"All applicants must include the initial verification task within their scope as Task 1. It must be separated from the rest of the scope of work by a Go/No-Go decision point, and applicants should estimate a three-month duration for the verification effort.\" Please see FOA Section IV.C.ii. Technical Volume (Workplan and Market Transformation Plan) \"Unless otherwise specified in the FOA, at a minimum, each project must have at least one project-wide Go/No-Go decision point for each budget period (12 to 18-month period) of the project.\" \n\n"]
[186,"2020-04-28","Application Content/Format","Will there be a need to a NEPA determination for any pilot that is constructed?","Please see FOA Section VI.B.vi. Evnironmental Review in Accordance with National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA)."]
[187,"2020-04-29","Technical Topics","Can yard wastebe allowed as a permitted feedstock under Category 2b? If it cannot, could we consider any costs incurred to investigate yard waste treatment as part of our requisite minimum-20% of overall cost (could yard-waste related research be considered as either part of or our entire in-kind match)?  ","Under Topic Area 2b the Announcement specifically seeks processes for the conversion of food wastes, including blends with other relevant wet organic streams that substantially enhance overall carbon conversion efficiency and/or reduce disposal costs, and have the potential for economic viability at community scales. Thus, a blend of food and yard waste would be acceptable."]
[188,"2020-04-29","Application Content/Format","Is a small business subcontract plan required as a part of this submission? I do not see it listed among the required documents,  however, we would like to confirm that it is not necessary to include as a part of our response to this FOA? ","Please see FOA Section IV.C. Content and Form of the Full Application for guidance regarding required forms and documents for the submission of Full Applications to this FOA. "]
[189,"2020-04-29","Eligibility","Can the project team change between Concept Paper submission and Full Application submission?","Yes, the composition of the team can change between the submission of the Concept Paper and the Full Application submission."]
[190,"2020-04-29","Cost Sharing","Will waivers to the cost share requirement be considered due to COVID-19 crisis?"]
[191,"2020-04-29","Concept Paper","For Topic Area 4, the maximum Federal $ per award is $4M.  If we provide a Federal Funds request of $3.5M can you confirm a total project value of $4.4M would meet the DOE requirement?  ","Please see FOA Section III.B. Cost Sharing.  Cost Share for the Total Project must meet or exceed 20%. Please see FOA Appendix A. Cost Share Information for additional cost sharing guidance."]
[192,"2020-04-30","Other","If foreign entities do not have an indirect costs rate, are they allowed to use the de minimus 10% MTDC rate under this FOA? ","Please see 2 CFR 200 for guidance regarding the usage of a de minimis rate. "]
[193,"2020-04-30","Application Content/Format","I am hoping you can help me with clarifying exactly what items are required from any and all subrecipients. \n \nFrom my review of the FOA I see that the following items are needed, is there anything else:\n \n• Resumes for key participating team members (I am assuming including all subrecipient team members as well)\n• Letters of Commitment from all Subrecipient Cost Share providers.\n• Budget Justification information for the Budget Justification Workbook to be completed by the Prime Recipient.\n• Subrecipient Budget Justification (if applicable), for any subrecipient expected to perform worked estimated to be more than $250,000 or 25 percent of the total work effort. \n• Budget for DOE/NNSA FFRDC, if applicable.\n• Authorization for non_DOE/NNSA or DOE/NNSA FFRDC’s, if applicable. \n \nCan you please advise if any other items are required for the Subrecipients? \n","Please see FOA Section IV.C. Content and Form of the Full Application for required documents for subrecipients.  "]
[194,"2020-04-30","Other","We are working on our budget and have not received approval for an indirect cost rate by any government entity ever before. If we choose to use the  elect to charge a de minimis rate of 10% of modified total direct costs (MTDC), do we need to provide an indirect rate proposal? If so, could you per the Indirect tab in the budget template provide us with the format in which we need to provide this?","Please see 2 CFR 200 for guidance regarding the usage of a de minimis rate. "]
[195,"2020-04-30","Cost Sharing","Is \"unrecovered indirect cost\" allowable as cost share under this FOA?","Please see 2 CFR 200.306 Cost Sharing or Matching for guidance regarding Unrecovered Indirect Costs."]
[196,"2020-04-30","Technical Topics","Question 1:  Is a greenhouse gas lifecycle analysis required in the deliverables or technoeconomic analysis for topic 6a?  In the FOA it states that an LCA is explicitly required for topics 1 and 4, but for topic 6a there’s only a passing reference on page 28 (“Although applications are not required to include scope on developing and/or testing the technologies needed to convert intermediates into electricity in the application, as these are well commercialized, they must include the entire process in the TEA and LCA analyses.” Greenhouse gas or lifecycle analysis is not listed in the “Topic Area 6 Specific Requirements” listed on pages 26-27.  \n\nQuestion 2:  Is developing or updating a Market Transformation Plan a required task for a project that we should allocate labor hours to in the budget and tasks for in the SOPO? It is only listed as an express requirement for the proposal (Technical Volume requirement p56-57), not the project.\n\nQuestion 3: Initial Verification:  Please clarify the requirement specifically for topic 6 regarding Initial Verification (i.e. “Task 1. Initial Verification. At the beginning of the project, the baseline data and project targets provided in the Technical Tables will be experimentally verified. Process information and data will be provided to DOE (when applicable) to support the process claims within the original application.”p.35 and “During the on-site verification meeting, the verification team will observe key experiments performed by the project team in order to verify and/or replicate benchmark/baseline data provided in the application and Technical datasheet or Block Flow diagram.”p.36    Since the focus for this topic is on Multi-University Partnerships for Research and Education, with new university partners from Canada and Mexico, who will be using publicly available data and research reports from the literature to develop the baseline for commercial scale plants.  This data and experiments will not necessarily be accessible or replicable without significant expense.  \n","1: Answer: TEA and LCA is required scope for topic 6A.\n\n2: It is not a requirement to allocate labor hours in the budget to develop or update the proposed Market Transformation plan. \n\n3: Per section I.D of the FOA, “In addition, the data provided will be used as the basis for review and discussion during the initial verification and will be considered the project’s baseline. As such, it is expected the project will be able to reproduce this data when/if the verification team travels to the site to perform the verification. It is also expected the data will have been experimentally produced by the applicant in the applicant’s facilities. However, if literature data needs to be used for parts of the process, those metrics based on literature data should be marked appropriately.” The scope of the initial verification is subject to negotiation after selection.  "]
[197,"2020-04-30","Application Content/Format","We  are preparing to submit to subtopic 2.c of FOA0002203 and have a question regarding what we need to submit in association with a consultant. We are planning to submit his one page resume but in addition to that, what is needed?\n\nLetter of commitment?\nbudget justification ? or can he simply be included on the contractual sheet of the prime's justification?\n","Please see FOA Section IV.C. Content and Form of the Full Application for guidance regarding subrecipients and vendors.  Please see 2 CFR 200 for guidance regarding the definitions of a Subrecipient and Vendor. A consultant could be a Subrecipient or a Vendor, depending on the level of involvement in the project, project costs, and cost sharing. The Prime's Budget Justification will reflect Total Project Costs including work performed by entities other than the Prime Applicant. "]
[198,"2020-05-02","Technical Topics","How are you defining “Natural Capital” for the Metric Table (Topic Area 4). Any clarification will be helpful. Is it as good as “ecosystem services”?"]
[199,"2020-05-02","Application Content/Format","I do not see any excel version of the Technical Datasheet for Topic Area 4. Could you please guide me on the same? ","The Technical Datasheet for Topic Area 4 is in a MS Word template. "]
[200,"2020-05-04","Application Content/Format","Do National Labs need to submit an SF-LLL? ","Please see FOA Section IV.C. Content and Form of the Full Application.  FFRDCs are not required to submit a SF-LLL."]
[201,"2020-05-04","Application Content/Format","Does our for-profit subrecipient submit their unsanitized budget justification directly to DOE for proposal submission (their sanitized version will be submitted with the Lead proposal) or wait until the verification process? If submitted at proposal time, to where should it be sent?","Subrecipient budget justifications should be submittied with the Lead Applicant's proposal under the Control Number for the Lead Applicant."]
[202,"2020-05-04","Application Content/Format","If all cost share will come from the prime recipient, is a letter of commitment required?  \nDOE FFRDC/s will be subrecipients.\n","Please see FOA Section IV.C. Content and Form of the Full Application. Letters of Commitment / Cost Share Letters are only required from entities other than the Prime Applicant. "]
[203,"2020-05-04","Technical Topics","One of the metrics of this subtopic is \"Improve carbon conversion efficiency by at least 50%\" by the end of the project.  We are wondering if you could clarify the basis for this 50% improvement or point out the reference for us.","As stated in the FOA topic, “successful applications must define and justify both a credible starting baseline”. One option would be to use traditional anaerobic digestion as a starting point, as it typically has a carbon conversion efficiency of roughly 50%. In that case, a 50% improvement over that baseline would mean that the project would need to deliver a conversion efficiency of 75% by the end of the award. Other choices are possible, as long as the application provides solid justification for their selection. Also, please note that the requirement is and/or; a 25% reduction in disposal costs is also an option."]
[204,"2020-05-05","Application Content/Format","1. For the Background part of the Project Overview section (described on p.54): are you asking for background (history, successes, etc.)  on the different organizations that are part of the team, or are you referring to background on the specific team members?\n \n2. For the Feasibility discussed,  is it allowed to include an appendix that shows how specific equations and calculation used in this section were derived, as additional reference/information?   In particular, the appendix would include Fluid dynamic calculations used to obtain operational parameters of the wood combustion subsystem referred to in parts of the proposal.\n"]
[205,"2020-05-05","Cost Sharing","If subawards are using the de minimis 10% MTDC indirect cost rate, can indirect costs on cost-shared line items be used toward cost share? This is not clear in the Cost-Share instructions in the FOA (or in the Cost Share Appendix), since the FOA indicates that indirect costs can be used toward cost share. Please clarify.","Please see 2 CFR 200 for guidance regarding the usage of a de minimis rate.  Specifically, please see 2 CFR 200.306 \n\n“(b) For all Federal awards, any shared costs or matching funds and all contributions, including cash and third party in-kind contributions, must be accepted as part of the non-Federal entity's cost sharing or matching when such contributions meet all of the following criteria:\n(1) Are verifiable from the non-Federal entity's records;”\n\nIndirect costs on cost-shared items cannot be used as cost share since the application of the de minimis 10% indirect rate is not verifiable from the non-Federal entity’s records.  If an applicant wishes to apply indirect costs as cost share, the applicant will need to submit an indirect rate proposal.\n"]
[206,"2020-05-06","Application Content/Format","Would you please help identify the exact correct form/document to submit the full application for this proposal?","Please see FOA Section IV.C. Content and Form of the Full Application for required documents for full application submissions."]
[207,"2020-05-06","Application Content/Format","Can you please clarify for us which example is sufficient and why, if not both.  EXAMPLE #1\nEERE 159 - Detailed Budget Justification \nBudget Period 3\n  Laboratory Consumables and supplies 1 $15,000.00 $15,000 Catalog price Historical vendor prices for consumable laboratory items\n\n\nEXAMPLE #2 \nEERE 159 - Detailed Budget Justification \nBudget Period 3\n3.2 Carbon paper (cm^3) 3610 $0 $1,100 Catalog price Substrate for …\n3.2 Carbon cloth (cm^3) 16000 $0 $900 Catalog price Substrate for …\n3.2 Reference and counter electrodes 2 $500 $1,000 Lab experience Required for….\n3.2 Small-scale flow cell test assembly 2 $500 $1,000 Estimate Required for….\n3.2 Other chemicals 1 $3,000 $3,000 Lab experience Solvents for chemical reactions and cleaning, catalysts and other species for chemical synthesis\n","Both examples would be acceptable.  Please see FOA Section IV.E. Post Selection Information Requests. \"EERE reserves the right to request additional or clarifying information..other budget information.\""]
[208,"2020-05-06","Application Content/Format","1. What are the Award number and Mod number in the SOPO template? Are they the FOA number and control number, respectively? \n2. Does the Workplan and Market Transformation Plan section in the Technical volume have to be the same as the separate SOPO file?\n3. For the Baseline Wood Heater Technology and Performance table, since we only work on the catalysts for emission control, is it OK to leave some blank empty, such as the power generation, sensors, heat output?\n","1.  Applicants should use the FOA Number and Control Number for their application in lieu of an Award Number and Mod Number.\n2. Please see FOA Section IV.C. Content and Form of the Full Application.  The Workplan and Market Transformation Plan may be included in the SOPO but is not required.  Please see the SOPO template uploaded to EERE-Exchange under this Funding Opportunity Announcement. \n3.  Yes.  Applicants proposing wood heater technology components such as catalysts may limit table entries as appropriate and are encouraged to modify the table to provide additional relevant data. "]
[209,"2020-05-07","Application Content/Format","“Applicants must provide a separate budget justification for each subrecipient that is expected to perform work estimated to be more than $250,000 or 25 percent of the total work effort (whichever is less).” \n\nIs this inclusive of proposed cost share? Does the threshold of $250,000 include requested funds only or does it apply to the total project costs including both the subrecipient request and proposed cost share?\n\nWe have a subrecipient that is requesting a subaward of $200,000 but also proposing cost share of $200,000. Do we need to include a Subrecipient Budget Justification?\n","Subrecipient budget justifications should be submittied with the Lead Applicant's proposal under the Control Number for the Lead Applicant.  Subrecipient budget justification should reflect the total project costs for their portion of the project, this includes Federal and Non-Federal funds. "]
[210,"2020-05-07","Application Content/Format","May we submit an indirect rate proposal at the award negotiation stage if we do not have a current, federally approved rate agreement available?","An Indirect Rate Proposal will be required at the award negotiation stage if there is not a current, federally approved rate agreement. "]
[211,"2020-05-07","Application Content/Format","We have a question about potential cost share partners who will not be receiving any federal funding, but will perform technical work on the project (all work is in-kind cost share). \n\nSince federal funding would not flow to them, are they considered a subrecipient or third party? .  \n\nAdditionally, if they are contributing >250,000 in in-kind cost share, will they need a separate budget justification? \n","Cost Share Partners performing work on the project and contributing cost share are considered Subrecipients. Please see FOA Section IV.C. Content and Form of the Full Application. \"Applicants must provide a separate budget justification for each subrecipient that is expected to perform work estimated to be more than $250,000 or 25 percent of the total work effort (whichever is less).\""]
[212,"2020-05-07","Cost Sharing","In Table II-1 of the FOA, the indicated Federal amount per award for Topic Area 3 is minimally $1M and maximally $2M.   We take this to mean that we could request up to $2M — and if $2M is requested, this would have to be matched by cost share of $500,000, which would be 20% of the total, $2.5M project cost. \n\nIs this interpretation correct?  The paragraph on cost sharing under “B. Cost Sharing” on FOA pg 43 could be interpreted differently, if “total allowable cost” (Federal + cost share) refers to the $2M limit.  \n","Please see Appendix A Cost Share Information for additional guidance on cost share calculation."]
[213,"2020-05-08","Application Content/Format","What should the \"Topic\" part be? If I am applying, for example, to Topic Area 5: Efficient Wood Heaters would I write, \"EfficientWoodHeaters\" or \"TopicArea5\" or just \"5\"?\n\nAdditionally, it says earlier in the same document that full applications should have the name \"Control number_Applicant Name_Full Application\". Is the inclusion of \"Full Application\" required for every document submitted?\n","1. Please see FOA Section IV.C.i. for guidance regarding the file naming convention. In the file naming convention, Topic can be reflected as TopicAreaX.\n\n2. Please see FOA Section IV.C.i. for the specific file naming convention for each individual file.  The inclusion of \"Full Application\" is not required for each document. "]
[215,"2020-05-11","Application Content/Format","Where do we include copies of all Cost Share letters? At the end of the Technical Volume?","Please see FOA Section IV.C. Content and Form of the Full Application.  Cost Share Commitment letters are considered to be Letters of Commitment and have their own file submission. "]
[216,"2020-05-11","Application Content/Format","Is there a template for the 1-page powerpoint slide, or is it free format with the requirements listed on page 59 of the FOA?","Please see FOA Section IV.C. Content and Form of the Full Application.  There is no template for the Summary Slide.  Applicants are advised to use the requirements listed on page 59 of the FOA."]
[217,"2020-05-12","Application Content/Format","What is the Topic?  Is it for a Topic area or project title? Or just leave it there because this FOA is a Multi-Topic. ","The Topic is the topic area of interest for which the Applicant is submitting an application."]
[218,"2020-05-13","Application Content/Format","I have a question about submitting the Biorestore Technical datasheet (Topic4) on the EERE website under DE-FOA-0002203.  I do not see a section where it can be submitted, but there is a section for technical datasheets for Topics 2 and 3.  Should this document for Topic 4 go there?  or is this technical datasheet not required for Topic 4?  ","Please see FOA Section IV.C. Content and Form of the Full Application.  Technical Datasheets required for Topic Area 4 can be uploaded to EERE-Exchange using the file name of {{ControlNumber}}_{{LeadOrganization}}_{{Topic}}_Techdatasheet."]

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["Registration Requirements"]
["Webinar"]
["Concept Paper"]
["Eligibility"]
["Labs/FFRDCs"]
["Foreign Entities/Work"]
["Cost Sharing"]
["Due Dates"]
["Application Content/Format"]
["Intellectual Property"]
["Data Management"]
["Other"]
["U.S. Manufacturing Plan"]
["Application Reviews"]
["Technical Topics"]