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["INSTRUCTIONS"]
[1,"All questions pertaining to this funding opportunity announcement should be emailed to DE-FOA-0003120.netl.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-FOA-0003120 - Updated Through 4/19/2024"]
["Question #","Topic","Question","Answer","Answer Posted on:  "]
[1,"Other","When I tried to open the DE-FOA 0003120 Funding Opportunity Announcement from your website, I received the following message: \"There was an error opening this document. The file is damaged and could not be repaired.\"\nCan you please send me the Funding Opportunity Announcement or point me to another website where I can download it? I checked Grants.gov and it was not available under \"Related Documents\" or \"Package\".","The FOA link has been checked and is operational. Please, update to the latest version of Adobe Acrobat Reader, download the file to your computer, and open the file using a desktop version of Acrobat Reader rather than opening from a web browser.","2024-01-02"]
[2,"Other","The FOA encourages applicants to “Propose a program which includes technical milestones that demonstrate clear progress, are aggressive but achievable, and are quantitative.” We are left uncertain whether the intent is to support technologies at an early stage of development but with remarkable potential to achieve the goals of the FOA or technologies already at an advanced TRL, validated, and ready for deployment. In short, on the spectrum from early R&D to launch, what is the ideal state of readiness for this FOA?","The intent and ideal state of readiness for this FOA is to support early stage R&D. ","2024-01-02"]
[3,"Eligibility","Please inform me as to whether a US based corporation, wholly owned by a Canadian company, will be viewed as a domestic applicant.  ","Refer to Section III.A.i. for qualifications of Domestic Entities","2024-01-02"]
[4,"Other","I'm interested in this opportunity and would like more info and to speak with you briefly","Brief informational calls with potential applicants will not be taken by DOE.  It is the prospective applicant’s responsibility to make the determination if their proposed project meets the requirements identified in the FOA/specific Area of Interest and to apply, if interested, as per the instructions delineated in the FOA.","2024-01-09"]
[5,"Foreign Entities/Work","Is the eligibility criteria of this FOA similar to the 2nd life battery DE-FOA-0002680? To be more precise, can a U.S. green card holder (but Iranian citizen) act as Co-PI or Senior Personnel on this grant?","Please see Section VI.B.iii. of the FOA for additional details on the requirements for Foreign National Participation.","2024-01-09"]
[6,"Other","Is there a teaming partner list for this program? ","A teaming partner list is not anticipated to be provided under this FOA.","2024-01-09"]
[7,"Technical Topics","Are technologies that reduce the cost and enhance the safety of repurposing within the scope of this FOA or is the FOA intended only for technologies associated with recycling? ","As stated in the FOA, the objective for Topic Area 1 is to improve the economics of Lithium-Ion EV battery recycling to ensure an economically profitable EV battery recycling ecosystem. This topic area is specifically aimed at reducing the costs associated with transportation and dismantling prior to the chemical and metal separation processes at recycling facilities.","2024-01-22"]
[8,"Other","Hello we would love to be included on the teaming list - please let us know what information is required","A teaming partner list is not anticipated to be provided under this FOA.","2024-01-22"]
[9,"Other","1. Does the “Anticipated Minimum Award Size for Any One Individual Award (Fed Share)” for Topic Area 1 under Section IIAi of $4,000,000 mean that Concept Papers applying for less than that minimum amount will be  “discouraged”?\n\n2. Can the funding amounts and teaming participation percentages be modified between the concept paper and the full application?\n","1. The anticipated minimum and maximum award sizes are provided to assist applicants in establishing the scope of their proposed projects. These are not hard limits, so an application for less than the minimum anticipated award size would be considered.\n\n2. Funding is not assessed at the concept paper stage.","2024-01-22"]
[10,"Labs/FFRDCs","Q1:  Since DOE prohibits FFRDCs from lobbying to influence federal officials in connection with the awarding of grants or contracts, I'd like to confirm whether or not DOE federally owned and operated laboratories are still required to provide a signed \"SF-LLL Disclosure of Lobbying Activities\" when there's nothing to report?\n\nQ2:  To whom should DOE FFRDCs address the required \"Authorization for DOE/NNSA FFRDCs\"?  Please provide the name, title, and mailing address.  Past funding announcements have provided the DOE Grantor Contact/Contract Specialist information through the FAQ.\n\nQ3: In most cases, DOE will fund partnering FFRDCs independently of the project team.  Should those partnering FFRDCs still provide their project lead a completed sub-recipient budget justification for the Full Application submission if the FFRDCs' proposed federal share exceeds $250K or 25% of the total project costs?  Or will the required \"DOE Work Proposal for FFRDC\" be sufficient in lieu of the sub-recipient budget justification requirement?\n\nQ4:  Can the required \"Authorization for DOE/NNSA FFRDCs\" satisfy the letter of commitment/support requirement for project teams partnering with DOE FFRDCs in response to this funding announcement?","\n1. Because FFRDCs will be funded directly from DOE, it is acceptable that an FFRDC not submit a signed SF-LLL. However, Exchange in the past has required this document to be uploaded or an error will occur. If this is the case, just submit the form and indicate it is not applicable or a similar document that indicates that it is not applicable. \n\n2. Authorizations can be addressed to \"Department of Energy Contracting Officer.\"\n\n3. Participating DOE/NNSA FFRDCs must provide a DOE Work Proposal (WP) - see Section IV.D.vii.  All FFRDCs (DOE/NNSA and non-DOE) must submit a budget justification form if their proposed share will exceed $250K or 25% of the total project costs - see Section IV.D.x.\n\n4. The “Authorization for DOE/NNSA FFRDCs” form will not satisfy the letter of commitment/support requirement for project teams partnering with DOE FFRDCs.","2024-02-06"]
[11,"Concept Paper","We are currently encountering an issue while attempting to upload and submit both the non-confidential and confidential concept papers","See Section VIII.D., Treatment of Application Information. Applicants should not include trade secrets or commercial or financial information that is privileged or confidential in their application unless such information is necessary to convey an understanding of the proposed project or to comply with a requirement in the FOA. Applicants are advised to not include any critically sensitive proprietary detail.","2024-02-06"]
[12,"Registration Requirements","I would like to know if it is still possible to submit an application for DE-FOA-0003120 if one missed the concept paper deadline on the 7th. Please advise.","The deadline for submitting concept papers has passed.  If you did not submit a concept paper, you are not eligible to submit a full application.","2024-02-16"]
[13,"Other","I am highly interested in submitting a research proposal to your program. I understand that the deadline for the concept paper has already passed. Could you please inform me if there is an opportunity to submit a proposal for next year's program? ","Information is not available to forecast program specific Funding Opportunity Annoucnment's. Please continue to monitor the EERE Funding Opportunity Exchange website.","2024-03-11"]
[14,"Other","Can question still be submitted and if so, until what date?  Yes, questions can still be submitted","As referenced in Section VII of the FOA, questions regarding this FOA must be submitted to DE-FOA-0003120@netl.doe.gov no later than three (3) business days prior to the application due date and time.","2024-03-15"]
[15,"Other","How often will DOE provide responses to questions?","DOE will attempt to post responses within 3 business days.","2024-03-15"]
[16,"Application Content/Format","In the full application, can we include (add) proposing advanced warehousing, tracking and other logistics technologies and methods in our full application that relate to the specific transportation related R&D efforts described in our CP? Or must we focus solely on the work effort that was described in the CP?","Applicants are free to propose additional scope to their full application.  Note that DOE will not comment on the added scope outside of a full technical review of the full application.  \n\nIt is the prospective applicant’s responsibility to make the determination if their proposed project meets the requirements identified in the FOA/specific Area of Interest.","2024-03-15"]
[17,"Application Reviews","During the pre-selection clarification and/or negotiation periods, will the DOE provide guidance on what proposed work efforts are to be included and which are to be removed from the final scope of work prior to an award? It is difficult to know exactly which specific areas of work focus the DOE values most.","DOE cannot comment on specific variables about a proposed project. It is the prospective applicant’s responsibility to make the determination if their proposed project meets the requirements identified in the FOA/specific Area of Interest and to apply, if interested, as per the instructions delineated in the FOA. If selected for negotiations, scope of the project may be brought up as a negotiation item.","2024-03-15"]
[18,"Application Reviews","Are there minimum and/or maximum funding or work effort percentages that the applicant or principal investigator and team members are required to adhere to?","The only section of the FOA that deals with Estimated Funding is Section II.A.i. It is the applicant's responsibility to determine the level of work effort.","2024-03-15"]
[19,"Application Reviews","I saw in the scoring criteria of the FOA for DOE 3120 there is mention of a \"market transformation plan\" (see image below). There is no other mention of a market transformation plan anywhere else in the FOA. Is this an error in the scoring criterion? If not, can you please provide further guidance on where the market transformation plan should be included and any specific information to highlight beyond what is mentioned in the scoring criterion?","The Market Transformation Plan is to be a part of the Technical Volume and developed in accordance with the Market Transformation Plan criteria.","2024-03-28"]
[20,"Application Content/Format","What is the difference between a Letter of Commitment and a Letter of Support? Are either a Letter of Commitment or a Letter of Support required or helpful (in terms of technical review criteria #3 Team and Resources) from subrecipients who are not cost sharing?","Reference Section IV.D of the FOA. Letters of support are not considered as part of the merit review process and are not a component of the application process unless a project takes place on the lands of a federally recognized Indian Tribe. However, letters of commitment from all subrecipient and third-party cost share providers are part of full application content requirements.","2024-03-28"]
[21,"Application Content/Format","In our full application, we would like to make a slight change to the title of our project. One word would be different from the title we used in the concept paper. Would that be acceptable?","Yes it is allowable to change the title of your proposed project.","2024-04-12"]
[22,"Other","If neither the Prime or sub-recipients currently perform or plan to perform any lobbying activities, what is the purpose of Form SF-LLL? ","Per Section IV.D of the FOA an SF-LLL is a required application document. If you do not have any reportable information for the form, please list N/A in the appropriate block.","2024-04-12"]
[23,"Due Dates","We would like to request a 1-2 week extension for full proposals under this FOA","It is not anticipated that the submission deadline for full applications will be extended.","2024-04-12"]
[24,"Application Content/Format","I understand the subcontractor costs will go into the prime worksheet (f. Contractual).  Will DOE later email the subcontractors for their spreadsheet, or is there some means to submit the budget worksheet separate from the prime?","Multiple subrecipient budget files can be uploaded as a New Additional File, under Additional Files in the Upload and Submit tab. ","2024-04-19"]
[25,"Application Content/Format","We encountered a technical problem when submitting the DOE Excel Budget Justification. The DOE Excel Justification document says that any item above $250k should be accompanied by a quotation. But we cannot see where to submit a quotation. Where should we upload this?","If selected, quotes and additional details will be requested to support the negotiated budget.  It is not necessary to submit at this time.","2024-04-19"]
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["Pick List"]
[]
["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"]