{"text_format":"2","workbook":"xlsx","n_sheets":2,"sheets":["FOA CONTENT QUESTIONS","Admin Pick List"],"not_rendered":{"charts":0,"images":0,"macros":0,"external_links":0,"defined_names":1,"comments":0,"pivot_tables":0},"unopened":[],"bounds":{"document_bytes":16777216,"sheet_cells":100000,"run_cost":"one","rows_first":2000,"rows_last":500,"rows_between":2000,"halvings":0,"cell_chars":16384,"cell_head_chars":4096},"cells_cut":0,"cells_raw":0,"read":"whole","date_system":"1900"}

{"sheet":"FOA CONTENT QUESTIONS","index":0,"n_rows":81,"n_cols":5,"rows_kept":81,"cut":false,"hidden":false,"merged":[[1,0,1,4],[0,0,0,4]]}
["ADMINISTRATIVE QUESTION AND ANSWER LOG"]
["DE-FOA-00003080 - FOA Title FY23 Solar-Thermal Fuels and Thermal Energy Storage\n"]
["Question #","Date Submitted","Topic","Question","Answer"]
[1,"2023-09-21","Technical Topics","if in the DE-FOA-0003080 Topic Area 1.1 'Thermoelectrochemical Water and CO2 Splitting' other thermoelectrochemical water splitting cycles, alternative to the high temperature steam electrolysis, are of interest. I am referring to thermoelectrochemical water splitting cycles that recirculate intermediate mixtures going through reduction and oxidation reactions inside the cycle. Or is only the high temperature steam electrolysis of interest in the Topic Area 1.1. of the current FOA?  ","Systems of interest must use solar thermal energy input to meet the relevant metrics described in the topic. Systems may find many routes to optimize the use of thermal energy input. But the thermal energy or integration of concentrating solar must provide significant benefit compared to a similar system using only electrical energy."]
[2,"2023-09-22","Technical Topics","Tier 3 of the FOA,  excludes TES of <150C; is there any opportunity for a waiver if the technology can meet all other required operating parameters even with a TES <150C?","DOE will not be issuing any waivers to consider thermal energy storage below 150 C."]
[3,"2023-09-28","Eligibility","We have doubts regarding our eligibility to apply for this call and the options to receive funding. Could you please clarify it?","Please refer to section III. Eligibility Information of the FOA."]
[4,"2023-02-28","Technical Topics","For DE-FOA-0003080 Topic 2, are you interested in submissions that focus on electrical energy storage and transmission?","Electrical energy storage and transmission is not an area of interest in this FOA. "]
[5,"2023-10-06","Other","Are DOE/NNSA FFRDCs required to submit the SF-LLL Disclosure of Lobbying Activities form? ","FFRDCs are required to submit the SF-LLL form."]
[6,"2023-10-06","Other","When participating in the role of a Subrecipient, are FFRDCs who are funded independently of the remainder of the project team required to submit Subrecipient Budget Justification, even in the funding exceeds 25% or $250k, or does the DOE Work Proposal meet the requirements for FFRDC budget documentation?","If the FFRDC is a subrecipient, then they are required to submit a budget justification if the funding exceeds 25% or $250K. "]
[7,"2023-10-06","Other","Are FFRDCs required to submit Letters of Commitment to Prime partners when participating as a subrecipient, or does the FFRDC Authorization from Cognizant Contracting Officer suffice?","Letters of Commitment to the Prime are not required if the FFRDC is a subrecipient."]
[8,"2023-10-06","Other","The Current and Pending Support PDF outputs via SciENcv and the existing fillable PDF contain a standard Disclosure Statement that is automatically generated when finalizing this requirement. Can the SciENcv Disclosure statement be submitted, or must the EERE Disclosure Statement on page 55 of the FOA be submitted?","The EERE Disclosure Statement on page 55 of the FOA must be required."]
[9,"2023-10-06","Other","Location of work template referenced on page 57 of the FOA is not available in the FOA documents in EERE Exchange.  When will this document be available?","The Location of Work Template is now available on Exchange."]
[10,"2023-10-16","Concept Paper","Will we get notification of the eligibility of the concept note before submitting the full application?","Yes, date approximately within two weeks from concept paper submission."]
[11,"2023-10-16","Foreign Entities/Work","Please clarify in what capacity foreign companies can be a team member of a US company that submits a proposal. ","Yes, DOE may approve a waiver to allow a foreign entity to participate as a prime recipient or subrecipient. A foreign entity may submit a Full Application to this FOA, but the Full Application must be accompanied by an explicit written waiver request. See Section xiv. Waiver Requests (if applicable) in the FOA document and Appendix C."]
[12,"2023-10-16","Technical Topics","Is direct heat delivery to food processing also considered?","Yes, DOE will consider the temperature of the process, and the level of R&D versus demonstration required  in making selection."]
[13,"2023-10-16","Technical Topics","why limit industrial CSP to just heat? why not both heat AND electricity?","Industrial CSP is not limited to heat. It is expected all industrial CSP will need heat and electricity."]
[14,"2023-10-16","Webinar","will you be able to share this presentation?","The slides are now posted in Exchange."]
[15,"2023-10-16","Technical Topics","Can you clarify what is meant by the statement \"Solar fuels produced using bio-based precursors and bio-based technologies are not eligible for funding\"?  Does this mean proposals that start with biogas or renewable natural gas as feedstock chemicals are not allowed but proposals that start with natural gas as a chemical feedstock would be?","The sentence has an “And” clause; processes that use biological technologies and biological precursors will not be eligible; biological precursors using solar heat and electricity are eligible. Pure photocatalytic processes are also not eligible."]
[16,"2023-10-16","Other","is this a limited submission FOA?","Please reference section III. Eligibility Information F. Limitation on Number of Concept  Papers and Dull 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 an eligible Concept Paper was submitted for each Full Application."]
[17,"2023-10-16","Concept Paper","On EERE exchange there is an area to write a 4000 character abstract of the project and a button that says \"create concept paper\" beneath it. Is this 4000 character abstract different from the concept paper, or should we input the concept paper in that box?","Follow the directions in Exchange and upload the Concept Paper. "]
[18,"2023-10-16","Technical Topics","Can you discuss how rigid the targets and metrics will be judged? For instance, if we can demonstrate a path to a low hydrogen production cost, does it really matter what our reactor temperature was in doing so since your stated criteria for reactor temperatures are to reduce cost?","The path to low hydrogen cost should use heat and electricity to convert water to hydrogen; use of low temperature electrolysis is not the subject of this FOA."]
[19,"2023-10-16","Concept Paper","When do we know if concept paper  is encouraged or discouraged. How many days will we have to write the full proposal?","Refer to the submission deadlines that are listed in Exchange and in the timeline on page 1 of the FOA."]
[20,"2023-10-16","Technical Topics","What temperature storage for CSP.? Is it for gen 3 CSP 700c or 500C power plant?","Target both 700 C and 550 C, for both, heat and electricity."]
[21,"2023-10-16","Concept Paper","Is a control number requited prior to submitting a concept paper?","Refer to section IV. Application and Submission Information A. Application Process."]
[22,"2023-10-16","Webinar","Can we get a copy of this Power Point presentation?","See question 22. "]
[23,"2023-10-16","Foreign Entities/Work","­Are foreign entities allowed to participate in the above funding opportunity?­","Waiver requirements are provided in III.A.2; IV.D.x.IV; Appendix C. Specifically, II.A>2 says “In limited circumstances, DOE may approve a waiver to allow a foreign entity to participate as a prime recipient or subrecipient. A foreign entity may submit a Full Application to this FOA, but the Full Application must be accompanied by an explicit written waiver request. Likewise, if the applicant seeks to include a foreign entity as a subrecipient, the applicant must submit a separate explicit written waiver request in the Full Application for each proposed foreign subrecipient.  Appendix C lists the information that must be included in a foreign entity waiver request. The applicant does not have the right to appeal DOE’s decision concerning a waiver request.”"]
[24,"2023-10-16","Other","How rigidly will the thermochemical water splitting objectives and goals for maximum reactor temperature be adhered to (Topic Area 1.2 Thermochemical Water and CO2 Splitting, Table 4)? The stated motivation for the maximum reactor temperature of 1,200C is to reduce cost and avoid ultra-high temperature materials for construction. But if we have a path to high solar-to-gas efficiencies, high reactor production, high active material productivity, high stability, and low production costs, why would this standalone metric of maximum reactor temperature matter? ","The path to low hydrogen cost should use heat and electricity to convert water to hydrogen; use of low temperature electrolysis is not the subject of this FOA."]
[25,"2023-10-16","Other","Is there any preference regarding the heat transfer fluid used in the capture of the CSP to integrate with fuel generation (i.e. particle, molten salts (chlorides vs nitrates) or oil from trough systems)? ","No there is not a preference regarding heat transfer. "]
[26,"2023-10-16","Other","Would a tier 1 proposal that is centered around syngas production, but that also focuses on using down-stream energy streams from the process that leads to fuel upgradation of interest? (i.e. liquid fuel upgradation, was only mentioned for tier 2 and tier 1, but this is an important downstream of syngas production to meet economic goals, and the use of the waste heat from the syngas production with high temperature electrolysis could be optimized for fuel upgradation) ","It is not possible to answer detailed questions on applications, but all technologies and research related to syngas production and fuels upgradation are of interest."]
[27,"2023-10-16","Other","Can the source of CO2 be left undefined?  DAC is interesting but probably not economical and the quality of other sources might dictate the process but it is sufficient to assume a steam of CO2 at some cost structure and purity without a definite source? ","The FOA does not specify a source for CO2. However, cost of CO2 steam is very important in the cost evaluation of liquid fuels."]
[28,"2023-10-16","Other","Would MSW (municipal solid waste) source of CO2 be considered Biomass derived and therefore not of interest in this FOA? Or is this an acceptable stream of potential CO2?","The sentence “Solar fuels produced using bio-based precursors and bio-based technologies are not eligible for funding\" has an “And” clause; processes that use biological technologies and biological precursors will not be eligible; conversion of biological precursors using solar heat and electricity are eligible. Beyond that, specific questions regarding projects cannot be answered here except to note that the FOA is focused on converting all carbon carriers to liquid and other fuels using solar energy."]
[29,"2023-10-16","Concept Paper","When creating our concept paper application in the EERE portal, I noticed on the “Upload and Submit” tab the Description notes that concept papers should be no longer than 3 pages. However, in the attached FOA (page 30), the guidance regarding the Content and Form of the Concept Paper exceeds the three page limit. I was hoping your team could confirm the page limits. ","Refer to section IV. Application and Submission Information C. Content and Form of the Concept Paper in the FOA."]
[30,"2023-10-17","Foreign Entities/Work","How do we get a “control number”?  We need clarification with respect to working with foreign entities (pp32-33).What is the definition of a sub-recipient? If a foreign entity is a supplier to us but does not directly receive the proceeds of the DOE award, may they still participate in the project, and must we obtain a waiver?","Refer to section IV. Application and Submission Information A. Application Process.  Subrecipient means an entity, usually but not limited to non-Federal entities, that receives a subaward from a pass-through entity to carry out part of a Federal award; but does not include an individual that is a beneficiary of such award. A subrecipient may also be a recipient of other Federal awards directly from a Federal awarding agency."]
[31,"2023-10-17","Technical Topics","Would dry (CO2) reforming of methane be an acceptable approach to syn gas production under Interest Area 1.3 if we propose use of non-fossil fuel sources?","While we cannot discuss every application, there is no reason that dry reforming of methane can be excluded if non-fossil sources of heat are used."]
[32,"2023-10-17","Cost Sharing","Will the temporary waiver for cost sharing for institutions of higher learning and non-profits including FFRDCs be applicable to this FOA based on the current 42 U.S. Code § 16352?","Refer to the section III. Eligibility Information B. Cost Sharing of the FOA. "]
[33,"2023-10-18","Technical Topics","Please, advise that if a thermal energy storage (TES) system receives electricity from a solar photovoltaic source and NOT a solar concentrated power source that this method will meet the technical criteria for DE-FOA-0003080.","The focus for this FOA is thermal energy storage from CSP and high temperature heat; electricity as heat source to TES is not a target application."]
[34,"2023-10-18","Webinar","Will a recording or transcript be made available?","See question 22."]
[35,"2023-10-19","Other","Is the presentation given during this webinar somewhere available on the website?","The presentation can be found at https://eere-eXCHANGE.energy.gov"]
[36,"2023-10-19","Other","As a brewery, the majority of our heat supply is under high pressure steam at higher temperatures of 150 degree Celsius. Concentrated Solar Thermal panels are the perfect solution for this: Could you please indicate whether this project falls under the eligibility criteria of the funding notice?","Please see section III. Eligibility Information in the FOA."]
[37,"2023-10-20","Concept Paper","Is there a page limit on the research plan and the concept letter that must be submitted.","See question 32. "]
[38,"2023-10-23","Concept Paper","In the FOA, it is said that the expected size for the award is $750,000 to $1,000,000. I am wondering if it is okay for me to submit a single PI concept paper and requesting $200,000 to address some possible scientific problems of high entropy alloy when applied to extremely high temperature environment like Solar-thermal Fuels and Thermal Energy Storage systems? I believe it is a Tier 0 topic not Tier 1. Am I right?","Please refer to section I.B.: Topic Areas.  "]
[39,"2023-10-23","Concept Paper","Do we need a completed SAM registration and UEI number at the time of Concept Paper submission, or only at the time of the subsequent Full Application?","Please see section IV. Application and Submission Information, G. Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) and System for Award Management (SAM) in the FOA."]
[40,"2023-10-24","Webinar","Is a recording available, or perhaps the slides? Could I request a list of attendees if available? ","See question 22. "]
[41,"2023-10-25","Foreign Entities/Work","Would we get any funding as a foreign entity or could we participate with 100% in-kind contribution only?","Please see Appendix C - Waiver Requests for: 1. Foreign Entity Participation; and 2. Foreign Work. "]
[42,"2023-10-25","Foreign Entities/Work","How realistic is it to get both the waiver for foreign entity participation and the foreign work waiver? Is the erection of an experiment in Germany completely unrealistic or possible under certain conditions?","Please see Appendix C - Waiver Requests for: 1. Foreign Entity Participation; and 2. Foreign Work. "]
[43,"2023-10-30","Technical Topics","If I have a concept relating to thermal storage for the purposes of process heat for a process mentioned in Topic 1, should I submit as a Topic 1, Topic 2, or both?","Please refer to section I.B.: Topic Areas.  "]
[44,"2023-10-30","Cost Sharing","The total budget (and cost share) are required at the concept paper stage. Can this slightly change at the full proposal stage?","If an applicant receives and \"encourage\" notification after the Concept Paper Phase, they can submit a full budget justification during the Full Application Phase."]
[45,"2023-10-30","Concept Paper","The submission page for concept papers for DE-FOA-0003080 gives the specific guidance: \" The Concept Paper must conform to the template titled “FY24_AOP_Concept_Paper_Template” included in the Lab Call listing in eXCHANGE. Concept Papers should be no longer than 3 pages.\" Please verify that this is an error, and that we are to follow the concept paper format given in the FOA which would result in a 6 page maximum. ","See question 29."]
[46,"2023-10-31","Concept Paper","Can you please tell me the process for submitting the concept papers for  Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) Number: DE-FOA-0003080 Assistance Listing Number: 81.087?  ","Please see section IV. B. Application Forms in the FOA."]
[47,"2023-10-31","Concept Paper","We are in the process of submitting the concept paper for the above FOA. Can you please help us locate a template to resolve the # of pages required?","See question 29."]
[48,"2023-10-31","Concept Paper","The file upload page on Exchange says that the concept paper must be limited to 3 pages, but the solicitation says it should be 4 pages plus a cover page. Should we follow the solicitation?","Please see section IV. C. Content and Form of the Concept Paper"]
[49,"2023-10-31","Technical Topics","Since this EERE FOA calls for renewable solar powered ammonia production and Topic 1 Section 1.5 is specifically for ammonia fuel production (not the hydrogen feed gas production) are you interested in ammonia production technology that can be used downstream of (coupled with) CST systems even though they can cannot directly use (do not need) the thermal energy from either CST or TES? ","Ammonia production without the use of heat from CST is not of interest to this FOA. We are aware that the Bosch process is exothermic."]
[50,"2023-11-03","Concept Paper","I have tried to find the correct concept paper on the webpage, I want to confirm if I used the correct template.","The template can be found at https://eere-eXCHANGE.energy.gov."]
[51,"2023-12-06","Cost Sharing","Are software licenses allowable as cost share under this FOA?","Please refer to section III. B. a. Cost Share Types and Allowability of the FOA."]
[52,"2023-12-08","Other","In the Modification 1 version of the solicitation for DE-FOA-0003080, the full application content requirements (pages 42-43) does not include the Locations of Work documentation, but it is listed as a required document on page 57. Is this document required for the submission? ","The document has been uploaded to EERE eXCHANGE."]
[53,"2023-12-11","Other","Apart from EERE, are there any newsletters or calls that I could join in order to be more tied into this area?","Please refer here https://www.energy.gov/eere/solar/solar-energy-technologies-office."]
[54,"2023-12-18","Cost Sharing","Can we use cost share expenditures in Germany to meet our 20% cost share requirements for the proposal? Like Sandia, DLR is a government-owned research facility.  ","Please refer to section III. B. Cost Sharing in the FOA. "]
[55,"2023-12-18","Foreign Entities/Work","Can I submit waivers of foreign entity involvement & foreign work for review before a full FOA application? Would this decision come back before an FOA deadline?","The foreign work is reviewed during the full application review process. "]
[56,"2023-12-21","Due Dates","If there is a specific deadline for each project depending on the evaluation day (30 days after notification), should the information on the deadline for the full proposal appear on that notification?","EERE anticipates making awards that will run from 12 months up to 36 months in length, comprised of one or more budget periods."]
[57,"2023-12-22","Other","Is it possible to have the major subrecipient to now be prime for the full proposal submission?  If so, what are the procedures to do so?","Only applicants who have submitted an eligible Concept Paper will be eligible to submit a full application."]
[58,"2023-12-27","Application Content/Format","Please provide the Location of Work document","The document has been uploaded to EERE exchange. Please look in the full application submission files."]
[59,"2023-12-27","Other","Is the lead organization required to utilize a certain percentage of the budget?","The lead organization is not required to utilize a certain percentage of the budget."]
[60,"2023-12-27","Concept Paper","Is it possible to change the lead organization and/or principal investigator from that which was originally included in the concept paper if both organizations were listed as partners in the concept paper phase?","In order to submit a full application the applicant must have submitted a concept paper.  "]
[61,"2023-12-27","Technical Topics","For Interest Area 1.1, are applications that use a combination of concentrated solar thermal energy and photovoltaic energy permitted? ","Yes, combinations of CSP and PV are allowed to maximize energy input as needed. Please avoid fossil energy input."]
[62,"2024-01-18","Other","When I log into my account, and go to the upload and submit tab, I do see the list of documents that need to be uploaded, but there are no templates or links to the templates. It says template provided in the Application Documents section under this FOA posting, but I don’t see that section","Please contact EERE-eXCHANGESupport@hq.doe.gov."]
[63,"2024-01-18","Other","There are some differences between the guidance available in the listing of the documents in my account and the call – for example SOPO page limit being 10 in the call and 5 in the web listing. Any clarification in this regard will also be helpful","In the event of a difference between the presentation/webinar and the FOA document, please follow the FOA document. "]
[64,"2024-01-21","Concept Paper","I want to know if we can still submit the concept letter and application form for this program?","The deadline for concept paper submission was 11/03/2023."]
[65,"2024-01-22","Other","Had a question about the current and pending support document requirements for submission to DE-FOA-0003080. Is this document required of the FFRDC personnel in the investigating team, or is the authorization from the cognizant officer of the FFRDC sufficient for the purpose?","Any key personnel working on the project need to provide Current and Pending Support including FFRDC personnel. "]
[66,"2024-01-22","Other","I notice that there are discrepancies between what is listed in the exchange and the FOA. In the exchange, an SF-424A form is a required attachment, but this is not listed as a required document in the FOA. Also, the exchange lists the page limit for the SOPO as 5 pages, but it is listed as 10 in the FOA. I assume the instructions in the FOA are what we should follow in both cases? ","An SF-424 is required. Please see question #63. "]
[67,"2024-01-23","Other","The solicitation mentions the Resume format is 3 page max, but in the EERE exchange portal it states the max page limit is 2 pages. Can you please provide some clarifications?","The maximum page limit for Resumes is 3 pages."]
[68,"2024-01-23","Other","The FOA indicates that the SOPO maximum page number is 10. The application portal says that the SOPO maximum page number is 5. Is the page limit for the SOPO 5 or 10 pages?","Please see question #63. "]
[69,"2024-01-26","Cost Sharing","Can we use software as cost share?","Please refer to section III. B. a. Cost Share Types and Allowability of the FOA."]
[70,"2024-01-26","Other","Can we extend the submission deadline for full proposal?","The deadline for full applications will not be extended."]
[71,"2024-01-26","Other","The directions for the resumes state that “Patents, copyrights, and software systems developed may be provided in addition to or substituted for publications.” Does that mean that a list of 10 publications plus additional patents is acceptable?","Please refer to section IV. D. iii. Resumes, of the FOA document."]
[72,"2024-06-06","Other","Is their an updated timeline for selection notifications to be sent out for this FOA application. ","Selections are anticipated towards the beginning of July."]
[73,"2024-06-10","Other","Just wondering about the status of this grant and when announcements will be made?","Please see question #74."]
[74,"2024-06-11","Other","I am wondering if the selection announcement has been made.","Please see question #74."]
[75,"2024-06-12","Other","We were hoping to inquire about the expected decision date for this funding opportunity.","Please see question #74."]
[76,"2024-06-18","Other","Could you please let us know if you have already made award selections under FOA  DE-FOA-0003080.","Selections are anticipated towards the end of July."]
[77,"2024-06-26","Other","I was hoping to check with you on the planned schedule for announcing the selected companies for the DE-FOA-0003080 grant?  ","Selections are anticipated towards the end of July."]
[78,"2024-07-25","Other","Dear Applicant: The SETO Funding Opportunity Announcement Number DE-FOA-0003080, Solar-thermal Fuels and Thermal Energy Storage via Concentrated Solar-thermal Energy, received a large number of meritorious applications and we were not able to fund all the meritorious applications. SETO were able to fund only a shorter list of eligible applications due to the availability of funds. Please refer to Section VI, Application Review Information, in particular, sections B, C and D on the selection process."]

{"sheet":"Admin Pick List","index":1,"n_rows":17,"n_cols":1,"rows_kept":17,"cut":false,"hidden":true,"merged":[]}
["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"]