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["TCF Base CLIMR Lab Call - Questions/Answers (DE-LC-000L124)"]
["Updated: July-23-2025"]
["#","Date Asked","Topic","Question","Answer"]
[1,"2024-10-09","Partnerships","Are National Labs allowed to partner with industry?","Yes, labs are encouraged to partner with external commercialization parties. Please see Section III.iii in the lab call for more information."]
[2,"2024-10-21","Teaming Partner List","Can small businesses join the Teaming Partner List?","Yes, any organization that wishes to participate on an application, can join the Teaming Partner List (TPL) to express their interest to explore partnerships with the National Labs, see lab call Section III.iii."]
[3,"2024-10-21","Topics","In the CLIMR Lab Call, is Topic 4 missing a detailed description on page 19 between Topic 3 and Topic 5?","This year Topic 4 is in its own chapter, see lab call Section V. "]
[4,"2024-10-23","Funding","Will the Budget and Reporting (B&R) structure be the same for both Topic 4 and the Commercialization Enabling Topics (Topics 1, 2, 3, 5, 6)?","The 'Type of Award Instrument' section in Section VII.iii of the lab call is applicable to all projects associated with this lab call."]
[5,"2024-10-19","Eligibility","I am not from a National Lab, plant, or site. Can I apply for TCF funding from this lab call?","Only the National Labs, plants, and sites are eligible to apply for funding from this lab call. External stakeholders interested in partnering with a National Lab, plant, or site, are welcome to join the Teaming Partner List (TPL) on Exchange. Any organization that would like to be included on this list should first find the TPL for this solicitation (TPL-0000059) on Exchange (https://ott-exchange.energy.gov/Default.aspx#FoaIdbcd5e143-d31c-4894-9f2c-fd092f59c717). \nSee lab call Section III.iii for more information."]
[6,"2024-10-18","LEEP","Can the ORISE LEEP fellowship be extended with funds from the lab call if the fellowship ends before proposal selection?","A portion of TCF Base funds could be used to extend a LEEP fellowship which ends in or after September 2025. Any fellowship which ends prior to September 2025 would not receive funds to extend the fellowship. FY25 TCF Base funds will not be used to create a new LEEP fellowship. "]
[7,"2024-10-29","Funding","Can federal funding be shared with external partners (non-lab)?","For all topics in this lab call, federal funds will be awarded to the DOE National Lab, plant, and/or site. Subcontracts are allowed as long as they follow both DOE and their respective lab, plant, or site policies and procedures."]
[8,"2024-10-30","Webinar","What is the link to register for the webinar?","The link to register for the webinar is: https://events.gcc.teams.microsoft.com/event/f4105109-8a6c-4c9b-b859-ffd4049387c1@6b183ecc-4b55-4ed5-b3f8-7f64be1c4138"]
[9,"2024-10-30","Webinar","Will the webinar slides be shared?","The webinar slides have been uploaded on the Exchange site under this lab call, DE-LC-000L124: https://eere-exchange.energy.gov/#FoaId0ccba0cc-b4a7-4b30-94be-ec6ce792ddf3"]
[10,"2024-10-30","Cost-share","What does 50% cost-share (in-kind/cash) mean if the DOE funding is $100,000?","A 50% cost-share project example is the following: if the federal funding requested is $100,000, the total cost-share (in-kind + cash) is $100,000, for a total project budget of $200,000."]
[11,"2024-10-30","Partnerships","Is it possible for non-profits focused on commercialization to partner with national labs on this call?","Partnerships may include non-profit organizations, please see Section III.iii for more information."]
[12,"2024-10-30","Subcontracting","Are partners allowed to be subcontracted funds?","Please see the answer to question 7."]
[13,"2024-10-30","Eligibility","If a proposal was previously submitted (not awarded), could the proposal be submitted again? ","Past proposals that were not selected can apply as long as they meet the requirements listed in the lab call."]
[14,"2024-10-30","Partnerships","Are other Federal laboratories (not DOE-labs) able to partner with a DOE lab?","Yes, other Federal laboratories may partner with a DOE lab."]
[15,"2024-10-30","Cost-share","Are all project partners required to contribute 50% cost-share for the project?","Please see Section III.iv of the lab call."]
[16,"2024-10-30","Cost-share","Is there a minimum cash cost-share contribution (% or absolute)? ","The lab call does not establish a minimum dollar amount of cash or in-kind cost-share other than the requirements listed in Section III.iv of the lab call."]
[17,"2024-10-30","Cost-share","Do patents count as an in-kind cost-share contribution?","No."]
[18,"2024-10-30","Funding","Can industrial partners receive federal funding?","Please see the answer to question 7."]
[19,"2024-10-30","Subcontracting","If a subcontract is involved, is there a limitation on the subcontractor’s budget of the total project cost (like a percentage)?","The lab call does not establish a limitation on budget for subcontractor(s)."]
[20,"2024-10-30","Cost-share","For 4.b, does that mean that if we have a large business on the team and a small business...is 50% required or not? ","For topics 4.b, where multiple partners are involved in a project, if any partner is involved that does not qualify for the lower than 50% cost-share subtopic, then the entire proposal's required cost-share defaults to the required 50% cost-share."]
[21,"2024-10-30","Cost-share","Can cost-share include costs associated with a regulatory review as part of a proposal?","Cost-share allowability will be determined in accordance with the Federal Acquisition Regulations. Please see Appendix A in the lab call for more information on what qualifies as cost-share."]
[22,"2024-10-30","Cost-share","How do I know if a business qualifies as DOE start up program under topic 4?","Small businesses are defined by the U.S. Small Business Administration, see footnote 9 in Section III.iv of the lab call."]
[23,"2024-10-30","Eligibility","Does \"National Lab-developed\" mean DOE National Labs or any Federal National Laboratory? Such as energy technology developed (at least in part) from the Air Force Research Laboratory?","To be considered a “National Lab-developed technology,” at least 50% of the R&D have been developed at a DOE National Laboratory, plant, or site."]
[24,"2024-10-30","Intellectual Property","For topic 4, if additional IP needs to be created for commercialization on top of foundational tech from a lab, is that allowed? If so, is the IP jointly owned by the lab and the cost-share partners?","In order to be eligible for TCF Base, lab-developed or co-developed technology or IP must be involved. Please discuss with the lab how the retention right will work for case-specific questions. "]
[25,"2024-10-30","Application","Is CBP required for all projects or only Topic 4 applicants?","Applicants are required to incorporate a CBP in their application regardless of topic number."]
[26,"2024-10-30","Application","For the applications, should the font be the default one in the templates?","Font requirements are listed in Section VI.i. SUBMISSION PROCESS section of the lab call."]
[27,"2024-10-30","Cost-share","How do you differentiate cost share requirement of Topic 4.a and 4.b? Is it just based on the partners on the proposal? For example, if a national lab and a university team up, would it fall under 4.b with less than 50% cost share?","For topic 4, subtopic a or b is determined by the type of partner(s) on the proposal. For 4.b, where multiple partners are involved in a project, if any partner is involved that does not qualify for the lower than 50% cost-share subtopic, then the entire proposal's required cost-share defaults to the required 50% cost-share. For the example posed in the question, if a proposal has one partner which is a domestic institution of higher education, they may apply to 4.b with less than 50% cost-share."]
[28,"2024-10-30","Topic 4","Is my specific technology eligible to apply for CLIMR?","Please see Section V of the lab call for technology specific areas of interest."]
[29,"2024-10-30","Eligibility","Are applications requesting follow-on funding for previously awarded TCFs allowed? ","Applications requesting follow-on funding are eligible to apply. Any applications that are based on following on from previous awarded project should reference the previous award and should clearly explain how the scope is different than the previous project."]
[30,"2024-10-30","Funding","Will proposals be reviewed with the full knowledge of the funds available?","At the time of this solicitation release, Congress has not yet passed a full FY25 DOE appropriated budget. The estimated budget in the lab call is based on FY24. The total funding amount available for FY25 will be applied once an official FY25 DOE budget is passed. "]
[31,"2024-10-30","Funding","Is there a dollar/ budget limit on proposals?","For the Commercialization Enabling Topics (Topics 1, 2, 3, 5, and 6), there is not a budget limitation. For Topic 4, proposals should not request funding that is greater than the available program office(s) budget. Additionally, select program offices have included a funding limit within the Topic 4 Areas of Interest (AOIs), see Section V. "]
[32,"2024-10-30","Topic 4","Do the technology areas in topic 4 require a minimum TRL or ARL?","Please see the AOIs in Section V of the lab call for more specific information on whether a minimum TRL or ARL value is required to apply."]
[33,"2024-10-30","Topics","Is there a formal list of \"topics\"? Where can they be found online?","The topics can be found in the lab call on Exchange, DE-LC-000L124: https://eere-exchange.energy.gov/#FoaId0ccba0cc-b4a7-4b30-94be-ec6ce792ddf3"]
[34,"2024-10-30","Funding","What is a typical range of project funding for each project?","The range of project funding varies widely. Please see Section III.ii. for the available funding for the FY25 CLIMR lab call."]
[35,"2024-10-30","Eligibility","To what degree of support does one have to have from a DOE lab to be considered?","Please see the answer to question 5."]
[36,"2024-10-30","Selections","Although decisions are final, will the concept paper and full application get any feedback on why it was not selected? ","Feedback is provided in Exchange when it is possible."]
[37,"2024-10-31","Partnerships","I don't know who to contact at the labs for a potential partnership, is there a list of who to contact?","Please see Appendix C in the lab call for a list of points of contact at the National Labs, plants, and sites."]
[38,"2024-11-03","Eligibility","Do CLIMR applications have to be initiated by a DOE laboratory?  If so, is the Vehicle Technolgies Office (VTO) Decarbonization of Off-Road, Rail, Maritime and Aviation (DORMA) subprogram eligible?","Please see the answers to questions 5, 28, and 33."]
[39,"2024-11-04","Partnerships","Are DOE laboratories able to partner with Canadian companies?","It may be possible for an international company or its U.S. subsidiary to partner with a DOE National Lab, plant, or site. DOE National Labs, plants, and sites each have their own unique processes for working with international partners. Please reach out to the Technology Transfer Office of the lab, plant, and site (listed in Appendix C of the lab call) to discuss the case-specific details."]
[40,"2024-11-06","Partnerships","Can partners (who will not be providing cost share) be federal entities, such as the EPA? ","Yes."]
[41,"2024-10-30","Webinar","Will the webinar recording be shared?","The webinar recording is available to those who registered for the webinar here (must be logged into Teams): https://events.gcc.teams.microsoft.com/event/f4105109-8a6c-4c9b-b859-ffd4049387c1@6b183ecc-4b55-4ed5-b3f8-7f64be1c4138"]
[42,"2024-11-04","Topic 4","Is non-DOE National Lab developed technology eligible under a Topic 4 application?","No, all Topic 4 applications must include DOE National Lab developed technology. Please see Section V for eligibility. "]
[43,"2024-11-07","Concept Paper","Are Letters of Commitment required or optional at the Concept Paper stage?","Letters of Commitment are required at the concept paper stage. See section VI.ii.Addendum for more information."]
[44,"2024-11-07","Topic 4","Are proposals involving hydrogen fuel cell-battery hybrid locomotives applicable under AOI 4.12, Technology Area 4?","For Section V AOI 4.12, Technology Area 4, locomotives are applicable; however, a fuel cell-hybrid locomotive is not applicable. Hydrogen and fuel cell technologies are covered in Section V AOI 4.09."]
[45,"2024-11-11","Topic 4","For FE-322, Technology Area#14: “Technologies for Converting Stranded and Underutilized Natural Gas to Sustainable Industrial Chemicals and Carbon Products,” are ethane and/or propane applicable? ","FECM is exclusively interested in methane or Natural Gas as the feedstock. Natural Gas is usually composed of 90-95+% methane, with descending amounts of ethane, propane, and butane, along with other non-hydrocarbons such as Nitrogen and Carbon dioxide making up the vast majority of the remaining balance. Feedstocks that vary from pure methane or a typical Natural Gas composition are not of interest."]
[46,"2024-11-12","Application","Are labs allowed to submit more than one proposal involving the same lab-developed intellectual property, so long as the scopes of the projects are different?","Yes."]
[47,"2024-11-15","Eligibility","Does the technology have to have IP in order to be eligible for applying to this lab call?","All proposals need to include either Lab IP or lab developed technology. Applicants should work with lab partners to address any lab IP requirements. It is recommended to discuss with the lab technology transfer officers (TTOs). "]
[48,"2024-11-14","Application","Is there a limit on the number of TCF Base Topic 4 submissions each lab can submit?","For Topic 4, there are no limits on the number of full applications each National Laboratory can submit. Please see lab call Section VI.i.ELIGIBILITY for more information."]
[49,"2024-11-14","Topic 4","Regarding Topic 4, is there a TRL to qualify?","Please see the AOIs in Section V of the lab call for more specific information on whether specific TRL or ARL value(s) are required to apply."]
[50,"2024-11-14","Selections","Who determines the the selected projects? What is the selection process?","Internal DOE and external merit reviewers review and score the applications. Please see Section VII of the lab call."]
[51,"2024-11-15","Eligibility","I am not from a National Lab, plant, or site. Exchange won't allow me to apply to the lab call, can you please confirm.","Please see the answer to question 5."]
[52,"2024-11-20","Partnerships","Are CRADAs required for projects funded through this solicitation?","Cooperative Research and Development Agreements (CRADAs) are not required by DOE; however, the DOE lab, plant, or site is required to follow both DOE and their respective policies and procedures with respect to any potential partnering mechanism they pursue e.g., CRADAs, Strategic Partnership Projects (SPPs) agreements, etc. Applicants can discuss specific cases with the technology transfer office at the lab, plant, or site."]
[53,"2024-11-05","Cost-share","Is there any guidance on cost-share for data sets? We have a partner who could provide data to validate and further improve our software. We were wondering if this could be counted towards cost share, and if so, are there rules on how the data is valued?","Data sets can be considered cost-share in some circumstances, which can include if its purpose is specifically related to the project and necessary for project performance. The cost-share must be adequately documented, with a justifiable market value, and must be incurred specifically for the federal award. For more information, please visit and read the following sections:\n\nhttps://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-2/subtitle-A/chapter-II/part-200/subpart-E?toc=1\n\n200.403\n200.404\n200.405\n200.420"]
[54,"2024-11-21","Funding","What is the lab call funding for topic 4 compared to non-topic 4 projects?","The total funding breakdown is estimated around 80% of the lab call total budget for topic 4 projects, and 20% for commercialization enabling projects, but it is also dependent on the applications received. "]
[55,"2024-11-21","Partnerships","Can joining a past project be an eligible concept paper?","It is possible, please talk to the principal investigator (PI) for the past project you are interested in joining to determine the best path forward."]
[56,"2024-11-20","Application","Is the CBP section new this year?","No, the CBP was introduced in the FY24 CLIMR Lab Call. For FY25, some of the requirements regarding the CBP were modified compared to FY24, please see Section VI.i for more information."]
[57,"2024-11-20","Application","How does a lab structure an application that has a co-lead from another lab?","In the application, please indicate the second lab's PI as a co-PI."]
[58,"2024-11-20","Funding","How does funding work? Does it get sent directly to the lab? Is there only one stream for funds in FY25? Will it funnel down through OTT?","DOE funds both the prime and partner labs directly. Money will be labeled as TCF dollars, and will be sent to each lab directly. For more information, please see the 'Type of Award Instrument' section in Section VII.iii of the lab call."]
[59,"2024-11-20","Merit Review","How is the number of labs participating on a single proposal evaluated?","Multiple labs participating on a proposal is dependent on topic area and the proposal's applicability to multiple labs. If a proposal is process-oriented and helpful to multiple labs, collaboration with multiple labs is encouraged and would be evaluated as part of the merit review. Single-lab solutions are scored based on the applicability of having lab partner(s). "]
[60,"2024-11-20","Cost-share","How is cost-share evaluated?","Cost-share is considered during the full application merit review. Per Section VII.ii of the lab call, the \"extent to which partners’ interest and level of involvement is reflected in appropriate levels of proposed cost-share for the project will be taken into consideration.\" Please review the lab call merit review criterion for other cost-share considerations."]
[61,"2024-11-19","Concept Paper","Does the letter of commitment from the cost-share partner have to include a dollar amount for the concept paper?","No, it is acceptable to have a letter of support without a dollar amount in the concept paper."]
[62,"2024-11-20","Questions","Is there a deadline for questions on this lab call?","OTT answers lab call-specific questions until the full applications are due. "]
[63,"2024-11-18","Concept Paper","Is it okay to submit more than two single-lab proposals in the concept paper stage?","Yes, that is acceptable. However, if more than two are encouraged in the concept paper phase, the lab applicant may submit no more than two full applications that do not contain lab partners. See lab call Section VI.i.ELIGIBILITY for more information."]
[64,"2024-11-18","Cost-share","Is a cost-share partner required in the concept paper stage of the application?","A cost-share partner is not required for the concept paper stage."]
[65,"2024-11-18","Replies to Reviewer Comments","In the full application stage, does the replies to reviewer comments mean the selections are finalized?","No, selections are not finalized at that point and the replies could contribute to the selection decision."]
[66,"2024-11-18","Application","Do applicants need to include a letter of support from their tech transfer office (TTO) if the TTO is not submitting the application?","Yes, all concept papers and full applications, if not submitted by the TTO, must include a letter of support from the TTO. This may be included in the addendum or emailed to TCF@hq.doe.gov prior to both the concept paper and full application deadlines. Please see lab call Section VI.i.ELIGIBILITY for more information."]
[67,"2024-11-18","LEEP","On LEEP partnership projects, is that for LEEP fellows that have already completed their LEEP fellowship?","Please see the answer to question 6. Additionally, LEEP fellows that have already completed their LEEP fellowship are able to apply to this lab call but cannot use TCF Base funding for an extension of the LEEP fellowship. "]
[68,"2024-11-18","LEEP","If a portion of the TCF funds can go towards extending a LEEP fellowship, how much can be used towards the fellowship?","There is no specified amount, it is up to the applicant to propose the budget breakdown for these projects."]
[69,"2024-11-22","Partnerships","Are there any restrictions for this lab call on employees from the applying national lab on participating as the commercializing industry partner, even if they are not part of the proposal on the lab side and will only be participating on the industry side?","Partnerships must follow both DOE and their respective lab, plant, or site's policies and procedures. Applicants can discuss specific cases with the technology transfer office at the lab, plant, or site and can include relevant details in the application. Should said work meet the lab, plant, or site's policy and procedures, said work as a participating commercializing industry partner, shall not be performed on lab, plant, or site’s time which is funded by DOE. "]
[70,"2024-12-02","Cost-share","Does partnering with a small business qualify for cost-share subtopic 4.b? If so, what is the minimum cost-share required?","Small businesses qualify for subtopic 4.b per Section III.iv of the lab call. Please see the answers for questions 16, 22, and 27 for more info. "]
[71,"2024-12-03","Application","Is the letter of support from the TTO required for the lead lab only, or is it necessary for all participating labs?","The TTO letter of support is only required for the lead/prime lab applicant."]
[72,"2024-12-03","Cost-share","Is there any guidance on a minimum amount for cost-share for small businesses (less than 3 employees)?","Please see the answer to question 16. "]
[73,"2024-12-03","Application","If the project has a small business cost-share partner, is this something that should be highlighted in the application?","Per Sections VI.ii Addendum and VI.iii TECHNICAL VOLUME Addendum of the lab call, applicants are required to provide a letter of support/ commitment from all third-party cost-share provider(s); in addition, any proposals that apply to subtopic 4.b must provide evidence for applying in this category. "]
[74,"2024-12-03","Merit Review","Does partnering with an under-represented ownership company, potential humanitarian, or underserved population technology application proposal benefit the merit review of the application?","Please see the merit review section of the lab call, Section VII.i and VII.ii."]
[75,"2024-12-04","Cost-share","Do proposals applying to subtopic 4.b have to provide evidence for eligibility of applying in this category at the concept paper stage? If so, what level of proof is required? ","Per Section VI.ii Addendum of the lab call, applicants to subtopic 4.b must provide evidence for applying in this category at the concept paper stage. It is up to the applicant to determine the best method of proof, there is not a requirement for how this is executed."]
[76,"2024-12-04","Application","Would it be appropriate to include letters of support from vendors or partners that will not provide cost-share?","Per Section VI.ii Addendum of the lab call, letters of support from entities that are not providing cost-share are not required in the concept paper stage. However, in the full application stage, letters of commitment from all project partners is required per lab call Section VI.iii TECHNICAL VOLUME Addendum."]
[77,"2024-12-05","Cost-share","Our potential cost share partner will not be able to provide us a letter of commitment before the concept paper is due, since the person at the company who can authorize is not available.  Given this they want to provide a letter of support – is this acceptable?","Yes, a letter of support is acceptable for the concept paper stage of the application."]
[78,"2024-12-05","LEEP","Can a LEEP fellow work with a different lab for a TCF project than the one they are currently at for their fellowship? Example: partner on a TCF proposal with LANL when their LEEP fellowship is at NREL.","Yes, a LEEP fellow can partner on a proposal with a different lab than the one they are currently at for their fellowship."]
[79,"2024-12-09","Cost-share","Does the 4.b evidence for eligibility count towards the 1-page max for letter of commitment?","No, the subtopic 4.b evidence of eligibility does not count towards the 1-page letter of commitment limit."]
[80,"2024-12-09","Topic 4","We were wondering if each program office is targeting a certain number of proposals that they’d like to award?","No, there is not a specific target."]
[81,"2024-12-09","Application","To clarify the response for 76, are we allowed to provide letters of support from non-cost share partners for the concept paper if we have them?","Yes, it is allowed."]
[82,"2024-12-10","Cost-share","Our current project team consists of National Labs and institutions of higher education. We would like to also bring in an industry collaborator. This industry collaborator is providing in-kind cost-share. Do we qualify for subtopic 4.b?","If applying for a subtopic 4.b proposal, all the partners involved in the proposal need to meet the requirements of 4.b. If the partners do not meet the requirements, the proposal will be considered a 4.a proposal. "]
[83,"2024-12-10","Partnerships","If an industry partner is only involved on my project as a subcontractor, and not a cost-share partner, does that affect if my proposal qualifies for subtopic 4.a or 4.b?","An entity that is only a subcontractor on a proposal is not considered a partner on the project, therefore it does not affect the subtopic."]
[84,"2024-12-10","Teaming Partner List","I am interested in applying to be a team partner for this opportunity. What is the process to do that?","The Teaming Partner List (TPL) can be found in Exchange for this solicitation (TPL-0000059, https://ott-exchange.energy.gov/Default.aspx#FoaIdbcd5e143-d31c-4894-9f2c-fd092f59c717). Please see Section III.iii in the lab call for more information on how to join the TPL."]
[85,"2024-12-10","Eligibility","I am a startup company working at a National Lab through my LEEP fellowship. I am not able to submit my application for the concept paper phase. Should our collaborator at the lab submit the concept paper?","Yes, only National labs, plants, and sites are eligible to apply for this lab call. See lab call Sections VI.i.ELIGIBILITY and VI.i.SUBMISSION PROCESS for more information."]
[86,"2024-12-10","Exchange","In Exchange, on the Financials tab, should we enter the federal funds requested by year or the federal funds plus cost-share amounts per year?","Please see Appendix E in the lab call for instructions. Per Appendix E, for the Financials tab in Exchange: You are NOT required to enter detailed financial information into this section. Please enter any value into the required field to allow you to complete the submission. It populates with the FYs that cover the project period of performance; for example, you may put $1 for ‘Planned Project Cost’ for the year(s) that have an asterisk."]
[87,"2024-12-11","Funding","Who can be a subrecipient on a TCF project?","Federal funds will be awarded to the DOE labs, plants, and sites, so a national lab, plant, or site could be a subrecipient. Non-federal entities (e.g., university, industry partner, etc.) can contribute to a project but not receive funds directly from this solicitation, and therefore are not subrecipients. "]
[88,"2024-12-11","Subcontracting","Can a private industry entity be a subcontractor?","Yes, subcontracts are allowed as long as they follow both DOE and their respective lab(s), plant(s), and site(s) policies and procedures. "]
[89,"2024-12-11","Subcontracting","Could a private industry entity be a cost-share partner and a subcontractor?","Subcontracting support services to a cost-share partner are allowed as long as the cost-share requirements are met, and they follow both DOE and the respective lab(s) policies and procedures. If a cost-share partner is also the subcontractor, then the work being subcontracted will be evaluated during the application review. Please see Appendix A in the lab call for more information. "]
[90,"2024-12-11","Exchange","What should we put on the Performers tab in Exchange?","Please see Appendix E in the lab call for instructions. Per Appendix E, for the Performers tab in Exchange: You are NOT required to enter detailed performer information into this section. Please skip this section."]
[91,"2024-12-11","Exchange","What should we put on the Financials tab in Exchange? ","Please see the answer to question 86."]
[92,"2024-12-11","Lab Call","My team won't have enough time to submit an application for this cycle, will this lab call open again in 2025?","Currently, this is the only planned TCF Base lab call for FY25. Regarding future lab calls, DOE is unable to share those details at this time but you can consider signing up for the OTT newsletter, and/or follow OTT on social media to be alerted to lab calls and funding opportunities when they are announced. \nSubscribe to OTT's newsletter:\nhttps://www.energy.gov/technologytransitions/office-technology-transitions\nOTT social media: \nhttps://www.linkedin.com/showcase/office-of-technology-transitions/  \nhttps://x.com/OTTatDOE"]
[93,"2024-12-17","Eligibility","Would it be possible to submit a full application without submitting a concept paper in advance? ","No, only applicants who have submitted an eligible concept paper and received an ‘encourage’ determination from DOE will be eligible to submit a full application, see Section Vi.i ELIGIBILITY for more information."]
[94,"2024-12-17","Concept Paper","Is is possible to get an extension on the concept paper deadline?","No, concept papers must be submitted by the applicable deadline stated in the lab call."]
[95,"2025-02-04","Concept Paper","Is there an update on when to expect encourage/discourage decisions for the concept papers submitted? ","Concept paper decisions were uploaded into Exchange on February 19."]
[96,"2025-02-25","Lab Call","When will the updated lab call be posted to Exchange?","An updated lab call was posted to Exchange on February 28."]
[97,"2025-02-26","Budget Spreadsheet","Should each of our subrecipient partners and partner labs complete their own Budget template?","No, please only fill out ONE budget spreadsheet for the entire proposal and the entire period of performance. Each partner lab should have a row in category e.3 (add more if needed). If you add rows, please edit the formulas in the gray cells if necessary, so that the spreadsheet totals calculate properly. The cost-share section should be the totals for all partner(s) involved. Do not add new rows for multiple cost-share partners, please capture the total in the cash cost-share and in-kind cost-share rows. "]
[98,"2025-02-27","Budget Spreadsheet","How do we fill out the budget spreadsheet if we have two labs co-leading a proposal?","If there are two labs co-leading a proposal, please provide a total amount in categories a through d, f, and g, and provide comments in column F for the breakdown of the amounts each lead lab is proposing to receive."]
[99,"2025-02-28","Cost-share","In a case where all participants are National Labs and prohibited from providing cost share, is the cost share waived? ","The cost-share requirements depend on the topic being applied to. Please see the requirements listed in Section III.iv and Appendix A of the lab call. No exceptions to these requirements are allowed."]
[100,"2025-02-28","Full Application","Do we need to notify OTT ahead of time if there is a change in PI between the concept paper and full application?","No. Please provide the updated PI's information in the full application."]
[101,"2025-03-06","Budget Spreadsheet","Can you clarify what each row of the budget template is for?","The lead lab is responsible for submitting a completed budget spreadsheet as a part of the application. Rows 8 through 11, 19, and 21 (categories a through d, f, and g) reflect costs for the prime lab. Rows 13 through 15 (categories e.1 and e.2) are for if there are any subcontractors planned on the project. Rows 16 and 17 (category e.3) are the costs for partner national labs (please add more rows if there are more than two partner labs). If you add rows, please edit the formulas in the gray cells if necessary, so that the spreadsheet totals calculate properly. The total project cash cost-share amount should be entered into row 23, \"Cash Cost-Share\". The total project in-kind cost-share amount should be entered into row 24, \"In-Kind Cost-Share\".  The dollars should add up to the total funding requested for the entirety of the project."]
[102,"2025-03-11","Cost-share","I am a federal contractor and am interested in donating time to support a national lab collaborator’s proposal. My time would be documented and allocated to a discretionary fund that is derived from other federal revenues. Can a lab claim this allocation of discretionary funding as an in-kind contribution in their proposal?","Time spent on proposal development is considered a pre-award cost and will not count as cost-share. Pre-award costs are not allowable. If the time is spent on a project during the period of performance, then yes. Please consult the lab's legal staff to ensure the cost-share funds meet the requirements for in-kind contributions."]
[103,"2025-03-11","Full Application","We received an \"encouraged\" designation for our concept paper from the TCF team. However, the National Lab we are partnered with is focusing on other \"encouraged\" proposals this cycle. Given this, we are exploring options and wanted to confirm: If we were to partner with a different prime lab this cycle, would we still be eligible to submit a full proposal since our concept paper was encouraged?","No, since the exchange submission is tied to the prime lab, the current prime lab has to be the one to submit the full application. If the prime lab would like to change the lead to another lab, they would have to note that in the application. "]
[104,"2025-03-14","Full Application","Will the \"Glossary\" count towards the 15-page limit for the TCF CLIMR proposal?","Yes. The Title Page and the Addendum are the only sections of the Technical Volume that do not count towards the 15-page limit. "]
[105,"2025-03-19","Cost-share","In a situation where a subrecipient of a GO-GO laboratory is providing cost share and also requires funding, but a CRADA will not be issued, could you please provide guidance on what the Office of Technology Transition (OTT) would consider acceptable? Specifically, how should the lab collect cost share expenditure information from the subrecipient and compile that data into a financial report for the Department of Energy (DOE) sponsor?","Please reach out to your DOE lab legal staff for guidance. Per Appendix A of the lab call, \"Cost-share funds are subject to audit by the Department or other authorized government entities (e.g., General Accounting Office). A written agreement may be advisable—either between the DOE Facility and the third party or between the CRADA partner and the third party—that requires the third party to provide the cost-share funds. Consult your DOE lab legal staff for advice about how to obligate the third party to provide the cost-share funds, and to ensure the cost-share funds meet the requirements for in-kind contributions, if applicable.\""]
[106,"2025-03-21","LEEP","For proposals seeking supplemental funding leveraging LEEP, is there a limit on the period of performance?","There is not a limit on the period of performance, it is recommended that TCF Base project period of performance range from 12 to 36 months."]
[107,"2025-03-21","LEEP","Is the recommended total budget for projects applying for LEEP supplemental funding ($250,000 to $500,000) referring to federal funds or the total project budget, which includes cost-share?","A recommended total budget (federal funding + cost-share) for projects applying for LEEP supplemental funding is $250,000 to $500,000. However, this is just a recommendation and not a hard limit."]
[108,"2025-03-21","LEEP","For projects applying to LEEP supplemental funding, can the high-level budget option exceed $500,000?","Yes."]
[109,"2025-03-21","Cost-share","I have a large utility partner that is only providing cost share and not receiving any federal funds. I also have a small vendor company that is requesting federal funds and providing cost share on both projects. Am I required to meet the 50% cost share requirement given that the large utility is only providing cost share (and not receiving federal funds)? ","Please see the answers to question 20 for cost-share, and question 87 for clarification on who can receive federal funds from this solicitation. Cost-share requirements are irrespective of if the cost-share partner is also a subcontractor to the national lab."]
[110,"2025-03-25","Exchange","The  exchange portal shows the following error on the Project Plan tab, \"at least one milestone is required.\" Do you recommend just entering a milestone and putting \"N/A\"?","You are not required to enter detailed project tasks into this section. If Exchange won't let you submit without entering a milestone, then please just add one milestone and enter N/A since DOE will not be reviewing this section."]
[111,"2025-03-25","Cost-share","For Topics 1,2,3,5, and 6, is it fine if the high, low, and optimal version of the budget have different cost share percentages? If yes, would we still list the proposal as subtopic a, if the optimal has 50% cost share, but the high version has lower than 50%?    ","The cost-share for the low, optimal, and high budget scenarios can have different cost-share percentages and should comply with the cost-share subtopic requirements listed in the lab call (see lab call Section III.iv). Please use the optimal budget scenario to determine what cost-share subtopic the proposal should apply in."]
[112,"2025-05-01","Replies to Reviewer Comments","Is there a page limit or template for reviewer comment replies? ","No."]
[113,"2025-06-12","Selections","When will we hear a final selection decision on full applications?","We anticipate making selections and sending notifications sometime in FY2025 Q4."]
[114,"2025-07-21","Selections","Do you now have more clarity on the decision month: July, August or September?","We don't have an update at this time. "]

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["Topic 2"]
["Topic 3"]
["Topic 4"]
["Topic 5"]
["Topic 6"]
["Cost Share"]
["Eligibility"]
["Concept Slide"]
["Process"]
["Timeline"]
["Reporting"]
["Review"]
["Topics General"]
["Partners"]