OCED Funding Opportunity Announcements

ATTENTION: 11/3/2023 - This Funding Opportunity Announcement has been modified. Please see the "Full Funding Opportunity Announcement - Mod 000001" document in the Announcement Documents section below for full details.

The Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations (OCED) is issuing this Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) to support a portfolio of projects that demonstrate and validate reliable operations and financial value from a range of grid topologies with diverse energy resources and distributed energy systems (DES) ownership models.

In this FOA, OCED is seeking projects that can demonstrate that aggregated and coordinated distributed energy resources (DERs) can provide reliable, predictable grid services for a wide range of system configurations. The program goal is to build confidence that the design, control, and compensation approaches developed can be readily applied to other portions of the distribution grid and extended to other mixes of DERs, potentially extending the value of this approach to a more diverse set of communities, individuals, and entities as the distribution system continues to change.

This FOA makes available approximately $50 million in federal funds for transformative, at-scale projects within distribution systems that demonstrate approaches to integrate grid-edge renewable and distributed energy systems with broader energy networks. DOE will fund up to four (4) projects with an award size of at least $10 million and no more than $25 million in federal funds. Each award is required to provide a minimum of 50% non-federal cost share. Projects are anticipated to have a maximum period of performance of 8 years.

This investment will allow the U.S. to develop more reliable, resilient, and cost-effective distribution grids and distributed energy systems while supporting climate action and providing benefits to communities and workers. It will also support the Biden Administration’s decarbonization goals of a 50-52% reduction in GHG emissions from 2005 levels by 2030, a carbon-pollution-free power sector by 2035, and a net-zero GHG emissions economy by 2050.

Only applicants that have submitted an eligible Concept Paper will be eligible to submit a Full Application.

For information and guidance please visit the OCED Funding page.

ATTENTION: 11/3/2023 - This Funding Opportunity Announcement has been modified. Please see the "Full Funding Opportunity Announcement - Mod 000001" document in the Announcement Documents section below for full details.

ATTENTION (10/24/2023): This Funding Opportunity Announcement has been modified and the Submission Deadline has been extended to 6:00 pm EST on 11/2/2023. Please see the full Funding Opportunity Announcement - Mod 000001 in the Announcement Documents section for full details.

DOE is exploring entering into one or multiple agreements with independent, not-for-profit U.S. entities to assist in the de-risking of clean hydrogen through demand certainty or other means. DOE envisions that these measures would accelerate commercialization of clean hydrogen by providing medium-term revenue certainty to projects affiliated with DOE-selected Regional Clean Hydrogen Hubs.

Demand-side support measures represent a potential tool to achieve DOE’s authorization to accelerate commercialization of, and demonstrate the production, processing, delivery, storage, and end-use of, clean hydrogen by providing predictability in the commercial market for early deployments. Demand-side support measures have accelerated commercial scale-up of technologies in clean energy and for other critical products and services, both in the United States and abroad.

These measures address a basic issue in scaling up clean energy technology—deployment drives cost reductions, but early deployment depends on demonstrated demand, which is hard to secure while costs are still high, and markets are still nascent. Demand-side measures also address a fundamental mismatch in some markets between producers, who need long-term certainty of high-volume demand in order to secure financing to build a project, and buyers, who often prefer to buy on a short-term basis at more modest volumes, especially for products that have yet to be produced at scale and expected to see cost decreases, like clean hydrogen.

DOE is interested in selecting one or more independent (i.e., non-government), U.S.-based, not-for-profit entities to support and execute clean hydrogen demand-side support mechanisms. Respondents to this solicitation may represent an existing or to-be-established entity, as long as the proposed entity would be formally established ahead of the Design Phase activities described below.

The selected entity or entities would execute demand-side programs and other support measures designed and funded, in part, by DOE to create demand certainty for clean hydrogen projects and facilitate market formation. The selected entity or entities could be a single national entity, several regional entities, or several entities responsible for different phases (design vs. execution).

Potential activities for an independent not-for-profit U.S. entity include, but are not limited to:

• Applying experience in commodity markets, project finance, and commercial contracting to advise DOE on the design of demand-side measures to support projects affiliated with DOE’s Regional Clean Hydrogen Hubs;
• Executing a DOE-designed and funded demand-side mechanism to support projects affiliated with DOE’s Regional Clean Hydrogen Hubs, including accepting and distributing DOE funds to selected projects;
• Implementing a competitive process designed by DOE for selection of projects or companies for demand-side support;
• Executing and managing financial agreements with selected recipients of demand-side support; and
• Engaging with clean energy developers, investors, Government partners, academic institutions, community groups, labor, non-traditional partners, and other stakeholders to inform and support DOE demand-side activities to support commercial liftoff for clean hydrogen.

The Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations (OCED) intends to issue a Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) entitled “Distributed Energy Systems Demonstrations Funding Opportunity Announcement”. The goal of this new investment area is to support demonstrations that de-risk technologies needed to manage variable generation; control flexible loads; and integrate energy storage, electric vehicle (EV) charging, and other facilities into the U.S. transmission and distribution grids.

OCED anticipates funding commercial-scale projects that demonstrate approaches that integrate grid-edge renewable and distributed energy systems with broader energy networks. These projects will seek to demonstrate reliable operations and system-wide value in the context of distribution grids with high levels of variable renewable generation and flexible load assets.

This Notice of Intent (NOI or Notice) describes a preliminary plan that will evolve during the FOA development process.

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

DISCLAIMER: The “Notice of Intent to Issue” is for informational purposes only; the Department of Energy is not accepting any applications at this time. Any information contained in this notice is subject to change.

This is a Notice of Intent to issue:

Broad Agency Announcement

Bipartisan Infrastructure Law: Additional Clean Hydrogen Programs (Section 40314): Regional Clean Hydrogen Hubs

The Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations (OCED) is considering establishing a Demand-side Support Mechanism to support reliable demand for hydrogen at DOE-supported Regional Clean Hydrogen Hubs (H2Hubs).

As part of this process, DOE intends to issue a Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) entitled “Implementing Entity (or Entities) for Demand-side Support Mechanism for Clean Hydrogen Hub Projects”. OCED anticipates issuing the BAA in the summer or early fall timeframe.

The BAA will seek an independent Implementing Entity (or Entities) to implement a DOE-designed and DOE-funded demand-side support mechanism to support the development of the H2Hubs. DOE will commit up to $1 billion to the mechanism.

The demand-side support mechanism will provide multi-year support for clean hydrogen produced by competitively selected projects affiliated with H2Hubs. It will facilitate bankable clean hydrogen demand from a diverse set of offtakers. It will help diverse entities leverage the full potential of clean hydrogen, including non-profits, local government, and Tribes, and facilitate the use of clean hydrogen across various sectors of the economy, such as in industrial processes, manufacturing and heavy-duty transportation.

The mechanism could include one or more design factors such as pay-for-delivery contracts, offtake backstops, feasibility funding to support analysis by offtakers, or other measures that strengthen demand for clean hydrogen and increase revenue certainty for H2Hubs. The mechanism will enable private sector financing and expedite progress to Final Investment Decision for H2Hubs.

Based on demonstrated performance and experience gained with the H2Hubs Demand-Side Support Mechanism, DOE may consider similar mechanisms for other technologies and clean energy products in the future.

Tools that mitigate market risk for clean energy technologies during scale-up could meaningfully accelerate commercialization of these technologies, especially in clean hydrogen. DOE’s Pathways to Commercial Liftoff Report and National Clean Hydrogen Strategy and Roadmap for clean hydrogen both highlighted the lack of long-term offtake as a critical barrier to the near-term expansion of the clean hydrogen economy.

A recent DOE Request for Information on the use of demand-side support measures in supporting clean energy technologies emphasized these issues, with respondents highlighting the benefits of well-designed measures that can tackle revenue certainty issues that arise as a result of the natural imbalance between supply scale-up and demand formation in emergent clean energy markets. This initiative underscores DOE’s commitment to addressing barriers to commercialization identified in the Liftoff Reports.

DOE has determined a demand-side support mechanism can facilitate achievement of statutory goals to accelerate the commercialization of clean hydrogen and facilitate a clean hydrogen economy while fostering the development of robust private sector demand for clean hydrogen products. Public input is needed to ensure DOE is aware of and considering a broad set of program design factors consistent with statutory authority. DOE will also consider a broader set of potential options to deliver this support (e.g., funding to the H2Hubs for this work or potential blended capital options).

Questions for stakeholder feedback:

To help inform the design of a demand-side support mechanism for the Regional Clean Hydrogen Hubs Program, DOE is seeking public input on potential benefits and risks, operating models, governance structures, and equipped implementing partners. These questions build on DOE’s Request for Information of Use of Demand-Side Support for Clean Energy Technologies but are specifically focused on support for Hydrogen Hub projects.

Responses are due no later than 5:00 pm ET on July 24, 2023 and can be submitted to Demand-Side-RFI-NOI@hq.doe.gov. All responses must be sent either as a Microsoft Word (.doc / .docx) or Adobe Acrobat (.pdf) attachments.

Category A: Most effective demand-side support measure to support H2Hubs

1. What is the most effective way DOE could catalyze durable, bankable demand for clean hydrogen at DOE-funded H2 Hubs? Which of the following potential mechanisms would be most impactful?

1. Pay-for-difference contracts that provide support to projects based on the price they can achieve in the market
2. Fixed level of support for projects (e.g., fixed $/kg amount) that stacks on top of other sources of revenue
3. Funding to support feasibility analysis from potential offtakers near H2Hubs
4. “Market-maker” for clean hydrogen to provide a ready purchaser/seller for clean hydrogen
5. Other (please specify)

2. For eligible projects, what competitive process should be used to select projects that will receive demand-side support?

1. Reverse auction in which projects compete to bid the lowest level of support they need to make their project viable
2. Request for proposal-like process in which projects apply and are selected based on a variety of factors
3. Eligibility-based process in which all projects that meet certain threshold requirements receive some form of support
4. Other (please specify)

3. How can DOE design demand-side support to account for other kinds of support that H2Hubs projects may receive (e.g., tax credits, state and local government incentives, DOE cooperative agreement funding)?

4. How can DOE stucture demand-side support for H2Hubs to best catalyze the formation of a mature commodity market for clean hdyrogen?

1. How can DOE structure demand-side support for H2Hubs to best catalyze the development of standard contract terms for clean hydrogen?
2. How can DOE structure demand-side support for H2Hubs to best catalyze the development of price transparency for clean hydrogen? 

​

Category B: Implementation of demand-side support measures

1. If DOE were to establish a demand-side support mechanism for H2Hubs with an independent implementing entity or entities, what capabilities and qualifications should DOE prioritize when selecting an entity or entities? Should DOE seek a single entity with national scope or several entities with regional scopes?

2. For any or all of the program design factors selected in response Category A, what existing entities could administer and oversee the demand-side support mechanism? If no existing entity currently exists with the necessary capacity or expertise, how long would it take to establish such an entity or entities? What are the necessary areas of expertise for DOE to prioritize in selecting an independent entity?

3. What are the risks to DOE in partnering with an independent entity to administer a demand-side support mechanism? What governance structures and guardrails should DOE consider in designing a demand-side support mechanism to help maximize impact and minimize implementation risk? Are there any models DOE should look to in establishing a governance structure?

PROPRIETARY INFORMATION:

Because information received in response to this NOI may be used to structure future programs and/or otherwise be made available to the public, respondents are strongly advised NOT to include any information in their responses that might be considered business sensitive, proprietary, or otherwise confidential.

If, however, a respondent chooses to submit business sensitive, proprietary, or otherwise confidential information, it must be clearly and conspicuously marked as such in the response as described below. Failure to comply with these marking requirements may result in the disclosure of the unmarked information under the Freedom of Information Act or otherwise. The U.S. Government is not liable for the disclosure or use of unmarked information and may use or disclose such information for any purpose.

If your response contains confidential, proprietary, or privileged information, you must include a cover sheet marked as follows identifying the specific pages containing confidential, proprietary, or privileged information:

Notice of Restriction on Disclosure and Use of Data:

Pages [list applicable pages] of this response may contain confidential, proprietary, or privileged information that is exempt from public disclosure. Such information shall be used or disclosed only for the purposes described in this NOI OCED-NOI . The Government may use or disclose any information that is not appropriately marked or otherwise restricted, regardless of source.

In addition, (1) the header and footer of every page that contains confidential, proprietary, or privileged information must be marked as follows: “Contains Confidential, Proprietary, or Privileged Information Exempt from Public Disclosure” and (2) every line and paragraph containing proprietary, privileged, or trade secret information must be clearly marked with [[double brackets]] or highlighting.

EVALUATION AND ADMINISTRATION BY FEDERAL AND NON-FEDERAL PERSONNEL:

Federal employees are subject to the non-disclosure requirements of a criminal statute, the Trade Secrets Act, 18 USC 1905. The Government may seek the advice of qualified non-Federal personnel. The Government may also use non-Federal personnel to conduct routine, nondiscretionary administrative activities. The respondents, by submitting their response, consent to the Office providing their response to non-Federal parties. Non-Federal parties given access to responses must be subject to an appropriate obligation of confidentiality prior to being given the access. Submissions may be reviewed by support contractors and private consultants.

RESPONSE GUIDELINES:

Responses to this NOI must be submitted electronically to Demand-Side-RFI-NOI@hq.doe.gov with the subject line “OCED-NOI-23-1” no later than 5:00 p.m. (ET) on July 24, 2023. Responses must be provided as attachments to an email. It is recommended that attachments with file sizes exceeding 25 MB be compressed (i.e., zipped) to ensure message delivery. Responses must be provided as a Microsoft Word (*.docx) or Adobe Acrobat (*.pdf) attachment to the email, and no more than 10 pages in length, 12-point font, 1-inch margins. Only electronic responses will be accepted.

A response to this NOI will not be viewed as a binding commitment to develop or pursue the project or ideas discussed. OCED may engage in pre- and post- response conversations with interested parties.

DOE requests respondents provide the following information at the start of their response to this NOI:

• Company/institution name

• Company/institution contact

• Contact's address, phone number, and e-mail address.

This is a Request for Information (RFI) issued by the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations (OCED).

This RFI seeks public input to help inform a potential program to support operational validation of pilot-scale clean energy technology components and subsystems. OCED is seeking feedback from small businesses, private investors, incubators and accelerators, and clean energy project developers interested in working with small businesses as technology or component suppliers for their projects.

Specifically, DOE is looking for insights on the following: 

• Funding amount needed for a typical pilot-scale validation project
• Preferred type of funding mechanism and application process
• Needs for technical, business, and commercialization assistance
• Recommendations on how to ensure the program can be accessed by a diverse pool of applicants and reduce barriers to participation of disadvantaged businesses in the clean energy industry ecosystem
• Opportunities to ensure the program can benefit every American and every community

Deadline to provide input is July 31, 2023 at 5:00 p.m. (ET) and should be submitted via email to oced.proveit@hq.doe.gov.

This is solely a Request for Information and not a Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA). DOE is not accepting applications. Information collected from this RFI may be used by DOE for planning purposes, which could include developing future Funding Opportunity Announcements (FOA) or other solicitations.

ATTENTION (11/6/2023): Expected Date for OCED Selection Notifications: December/January

ATTENTION (6/2/2023): This Funding Opportunity Announcement has been modified and the Submission Deadline for Full Applications has been extended to 5:00 pm EST on 8/2/2023. The page limits for the Community Benefits Plan have also been updated. Please see the full Funding Opportunity Announcement - Mod 000001 in the Announcement Documents section for full details.

Background & Goals

The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), commonly referred to as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL), authorizes DOE to invest $1 billion in energy improvements in rural or remote areas. DOE’s Energy Improvements in Rural or Remote Areas (ERA) Program will provide financial investment, technical assistance, and other resources to advance clean energy demonstrations and energy solutions that are replicable and scalable. ERA aims to fund clean energy projects with three specific goals:

The ERA Program is managed by the Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations (OCED), whose mission is to deliver clean energy technology demonstration projects at scale to accelerate deployment, market adoption, and the equitable transition to a decarbonized energy system.

OCED seeks to provide equal opportunity to qualified applicants from rural and remote areas of the United States, which for the purposes of this statutory section means areas of less than 10,000 people. OCED recognizes that potential applicants will come to this program with widely varying energy and resilience needs. To address this reality that one size does not fit all, OCED has organized this $300 million Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) into nine geographic regions, each with its own set of broad energy challenges that provide applicants the opportunity to propose creative solutions at a variety of sizes and scales to address those challenges. Depending on response, OCED may open up additional Funding Opportunity Announcements in the future.

The ERA Program intends to improve the cost, reliability, environmental impact, and climate and economic resilience of energy systems in rural or remote communities by funding clean energy projects with commercially viable or near-commercially viable technologies. Projects funded through this FOA will de-risk investment in the energy infrastructure of rural or remote communities. Funded projects will provide insights for future investments, such as deployment of similar technologies, use of similar business models, or adoption of similar community engagement best practices and clarify pathways to future good paying union jobs.

Ensuring Direct Benefit to Rural or Remote Areas

This FOA is designed to enable citizens in rural or remote communities to realize material benefits as the result of investment in their energy infrastructure. These benefits can include, but are not limited to: lower energy costs, improved energy access, economic resilience, and environmental protection from adverse impacts of historic energy generation. Selected projects will implement cost-effective clean energy technologies that promote the overall resilience of the local energy system against climate impacts, and support more diversified rural economies better able to weather economic shocks.

To ensure that these benefits are spread equitably across affected communities applicants are required to submit a Community Benefits Plan (CBP). This plan outlines how the project will support community and labor engagement, invest in the American workforce, contribute to the President’s goal that 40% of the overall benefits of certain federal investments flow to disadvantaged communities (the Justice40 Initiative), and promote diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility (DEIA). DOE recognizes that applicants have different levels of capacity and experience related to this kind of community-focused planning, and will support FOA awardees to develop and implement robust, locally tailored, and measurable plans.

Consistent with the objectives of this program, OCED expects projects to utilize local staff and local resources to the maximum extent possible. If external resources are necessary, projects funded under this FOA and any related activities will seek to encourage meaningful engagement and participation of local business organizations, labor unions, underserved communities and underrepresented groups, federally recognized Tribes and tribal and indigenous communities and native entities.

Promoting Community Energy Solutions for Regional Climate Challenges

Selected projects will promote community energy solutions to improve the cost, reliability, environmental impacts, and climate and economic resilience of energy generation in rural or remote communities. Applicants are required to identify at least one applicable region for the project, along with any regional climate risk(s) the project is proposing to help mitigate. OCED seeks applications that leverage a region’s natural resources, local industry, stakeholders, climate and/or economic risks, or other factors, as such factors may be critical towards the ultimate replicability of the project in other rural or remote areas within the region. OCED encourages applicants to identify regional challenges and opportunities as they see fit based on their own assessment of their community’s energy challenges, needs and opportunities.

Ensuring Project Replicability

Replicability is key to market adoption of technologies to benefit rural or remote areas beyond those participating in the ERA Program. The program seeks to build confidence of decision makers to invest in clean energy in rural and remote areas, including financiers, utilities, and Tribal, State, and local governments, who can enable replication.

Proposed projects can demonstrate established, commercial technologies for the first time in a new setting or place, or at a larger scale; an innovative approach to improve siting and permitting timelines; enabling energy access for homes/communities that do not have access to electricity; self-reliance, or reduction in environmental harm from generation; economic development and local job creation leading to more overall economic resilience, and/or an innovative technology application in a rural or remote area.

Technical Assistance

Technical assistance from DOE’s national laboratories is available for eligible applicants. Technical assistance is available for application preparation through office hours and limited individual sessions. Information on technical assistance, including eligibility and how to apply for it, is available here.

ATTENTION (11/6/2023): Expected Date for OCED Selection Notifications: December/January

ATTENTION (6/2/2023): This Funding Opportunity Announcement has been modified and the Submission Deadline for Full Applications has been extended to 5:00 pm EST on 8/2/2023. The page limits for the Community Benefits Plan have also been updated. Please see the full Funding Opportunity Announcement - Mod 000001 in the Announcement Documents section for full details.

DE-FOA-0003045

Any individual or organization that would like to be included on this list should submit the following required information (unless noted as optional): Organization’s Name (if an organization), Organization Type (if an organization), Organization or Individual’s Webpage (required to provide if one exists), Contact Name, Contact Address (include country; street number and name, and unit or suite number are optional), Contact Email, Contact Phone (include country and area code), Area(s) of Technical Expertise, Brief Description of Capability(ies), Description of Need in a Partner(s).

ATTENTION (9/1/2023): This Funding Opportunity Announcement has been modified and the Submission Deadline for Full Applications has been extended to 5:00 pm EST on 10/26/2023. Please see the full Funding Opportunity Announcement - Mod 000001 in the Announcement Documents section for full details.

The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), commonly referred to as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) authorizes DOE to invest $1 billion in energy improvements in rural or remote areas. DOE’s Energy Improvements in Rural or Remote Areas (ERA) Program is managed by the Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations (OCED). OCED will provide financial investment, technical assistance, and other resources to advance clean energy demonstrations and energy solutions that benefit rural and remote communities. ERA aims to fund clean energy projects with three specific goals:

1. Deliver measurable benefits to energy customers in rural or remote areas by funding replicable energy projects that lower energy costs, improve energy access and resilience, and/or reduce environmental harm;

2. Support new rural or remote energy system models using climate-resilient technologies, business structures that promote economic resilience, new financing mechanisms, and/or new community engagement practices; and

3. Build clean energy knowledge, capacity, and self-reliance in rural America.

This FOA provides $50 million in Federal funding and is designed to support small community-driven clean energy projects requiring $500,000 to $5 million in Federal funding. Other ERA funding opportunities include DE-FOA-0002970, titled "Bipartisan Infrastructure Law: Energy Improvement in Rural or Remote Areas," which provides $5 million to $100 million in Federal funding to community- and large-scale demonstration projects that address region-specific energy challenges, and a $15 million Energizing Rural Communities Prize, which provides up to $300,000 cash prizes to assist development of partnerships and financing models to advance clean energy projects. This FOA utilizes a simplified application process and will award fixed-amount grants. This grant mechanism significantly reduces financial reporting requirements associated with larger DOE awards. Recipients are responsible for accomplishing their proposed work.

Technical Assistance

Technical assistance from DOE’s national laboratories is available for eligible applicants. Technical assistance is available for pre-application preparation through office hours and limited individual sessions. Information on technical assistance, including eligibility and how to apply for it, is available here.

NOTE: Applicants must submit a Pre-Application by 5:00 pm ET on the due date. Only successful pre-applicants will be invited to complete a more detailed full application.

Please refer to FOA Section 4.0 which outlines the required form and content of all application submissions. Word counts and individual page limits provided in the template are approximations; however, the entire Pre-Application must not exceed 10 pages. DOE will review only the information provided to support the questions in the Pre-Application template. Additional information will not be considered. Note that responses provided in the Pre-Application must be verified and/or substantiated in the full application. A template is provided to assist the applicant, but use of the template is not required, and use of the template (or not) has no bearing on how the submission will be reviewed. ERA has updated this template to a word document based on feedback and accessibility; however applicants are free to use the prior PDF template version if they prefer.

Attention: 1/26/2023 - This Funding Opportunity Announcement has been modified. Please see Mod 000002 in the Announcement Documents section below for full details.

Summary of modifications to this FOA:

• The cover page of the Technical Volume (Section IV.D.ii and Appendix I) was updated to require that the applicant certify the domestic entity status of the proposed prime recipient and all subrecipient(s) in accordance with definitions in Section III.A.i of the FOA, and identify any entities that will require a foreign entity waiver.
• Section IV.A (Application Process) was updated to allow the Technical Volume cover page to be a font size of 10 point or larger.
• The “Example Cover Page for H2Hub Applications” template, available under the “Application Forms and Templates” section on the OCED Exchange website, was updated to collect the information described above.
• Section IV.D.v (Environmental Considerations Summary) was updated to allow the maps requested with the Environmental Considerations Summary to be submitted as separate files and be in larger engineering formats.
• Appendix G (Environmental Considerations Summary) was updated to remove the reference to GIS Shapefiles. While the maps may be created as a GIS Shapefile or other engineering formats, the maps must be saved and submitted as a PDF file.

FOA Summary:

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is releasing this Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) to solicit Regional Clean Hydrogen Hubs (H2Hubs) in accordance with the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), also known as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL). This $8 billion effort will catalyze investment in the development of H2Hubs that demonstrate the production, processing, delivery, storage, and end-use of clean hydrogen, in support of the Biden Administration’s goal to achieve a carbon-free electric grid by 2035 and a net zero emissions economy by 2050.

The H2Hubs will form the foundation of a national clean hydrogen network that will contribute substantially to decarbonizing multiple sectors of the economy. Matching the scale-up of clean hydrogen production to a growing regional demand is a key pathway to achieving large-scale, commercially viable hydrogen ecosystems. H2Hubs will enable this pathway by demonstrating low-carbon intensity and economically viable hydrogen-based energy ecosystems that can replace existing carbon-intensive processes. This will accelerate the deployment of these technologies and enabling infrastructure, attract greater investments from the private sector, and promote substantial U.S. manufacturing of numerous hydrogen related technologies.

Each H2Hub will include multiple partners that will bring together diverse hydrogen technologies to produce and utilize large amounts of hydrogen in different ways. These clean hydrogen demonstrations will balance hydrogen supply and demand, connective infrastructure, and a plan for long-term financial viability. The H2Hubs will also include substantial engagement of local and regional stakeholders, as well as Tribes, to ensure that they generate local, regional, and national benefits. H2Hubs will be expected to carry out meaningful community and labor engagement; invest in America’s workforce by creating good-paying jobs with the free and fair choice to join a union; advance diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility; and contribute to the President’s Justice40 Initiative goal that 40% of the overall benefits of certain federal investments flow to disadvantaged communities.

DOE has defined a four-phase structure for the H2Hubs. Phase 1 will encompass initial planning and analysis activities to ensure that the overall H2Hub concept is technologically and financially viable, with input from relevant local stakeholders. Phase 2 will finalize engineering designs and business development, site access, labor agreements, permitting, offtake agreements, and community engagement activities necessary to begin installation, integration, and construction activities in Phase 3. Phase 4 will ramp-up the H2Hub to full operations including data collection to analyze the H2Hub’s operations, performance, and financial viability. This FOA will solicit plans for all four phases of proposed H2Hub activities; however, DOE will only initially authorize funding for Phase I. DOE’s review and evaluation of deliverables reflecting activities in each phase will inform Go/No-Go decisions that occur between or within Phases.

For this initial FOA launch, DOE envisions selecting six (6) to ten (10) H2Hubs for a combined total of up to $6-7 billion in federal funding. DOE may issue a second launch of this FOA to solicit additional H2Hubs beyond those selected in the initial launch. Other FOA launches or use of Other Transaction Authorities may also be used to solicit new technologies, capabilities, end-uses, or partners.

For further information, please see the "Full Funding Opportunity Announcement - Mod 000002" document in the Announcment Documents section below.

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

Applicants that experience issues with submissions PRIOR to the FOA Deadline: In the event that an Applicant experiences technical difficulties with a submission, the Applicant should contact the eXCHANGE helpdesk for assistance (OCED-ExchangeSupport@hq.doe.gov).

Attention: 1/26/2023 - This Funding Opportunity Announcement has been modified. Please see Mod 000002 in the Announcement Documents section below for full details.

The Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations (OCED) is issuing this Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) to support clean energy demonstration projects on current and/or former mine land. Awards made under this FOA will be funded, in whole or in part, with funds appropriated by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, more commonly known as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL). As part of and in addition to upgrading and modernizing infrastructure, DOE’s BIL investments will support efforts to build a clean and equitable energy economy that achieves a zero-carbon electricity system by 2035 and to put the United States on a path to achieve net-zero emissions economy-wide by no later than 2050.

The statutory authority for this FOA is BIL Section 40342 (42 U.S.C. § 18761), which authorizes appropriations of $500 million to OCED for the five (5) year period encompassing Fiscal Years (FYs) 2022 through 2026 to establish a program that demonstrates the technical and economic viability of carrying out clean energy projects on current and former mine land(see Section 4.0 of the FOA, Eligibility Information). Eligible clean energy technologies include solar; micro-grids; geothermal; direct air capture; fossil-fueled electricity generation with carbon capture, utilization, and sequestration (CCUS); energy storage; and advanced nuclear technologies. Up to five clean energy projects will be carried out in geographically diverse regions, at least two of which will be solar projects. OCED is implementing these activities as the Clean Energy Demonstration Program on Current and Former Mine Land (CEML).

Clean energy projects on mine land provide an attractive alternative to using undisturbed natural, agricultural, and other greenfield land for development. Mine land is often located near critical infrastructure that makes it suitable for clean energy development, including electric substations, transmission lines, and access roads or rail lines. Furthermore, mine land possesses unique attributes and conditions that can accelerate the deployment of some clean energy technologies. Some examples include the following:

The purpose of the CEML Program is to demonstrate replicable clean energy projects on current and former mine land that help resolve key barriers to clean energy development on mine land. This program will advance place-based energy solutions that address specific community needs. These demonstration projects are expected to be replicable, providing knowledge and experience that catalyze the next generation of clean energy on mine land projects.

The CEML Program will demonstrate:

This FOA has one Topic Area, which solicits proposals to demonstrate clean energy projects on current and former mine land. The award size will be at least $10 million and no more than $150 million in federal funds. Each award is required to provide a minimum of 50% non-federal cost share. DOE will fund up to five (5) projects in this Topic Area. Projects are anticipated to have a period of performance of 4-7 years.

Only applicants who have submitted an eligible Concept Paper will be eligible to submit a Full Application.

For information and guidance please visit the OCED Funding page.

The Department of Energy's (DOE's) Office of Technology Transitions (OTT), in partnership with the Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations (OCED), announced a lab call to bring together stakeholders across industries to address challenges that result when people work on similar issues in isolation and develop actionable recommendations, strategies, and best practices to facilitate scale-up and replication. This lab call is focused on industry alignment for clean hydrogen and long duration energy storage technologies.

The lab call is funded by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, also known as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL), as part of the DOE Technology Commercialization Fund (TCF). OTT expects to make up to $15 million in BIL TCF federal funding available for projects led by DOE national laboratories, plants, and sites and supported by a diverse range of partners across the hydrogen and long duration energy storage value chains,.

Navigate to TPL-0000014 in Exchange to access the Teaming Partner List for this solicitation. 

Attention: 07/21/2023 - This Funding Opportunity Announcement has been modified. Please see Mod 000002 in the Announcement Documents section below for full details.

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is releasing this Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) to solicit applications in accordance with the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), also known as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL), and the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 (IRA). When combined with private sector cost share, this FOA represents a more than $12 billion opportunity to catalyze high-impact, large-scale, transformational advanced industrial facilities to significantly reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in energy-intensive industrial subsectors.

U.S. industry is a backbone of the nation’s economy, producing the goods critical to everyday life, employing millions of Americans in high-quality jobs, and providing an economic anchor for thousands of communities. Yet the energy- and carbon-intensity of the sector, which contributes nearly one third of the nation’s primary energy-related carbon dioxide emissions, poses a significant challenge as the economy transitions towards net-zero.

This FOA offers a critical opportunity to solidify a “first-mover” advantage for U.S. industry, bolstering its competitiveness globally for decades into the future. Activities funded under this FOA are further expected to create good-paying jobs for American workers, offer opportunities for broadly shared prosperity in communities, and enable a clean, more equitable future for all Americans.

Demonstrating the technical and commercial viability of industrial decarbonization approaches will promote widespread technology implementation and drive a U.S. edge in low- and net-zero carbon manufacturing while helping to substantiate a market for low-carbon products.

To maximize the transformative potential for these funds, DOE will prioritize a portfolio of projects that offer:

DOE expects to award up to approximately 65 projects in high GHG-emitting industries and for cross-cutting technologies as discussed in Section 1.3 of the FOA. DOE anticipates providing awards to teams that are led by a single, for-profit organization or owner/operator of an eligible facility and encourages applicants to strengthen projects by partnering with experts, universities, labor unions, community-based organizations, non-governmental organizations, product off-takers, and/or national laboratories, as outlined in Section 3.0 of the FOA.

Given the transformative potential of these funds, DOE seeks first- or early-of-a-kind commercial-scale projects. These could include new technologies that have been proven at a pilot scale but have yet to be deployed commercially, technologies that are being pursued internationally but do not have a foothold in the U.S., or other early-of-a-kind projects that face market or adoption risks. All projects should incorporate a path from demonstration to deployment that includes sustained operation after completion and substantiate the projects’ ability to meet priority criteria.

DOE will apply the following four-phase structure for projects selected under this FOA:

NOTE: This FOA solicits plans for all four phases of proposed activities; projects that have completed initial phases will be eligible to undergo accelerated early reviews for due diligence. DOE will work with project performers to tailor their specific approach after selections and anticipates that implementation approaches will vary between projects. All projects selected under this FOA will be eligible to complete all four phases pending successful execution of milestones; DOE is not planning a competitive down-select process among projects after awards. However, to manage risk DOE will regularly review and evaluate projects’ progress on deliverables through Go / No-Go reviews that will occur between or within phases.

Only applicants that have submitted an eligible Concept Paper will be eligible to submit a Full Application.

For information and guidance please visit the OCED Funding page.

Attention: 07/21/2023 - This Funding Opportunity Announcement has been modified. Please see Mod 000002 in the Announcement Documents section below for full details.

The Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations (OCED) is issuing this Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) in collaboration with the Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management (FECM) for integrated carbon capture and storage (CCS) projects that demonstrate substantial improvements in the efficiency, effectiveness, cost, and environmental performance of carbon capture technologies for power, industrial, and other commercial applications. OCED’s mission is to deliver clean energy technology demonstration projects at scale in partnership with the private sector to accelerate deployment, market adoption, and the equitable transition to a decarbonized energy system. Awards made under this FOA will be funded with funds appropriated by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, more commonly known as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL).

While the technologies needed to decarbonize most of the U.S. economy exist, further innovation will create transformational pathways for meeting these decarbonization goals. Demonstration projects will support this innovation. Supported CCS demonstration projects will benefit entities intending to commercialize and deploy integrated CCS projects. Incentives are already driving CCS investments. Experience gained through successful execution that advance the state of this program can help to accelerate CCS deployment to achieve our climate goals while achieving other societal objectives.

CCS demonstration projects must be integrated with commercial facility operations and must be conducted in the United States. Applicants must demonstrate significant improvements in the efficiency, effectiveness, cost, operational and environmental performance of existing carbon capture technologies.This FOA seeks applications for transformational domestic, commercial-scale, integrated CCS, demonstration projects designed to further advance the development, deployment, and commercialization of technologies to capture, transport (if required), and store CO₂ emissions from:

1. two projects at new or existing coal electric generation facilities,
2. two projects at new or existing natural gas electric generation facilities, and
3. two projects at new or existing industrial facilities not purposed for electric generation.

This FOA makes available up to $1,700,000,000 for approximately 6 projects at up to a 50% federal cost share. Proposed projects must demonstrate as part of the application and during the award at least 90% CO₂ capture efficiency over baseline emissions and a path to achieve even greater CO₂ capture efficiencies for power and industrial operations. Note that if the carbon capture project includes a new, on-site auxiliary system to generate power or steam for its operation, it may need to include CO₂ capture, compression, and storage from the auxiliary system if needed to achieve the minimum unit-wide 90% CO₂ capture inclusive of the power industrial facility all new systems or processes associated with the CCS project.

This FOA focuses on on commercial scale, integrated transformational demonstration projects designed to further the development, deployment, and commercialization of technologies to capture, transport, and store emissions. This FOA seeks applications for CCS demonstration projects with existing sufficient technical detail to assess the readiness level of the proposed technologies and integrated systems to proceed into at-scale demonstrations and replication leading to commercialization. This will align to CCS technologies that have been validated to be at a minimum technology readiness level (TRL) of 7, to ensure that they are fully ready for demonstration. This means that the technologies funded can be readily replicated and deployed into commercial practice.

Attention (6/22/2023): This Funding Opportunity Announcement has been modified. Submission Deadline for Full Applications has been extended to 5:00 pm ET on 7/7/2023. Please see the "DE-FOA-0002963 Full Funding Opportunity Announcement - Mod 000003" document in the Announcement Documents section below for full details.

The Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations (OCED), in collaboration with the Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management (FECM) and National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL), is issuing this Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) for Carbon Capture Large-Scale Pilot Projects. Awards made under this FOA will be funded with funds appropriated by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, more commonly known as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL).

OCED’s mission is to deliver clean energy technology demonstration projects at scale in partnership with the private sector to accelerate deployment, market adoption, and the equitable transition to a decarbonized energy system. Awards made under this FOA are part of a broader government-wide approach to maximize the benefits of the clean energy transition.

Since DOE-FECM R&D efforts for carbon capture technologies began in the early 2000s, improvements in energy and process efficiencies have led to a reduction in both capital and operating costs. Supporting carbon capture large-scale pilot projects under field settings before advancing to commercial-scale demonstration and deployment will benefit entitites intending to commercialize and deploy integrated CCS projects. Successful execution of these pilots can help to accelerate CCS deployment to achieve our climate goals while achieving other societal objectives. Also, this FOA further allows development of these technologies in different industrial and hard-to-decarbonize sectors.

Carbon capture large-scale pilot projects will provide the support needed to test novel technologies at intermediate scale and under relevant conditions in both the power and industrial sector to:

Pursuant to section 962(a)(1) of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 as amended (42 U.S.C. § 16292(a)(1)), the term "large-scale pilot project" means a pilot project that:

(A) represents the scale of technology development beyond laboratory development and bench scale testing, but not yet advanced to the point of being tested under real operational conditions at commercial scale;

(B) represents the scale of technology necessary to gain the operational data needed to understand the technical and performance risks of the technology before the application of that technology at commercial scale or in commercial-scale demonstration; and

(C) is large enough-

(i) to validate scaling factors; and

(ii) to demonstrate the interaction between major components so that control philosophies for a new process can be developed and enable the technology to advance from large-scale pilot project application to commercial-scale demonstration or application.

Through this FOA, DOE makes available up to $820 million of federal funding at a maximum of 70% federal cost share for up to ten (10) carbon capture large-scale pilot projects designed to further the development of transformational technologies that capture carbon emissions from existing coal or natural gas electric generation facilities and existing industrial facilities not purposed for electric generation.

These carbon capture large-scale pilot projects must be integrated with commercial plant operations and conducted in the United States. DOE may issue additional carbon capture large-scale pilot FOAs in the future. Using multiple FOAs can help enable the validation of transformational carbon capture technologies with different maturation timelines in a large-scale pilot project once they reach the appropriate technology readiness level.

The carbon capture large-scale pilot projects funded under this FOA will generate operational data for verification and validation of the commercial potential of innovative technologies, including data on technology performance, non-CO₂ air emissions, process models, life cycle impacts, costs, scaling factors, and community benefits or negative impacts of carbon capture technologies. These pilots will help mitigate risks and aid in commercial adoption as learnings obtained from these pilots are expected to inform subsequent large-scale demonstration or commercial deployment plans.

NOTE: Applicants must submit an eligible Concept Paper to be eligible to submit a Full Application.

Attention (6/22/2023): This Funding Opportunity Announcement has been modified. Submission Deadline for Full Applications has been extended to 5:00 pm ET on 7/7/2023. Please see the "DE-FOA-0002963 Full Funding Opportunity Announcement - Mod 000003" document in the Announcement Documents section below for full details.

The United States Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Manufacturing and Energy Supply Chains (MESC) is releasing this Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) entitled “Bipartisan Infrastructure Law: Advanced Energy Manufacturing and Recycling Grant Program (Section 40209).”

The mission of MESC is to strengthen and secure manufacturing and energy supply chains needed to modernize the nation’s energy infrastructure and support a clean and equitable energy transition.

The FOA will support the Advanced Energy Manufacturing and Recycling Grant Program, as established by Bipartisan Infrastructure Law Section 40209. The FOA will award financial assistance to small- and medium-sized manufacturers in energy communities to 1) establish new facilities or 2) re-equip or expand existing facilities for the manufacturing or recycling of advanced energy property. This first FOA will provide approximately $350 million in awards with a focus on projects with high supply chain impacts and strong community benefits plans.

Projects supported under the FOA must occur in census tracts where (a)coal mines have closed since December 31, 1999, (b) coal-fired power plant units have closed since December 31, 2009, or (c) in census tracts immediately adjacent to a or b. A mapping tool showing such closures is available here.

This Program supports the broader government-wide approach to reinvigorating and reinvesting in the American industrial base; establishing secure, resilient domestic energy supply chains; and revitalizing economies in energy communities to maximize the benefits of the clean energy transition as the nation works to curb the climate crisis, empower workers, and advance environmental justice.

DOE anticipates making awards in the form of cooperative agreements. Awardees must complete their projects no later than three years after the date of receipt of federal funds. The period of performance will be comprised of one or more budget periods. Project continuation will be contingent upon several elements, including satisfactory performance and DOE’s Go/No-Go decision.

DOE expects to make a total of approximately $350 million of federal funding available for new awards under this FOA, subject to the availability of appropriated funds. DOE anticipates making approximately 6-35 awards under this FOA. DOE may issue one, multiple, or no awards. Individual awards may vary between $5,000,000 and $100,000,000.

Technical Assistance Program: In accordance with BIL § 40209(e) and the FOA, DOE is offering technical assistance to small- and medium-sized manufacturers who meet the requirements of eligible entities under the FOA, which will be implemented by the National Renewable Energy Lab (NREL). This technical assistance is intended to support project planning activities for the development of future projects, not applications to this particular FOA. For more information, visit: https://www.nrel.gov/manufacturing/recycling-grant-program.html.

For further information, please see the "Full Funding Opportunity Announcement" document in the Announcement Documents section below.

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

Applicants that experience issues with submissions PRIOR to the FOA Deadline: In the event that an Applicant experiences technical difficulties with a submission, the Applicant should contact the eXCHANGE helpdesk for assistance (OCED-ExchangeSupport@hq.doe.gov).

This Request for Information (RFI) is re-issued with a new deadline of April 1, 2023. Organizations and individuals that have previously responded may respond again or revise their previous submission.

This is a RFI issued by the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations (OCED). This RFI seeks public input to help inform DOE’s development of demand-side support measures for clean energy technologies. Demand-side support measures include, but are not limited to, advanced market commitments, direct procurement, and guaranteed offtake.

Demand-side support measures represent a potential tool to support DOE’s mission by providing a predictable commercial market for clean energy technologies, and these measures have accelerated commercial scale-up of technologies in energy and other industries, both in the United States and abroad.

There are several types of demand-side support measures for clean energy commercialization that include but may not be limited to:

OCED seeks input on the following topics:

OCED seeks input on these topics from all types of clean energy technology market participants, including:

Please see the full Request for Information in the Documents section below for complete details.

REQUEST FOR INFORMATION RESPONSE GUIDELINES:

Responses to this RFI must be submitted electronically to keith.boyea@hq.doe.gov with the subject line “OCED-RFI-23-1” no later than 5:00 p.m. (ET) on April 1, 2023. Responses must be provided as attachments to an email. It is recommended that attachments with file sizes exceeding 25 MB be compressed (i.e., zipped) to ensure message delivery. Responses must be provided as a Microsoft Word (*.docx) or Adobe Acrobat (*.pdf) attachment to the email, and no more than 5 pages in length, 12-point font, 1-inch margins. Only electronic responses will be accepted.

DOE will not publicly publish a compendium of responses. A response to this RFI will not be viewed as a binding commitment to develop or pursue the project or ideas discussed. OCED may engage in pre and post response conversations with interested parties. Contact the POC above to schedule a call.

PROPRIETARY INFORMATION:

Because information received in response to this RFI may be used to structure future programs and/or otherwise be made available to the public, respondents are strongly advised NOT to include any information in their responses that might be considered business sensitive, proprietary, or otherwise confidential.

If, however, a respondent chooses to submit business sensitive, proprietary, or otherwise confidential information, it must be clearly and conspicuously marked as such in the response as described below. Failure to comply with these marking requirements may result in the disclosure of the unmarked information under the Freedom of Information Act or otherwise. The U.S. Federal Government is not liable for the disclosure or use of unmarked information and may use or disclose such information for any purpose.

The Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations (OCED) in collaboration with the Office of Manufacturing and Energy Supply Chains (MESC) intends to issue Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) No. DE-FOA-0002936 titled “Industrial Decarbonization and Emissions Reduction Demonstration-to-Deployment Funding Opportunity Announcement.”

OCED anticipates funding high-impact, large-scale, transformational projects to significantly reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from high-emitting industrial subsectors to build confidence in the technical and commercial viability of emissions reduction technologies and integrated solutions. OCED will support cross-cutting industrial decarbonization approaches via energy efficiency; industrial electrification; low-carbon fuels, feedstocks, and energy sources; and carbon capture and utilization for emissions that are difficult to abate through other pathways. This approach aligns with but is not limited to the Department of Energy’s (DOE) Industrial Decarbonization Roadmap.

This Notice of Intent (NOI) describes a preliminary plan that will evolve during the FOA development process.This Notice is issued so that interested parties are aware of OCED’s intention to issue this FOA in the near term. All the information contained in this Notice is subject to change. OCED will not accept questions at this time regarding issuance of the potential FOA. Details on how to submit questions and comments will be provided in the FOA, when issued.

The United States (U.S). Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Manufacturing and Energy Supply Chains (MESC), intends to issue a Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) entitled “Bipartisan Infrastructure Law: Advanced Energy Manufacturing and Recycling Grant Program (Section 40209).”

The mission of MESC is to strengthen and secure manufacturing and energy supply chains needed to modernize the nation’s energy infrastructure and support a clean and equitable energy transition.

The anticipated FOA will support the Advanced Energy Manufacturing and Recycling Grant Program, as established by Bipartisan Infrastructure Law Section 40209. DOE anticipates that the FOA will award financial assistance in the form of cooperative agreements or grants to small- and medium-sized manufacturering firms to establish new facilities or to re-equip or expand existing facilities to manufacture or recycle advanced energy property in energy communities. The anticipated FOA will provide approximately $350 million in awards with a focus on projects with high supply chain impacts and strong community benefits plans.

This Notice of Intent (NOI) is issued so that interested parties are award of MESC's intention to issue a FOA in the near term. All of the information contained in this NOI is subject to change. DOE is under no obligation to acknowledge receipt of, or respond to, any submitted question/comment submitted under this NOI. Questions/comments received under this NOI are subject to public release pursuant to the Freedom of Information Act. See attached NOI document for further details

ATTENTION: 2/28/2023 - This Funding Opportunity Announcement has been modified. Please see the "Full Funding Opportunity Announcement - Mod 000005" document in the Announcement Documents section below for full details.

FOA Summary:

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is releasing this Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) to solicit emerging Long-Duration Energy Storage (LDES) demonstration projects capable of delivering electricity for 10-24 hours or longer to support a low-cost, reliable, carbon-free electric grid. This $349 million effort seeks LDES demonstration projects that will validate new technologies, enhance the capabilities of customers and communities to integrate LDES more effectively, and sustain American global leadership in energy storage.

LDES demonstration projects are encouraged to have substantial engagement with local and regional stakeholders to ensure that they generate local, regional, and national benefits. Demonstration projects will be expected to carry out meaningful community and labor engagement; invest in America’s workforce by creating good-paying jobs with the free and fair choice to join a union; advance diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility; and contribute to the President’s Justice40 Initiative goal that 40% of the overall benefits of certain federal investments, including those in climate change, clean energy and energy efficiency, flow to disadvantaged communities.

For further information, please see the "Full Funding Opportunity Announcement - Mod 000005" document in the Announcement Documents section below.

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

Applicants that experience issues with submissions PRIOR to the FOA Deadline: In the event that an Applicant experiences technical difficulties with a submission, the Applicant should contact the eXCHANGE helpdesk for assistance (OCED-ExchangeSupport@hq.doe.gov).

ATTENTION: 2/28/2023 - This Funding Opportunity Announcement has been modified. Please see the "Full Funding Opportunity Announcement - Mod 000005" document in the Announcement Documents section below for full details.

Accelerating innovative demonstrations of Long-Duration Energy Storage (LDES) technologies is a key priority for the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to achieve the Biden-Harris Administration goals to decarbonize the electric grid by 2035 and achieve net zero emissions by 2050. LDES is a key enabler of these goals as cheaper, 10+ hour storage is necessary to capture, store, and dispatch electricity that will increasingly be generated by renewable energy resources and ensure that the grid is reliable, clean, and affordable. Therefore, DOE’s Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations is providing up to $30 million for LDES demonstration projects at the National Labs. This Lab Call has two topics, each of which focus on one of two distinct objectives:

Topic 1: Testing and Validation of Early Stage LDES Systems and Topic 2: Installation of LDES for Resiliency.

These projects will demonstrate the resiliency advantages of LDES technologies in the lab (*or “in laboratory conditions”) at a range of scales. Projects will help accelerate the commercial viability of innovative, state-of-the-art technologies and effectively demonstrate their benefits to facilitate wider commercial adoption for stakeholders that have similar energy goals for their facilities or campuses. By advancing the viability of LDES technologies, these projects may also enable delivering benefits to communities—especially underserved and overburdened communities—such as reducing energy burden, increasing clean energy access and adoption, resilience, and energy democracy.

Letters of Intent are due 11/2/2022 by 5:00 pm ET. Submissions should be made by email per the instructions in the Lab Call Announcement document. Submissions should NOT be made directly to OCED Exchange.

Scoping Studies are due 3/8/2023 by 5:00 pm ET. Submissions must be made via OCED Exchange.

To help connect interested parties with the national labs we are creating a Partnering List. Please fill out the requested information in the Partnering List Template, which can be found below in the Documents section of this announcement, and send back to ESEELabCall@hq.doe.gov before 11/18/22.

Modification 0001:

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To help inform Department of Energy's (DOE) implementation of the Energy Improvements in Rural or Remote Areas (ERA) Program, this Request for Information (RFI) seeks input on:

Outcomes the program should seek to deliver for residents of rural or remote areas, and the types of innovative energy projects that achieve those outcomes and meet the authorization language; considerations that could impact programmatic design or strategy; community benefits, including energy and environmental justice (EEJ), diversity, equity inclusion, and accessibility (DEIA) considerations; and quality jobs, and ways to broadly share knowledge gained and impacts.

Responses to this RFI will be used by DOE for planning purposes to develop the ERA Program, which may include the use of Technical Assistance, Prizes, Funding Opportunity Announcements (FOAs), Other Transactional Authorities (OTAs), or Partnership Intermediary Agreements (PIAs). The information collected will not be published.

Responses to this RFI must be submitted electronically to ERA@hq.doe.gov no later than 12:00pm (ET) on 12/05/2022. Responses must be provided as attachments to an email.

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

This Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) will provide funding for up to twenty (20) Front End Engineering Design (FEED) studies for integrated Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS), submission of permit applications, (i.e., underground injection control (UIC) Class VI permit to construct, if necessary) preparation of an Environment Information Volume and the initial Community Benefits Plan (CBP) work and analysis, which will address the first phase of an integrated CCS demonstration project.

This is a Request for Information (RFI) issued by the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Manufacturing & Energy Supply Chains (MESC), in collaboration with DOE’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) Advanced Manufacturing Office (AMO).This RFI seeks public input to help inform DOE’s implementation of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), also known as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL).

The purpose of this RFI is to solicit feedback on issues related to design and implementation of the Advanced Energy Manufacturing & Recycling Grant Program from small- and medium-sized manufacturers, including minority-owned firms; individuals and organizations involved in clean energy business planning, siting, operations, and management; academic experts; research laboratories; government agencies; Tribes; State and local officials; labor unions; economic development organizations; community-based organizations (CBOs); and other stakeholders.

To help inform DOE’s implementation of BIL Section 40209, this RFI seeks input on:

• Clean Energy Property Projects
• Greenhouse Gas Emissions Reduction Projects
• Small- and Medium- sized Manufacturing Firms
• Project Finance and Commercial Viability
• Community and Labor Engagement
• Investing in the American Workforce
• Equity, Environmental, and Energy Justice

This RFI is not a Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA); therefore, DOE is not accepting funding applications at this time. There is no guarantee that a FOA will be issued as a result of this RFI.

Please see the full RFI in the Documents section below.

Contact Information: 40209Program@hq.doe.gov

All responses to this RFI must be submitted electronically as email attachments to 40209Program@hq.doe.gov no later than 5:00PM (ET) on 09/16/2022 and include "40209 Grant Program RFI Response" in the subject line of the email. For complete submission requirements, please see the full RFI in the Documents section.

DOE conducted a webinar on the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law Section 40209 - Advanced Energy Manufacturing and Recycling Grant Program - Request for Information on August 16, 2022. The webinar slides are attached in the Documents section below. 

The Department of Energy Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations (OCED) in collaboration with the Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management (FECM) and the National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) intends to issue a Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) entitled "Bipartisan Infrastructure Law: Carbon Capture Demonstration Projects Program (Section 41004(b))."

The mission of OCED is to deliver clean energy and industrial decarbonization demonstration projects at scale in partnership with the private sector, labor unions, other stake holders, and communities to launch or accelerate market adoption and deployment of technologies, as part of the an equitable transition to a decarbonized energy system and economy.  OCE was established in 2021 and first authorized and funded through the BIL. The founding of OCED builds upon DOE's expertise in clean energy research and development and expands DOE's mission to fill a critical gap on the path to net-zero emissions by 2050.

The FOA will address Section 41004(b) of the BIL, the FOA will require detailed information regarding how the applicant will incorporate environmental justice, community engagement and consent based siting, equity and workforce development, when developing Carbon Capture Demonstration projects tp support the Biden Administration's decarbonization goals of 50-52% reduction in greenhouse gases (CHGs) from 2005 levels emissions by 2030, a carbon pollution free power sector by 2035, and a net-zero emissions economy by 2050. Section 41004(b) requires that two integrated carbon capture and storage (CCS) demonstration projects are at new or existing, coal electric generation facilities, natural gas electric generation facilities, and industrial facilities not purposed for electric generation. Proposed projects must demonstrate at least 95% CO2 capture efficiency for power, industrial, and other commercial applications.

This is Notice of Intent (NOI) is issued so that interested parties are award of OCED's intention to issue a FOA in the near term.  All of the information contained in this NOI is subject to change.  See attached NOI document for further details.

Attention: This RFI has been updated. Please see 'DE-FOA-0002811_RFI_Mod_0001' in the Documents section below.

This is a Request for Information (RFI) issued by the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations, in collaboration with the DOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) Office of Nuclear Energy (NE) and the DOE Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management (FECM). This RFI seeks public input to help inform DOE’s implementation of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, also commonly known as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL).[1]

The BIL is a once-in-a-generation investment in infrastructure, which will grow a more sustainable, resilient, and equitable economy through enhancing U.S. competitiveness, creating good-paying union jobs, and ensuring stronger access to economic and other benefits for disadvantaged communities. Section 40342 of the BIL authorizes DOE to establish a program to demonstrate the technical and economic viability of clean energy projects on current and former mine land, to be carried out by developing between two (2) and five (5) clean energy projects on mine land in geographically diverse regions.[2] The Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations (OCED) is appropriated $500 million for the five (5) year period encompassing fiscal years (FYs) 2022 through 2026 to carry out this program.[3]

To help inform DOE’s implementation of the Clean Energy Demonstration Program on Current and Former Mine Land (also referred to as “Mine Land Program”), this RFI seeks input on:

The purpose of this RFI is to solicit feedback from stakeholders, including the clean energy industry and its investors, the mining industry and landowners, federal and state regulatory agencies, state and local governments, labor unions, environmental justice organizations, Tribal officials, disadvantaged communities (DACs), community-based organizations, economic development organizations, conservation and environmental groups, and academic and other research institutions on issues related to the demonstration of clean energy projects on mine land. DOE is specifically interested in information on how demonstration programs can be implemented to stimulate private sector follow-on investments and deliver maximum benefits in terms of high-quality job creation, local and regional economic development, environmental justice and greenhouse gas emission reductions.

This is solely a request for information and not a Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA). DOE is not accepting applications. Information collected from this RFI may be used by DOE for planning purposes, which could include developing future Funding Opportunity Announcements (FOA) or other solicitations related to section 40342.

Request for Information Response Guidelines

Responses to this RFI must be submitted electronically as email to mineland@hq.doe.gov no later than 5:00 pm (ET) on 08/15/2022. Responses must be provided as attachments to an email. It is recommended that attachments with file sizes exceeding 25MB be compressed (i.e., zipped) to ensure message delivery. Responses must be provided as a Microsoft Word (.docx) attachment to the email, and no more than 50 pages in length, 12-point font, 1-inch margins. Only electronic responses will be accepted.

For ease of replying and to aid categorization of your responses, please copy and paste the RFI questions, including the question numbering, and use them as a template for your response. Respondents may answer as many or as few questions as they wish.

OCED will not respond to individual submissions or publish publicly a compendium of responses. A response to this RFI will not be viewed as a binding commitment to develop or pursue the project or ideas discussed.

Respondents are requested to provide the following information at the start of their response to this RFI:

Attention: This RFI has been updated. Please see 'DE-FOA-0002811_RFI_Mod_0001' in the Documents section below.

[1] Public Law 117-58 (November 15, 2021).

[2] Public Law 117-58, Div. D, Title III, § 40342(b) and (c), Nov. 15, 2021.

[3] Public Law 117-58, Div. J, Title III.

The Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations (OCED) intends to issue a Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) entitled “Regional Clean Hydrogen Hubs” (H2Hubs) in collaboration with the Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy’s (EERE) Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technologies Office (HFTO) and the DOE Hydrogen Program, which includes multiple offices engaged in hydrogen related technologies across DOE. OCED anticipates issuing the FOA in the September/October 2022 timeframe, and the FOA will be funded by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), also known as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL). The specific provisions for regional clean hydrogen hubs are set forth in Section 40314 of the BIL, which amends Title VIII EPAct 2005 by adding a new “Section 813 – Regional Clean Hydrogen Hubs.” Section 813(a) defines the term “regional clean hydrogen hub” as “a network of clean hydrogen producers, potential clean hydrogen consumers, and connective infrastructure located in close proximity.”

Investment in building out the hydrogen (H2) economy is a significant portion of the BIL funding at DOE. The BIL authorizes and appropriates $8.0 billion over the five-year period encompassing fiscal years 2022 through 2026 to support the development of at least four H2Hubs that:

• Demonstrably aid achievement of the clean hydrogen production standard developed under section 822(a) of Energy Policy Act of 2005 (EPAct 2005);
  
  
• Demonstrate the production, processing, delivery, storage, and end use of clean hydrogen; and
  
  
• Can be developed into a national clean hydrogen network to facilitate a clean hydrogen economy.

The FOA will incorporate a range of equity considerations including energy and environmental justice, labor and community engagement, consent-based siting, quality jobs, and inclusive workforce development to support the Biden Administration’s decarbonization goals of a 50-52% reduction in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from 2005 levels by 2030, a carbon-pollution-free power sector by 2035, and a net-zero GHG emissions economy by 2050. The H2Hubs will be a key part of the National Clean Hydrogen Strategy and Roadmap, also required in the BIL, and will be instrumental in meeting national decarbonization goals, including the development and deployment of clean hydrogen technologies.

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

See attached NOI document for further details.

This is a Request for Information (RFI) issued by the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Hydrogen Program, on behalf of the Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technologies Office (HFTO), the Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management (FECM), the Office of Nuclear Energy (NE), and in collaboration with DOE’s newly formed Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations (OCED). The intent of this RFI is to obtain public input regarding the solicitation process and structure of a DOE Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) to fund regional clean hydrogen hubs, as required by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, also known as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL).

Specifically, this RFI seeks input on:

Information collected from this RFI will be used by DOE for planning purposes to develop the Regional Clean Hydrogen Hubs FOA. The information collected will not be published.

Responses to this RFI must be submitted electronically to H2Hubs@ee.doe.gov no later than 5:00pm (ET) on March 21, 2022, with subject line “H2Hubs RFI response.” Responses must be provided as attachments to an email. It is recommended that attachments with file sizes exceeding 25MB be compressed (i.e., zipped) to ensure message delivery. Responses must be provided as a Microsoft Word (.docx) or Adobe PDF (.pdf) attachment to the email, and no more than 15 pages in length (plus any additional pages necessary to include the original questions), 12-point font, 1-inch margins. Only electronic responses will be accepted. For ease of replying and to aid categorization of your responses, please copy and paste the RFI questions, including the question numbering, and use them as a template for your response. Respondents may answer as many or as few questions as they wish.

Respondents are requested to provide the following information at the start of their response to this RFI:

DOE will not respond to individual submissions or publish publicly a compendium of responses. A response to this RFI will not be viewed as a binding commitment to develop or pursue the project or ideas discussed.

MODIFICATION 0001: Change the language around the page limit.

MODIFICATION 0002: Change the submission deadline to March 21, 2022, 5:00pm (ET).

The Advanced Manufacturing Office (AMO) is seeking information to better understand industrial priorities for decarbonization, including emerging technologies that could be demonstrated or adopted by the industrial sector. The purpose of this RFI is to solicit feedback from industry, academia, research laboratories, government agencies, and other stakeholders on issues related to research, development, demonstration, and deployment of technologies to address the technical challenges related to emissions reduction and decarbonization of the U.S. industrial sector. EERE is specifically interested in information on aspects of industrial decarbonization associated with key industrial sectors, including chemicals, iron and steel, food and beverages, and cement, in addition to other manufacturing industries or crosscutting technology areas that would have a substantial level of emissions reduction in the industrial sector. This is solely a request for information and not a Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA). EERE is not accepting applications.

Responses to this RFI must be submitted electronically to Industrial-Decarb-RFI@ee.doe.gov no later than 5:00 pm (ET) on February 28, 2022. Responses must be provided as attachments to an email. It is recommended that attachments with file sizes exceeding 25MB be compressed (i.e., zipped) to ensure message delivery. Responses must be provided as a Microsoft Word (.docx) attachment to the email, and no more than 9 pages in length, 12 point font, 1 inch margins. Only electronic responses will be accepted, and respondents are encouraged to include their organization name at the beginning of their attachment filename.

DE-FOA-0002777 Request for Information (RFI) BIL Section 41001 Energy Storage Demonstration Projects

Subject: Long-Duration Energy Storage for Everyone, Everywhere (ESEE) RFI

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

The purpose of this RFI is to solicit feedback from industry, academia, research laboratories, government agencies, and other stakeholders on issues related to sec. 41001 of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL), which appropriated $505 million “to advance energy storage systems toward widespread commercial deployment by lowering the costs and increasing the duration of energy storage resources.” The RFI lays out a proposed structure for three provisions within Sec. 41001 in line with a strategy for energy storage technology commercialization.

The intent of this RFI is to obtain public input regarding DOE’s proposed implementation possibilities of the energy storage demonstration programs and crosscutting issues related to the energy storage demonstration landscape:

Category 1: BIL 41001 Energy Storage Program-Specific Requirements and Implementation Strategy

Category1A: Long-Duration Demonstration Initiative

Category 1B: Energy Storage Demonstration Projects

Category 1C: Energy Storage Pilot Grant Program

Category 1D: Rapid Operational Validation Initiative (ROVI)

Category 2: BIL 41001 Energy Storage Program Crosscutting Topics

Category 2A: Storage Technology Opportunity Readiness Evaluation (STORE)

Category 2B: BIL Provision, Requirements, and Proposed Implementation

Category 3: Employment: Expanding Union Jobs and Effective Workforce Development

Category 4: Equity, Environmental and Energy Justice (EEEJ) Priorities

Category 5: Additional Input

This is solely a request for information and not a Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA). EERE is not accepting applications.

Responses to this RFI must be submitted electronically to EnergyStorage41001RFI@ee.doe.gov no later than 5:00pm (ET) on June 16, 2022, with subject line “BIL 41001 RFI response.” Responses must be provided as attachments to an email. It is recommended that attachments with file sizes exceeding 25MB be compressed (i.e., zipped) to ensure message delivery. Responses must be provided as a Microsoft Word (.docx) attachment to the email, and no more than 20 pages in length, 12 point font, 1-inch margins. Only electronic responses will be accepted.

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