Funding Wizard

Amendment 000001: The purpose of this modification was to add Section I.C.: Teaming List, to page 18 of the FOA. Initial Posting: A Connected Community (CC) is a group of grid-interactive efficient buildings GEB with diverse, flexible end use equipment and other distributed energy resources (DERs) that collectively work to maximize building, community, and grid efficiency. Under this FOA, DOE will select a portfolio of “Connected Community” projects totaling up to $65 million in varying climates, geographies, building types, building vintages, DERs utility/grid/regulatory structures and resource bases. Through funding these projects, DOE hopes to find and share technical and market solutions that will increase demand flexibility and energy efficiency. The full Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) is posted on the EERE eXCHANGE website at https://eere-exchange.energy.gov. Applications must be submitted through the EERE eXCHANGE website to be considered for award. The applicant must first register and create an account on the EERE eXCHANGE website. A User Guide for the EERE eXCHANGE can be found on the EERE website https://eere-exchange.energy.gov/Manuals.aspx after logging in to the system. Information on where to submit questions regarding the content of the announcement and where to submit questions regarding submission of applications is found in the full FOA posted on the EERE Exchange website, https://eere-exchange.energy.gov.

Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technologies Office (HFTO) FY 2021 Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) The HFTO FY21 FOA will build upon the FY19 H2@Scale and FY20 H2@Scale New Markets FOAs by enhancing the performance and durability and reducing cost of heavy duty (HD) fuel cell components, expanding hydrogen production via high-temperature electrolysis and biological-based waste conversion technologies, growing the domestic supply chain for HD hydrogen fueling stations, and cost analysis for hydrogen and fuel cell technologies. Topics cover R&D on: -Fuel cells for heavy duty applications in coordination with the Million Mile Fuel Cell Truck consortium. -Hydrogen production through high temperature (high-T) electrolysis in coordination the H2NEW consortium, as well as biological processes that use waste. -Hydrogen infrastructure activities to develop supply chain components and validate hydrogen fueling technologies, and -Independent cost analysis of hydrogen production, storage and fuel cell technologies

Solar Energy Technologies Office (SETO) Fiscal Year 2021 Systems Integration and Hardware Incubator Funding Program

Equitable Access to Community-based Solar

This funding opportunity announcement (FOA) is being issued by the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) Solar Energy Technologies Office (SETO) to invest in innovative research and development (R&D) that will drive down costs and develop next-generation technologies ready for commercialization. SETO works to accelerate the development and deployment of solar technology to support an equitable transition to a decarbonized electricity system by 2035 and a decarbonized energy sector by 2050. Achieving these goals will support the nationwide effort to meet the threat of climate change and ensure that all Americans benefit from the transition to a clean energy economy. The office supports solar energy research, development, demonstration, and technical assistance in five areas—photovoltaics (PV), concentrating solar-thermal power (CSP), systems integration, manufacturing and competitiveness, and soft costs—to improve the affordability, reliability, and domestic benefit of solar technologies on the electric grid.

Initial Posting: The Advanced Manufacturing Office (AMO) funds a broad portfolio to catalyze research, development, and adoption of energy-related advanced manufacturing technologies and practices to increase energy productivity and drive U.S. economic competitiveness. AMO supports advancing energy storage in two ways: 1) Improving the manufacturability of emerging energy storage technologies to accelerate their adoption and grow domestic manufacturing; and 2) Increasing the economic competitiveness of industrial and commercial sectors by integrating energy storage into their operations. Flow batteries have great potential to meet demand for grid-scale energy storage, which enables flexible, resilient, and efficient infrastructure. Through this funding opportunity announcement (FOA), AMO seeks proposals for collaborative, multi-stage R&D projects that focus on work to develop or improve manufacturing processes for individual flow battery components, followed by collaborative work to integrate those new or improved components into a prototype system with a mid-sized capacity for industrial applications. Projects selected will address gaps and challenges in energy storage manufacturing to: • Enable cost-effective, scalable manufacturing for mid-sized (i.e., 10 – 100 kilowatt hour) flow battery systems; • Test and validate the flow battery system’s manufacturability; and, • Strengthen the U.S. flow battery supply chains by connecting battery manufacturing stakeholders. EERE Exchange is designed to enforce the deadlines specified in this FOA. The “Apply” and “Submit” buttons will automatically disable at the defined submission deadlines. Should applicants experience problems with EERE Exchange, the following information may be helpful. 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 (exchangehelp@hq.doe.gov). The eXCHANGE helpdesk and/or the EERE eXCHANGE System Administrators (eXCHANGE@go.doe.gov) will assist the Applicant in resolving all issues. Applicants that experience issues with submissions that result in a late submission: In the event that an Applicant experiences technical difficulties with a submission that results in a late submission, the Applicant should contact the eXCHANGE helpdesk for assistance (exchangehelp@hq.doe.gov) The eXCHANGE helpdesk and/or the EERE eXCHANGE System Administrators (eXCHANGE@go.doe.gov) will assist the Applicant in resolving all issues (including finalizing the submission on behalf of, and with the Applicant's concurrence). DOE will only accept late applications when the Applicant has a) encountered technical difficulties beyond their control; b) has contacted the eXCHANGE helpdesk for assistance; and c) has submitted the applicant through eXCHANGE within 24 hours of the FOA's posted deadline.  Informational Webinar: An informational webinar will be held to provide information on the FOA to potential applicants on Thursday, April 1, 2021 from 1:00pm - 3:00pm ET. Please find the link to the Informational Webinar on the title page of the FOA document.

This Request for Information (RFI) is intended to inform the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) and the Office of Economic Impact and Diversity (ED) on enabling an inclusive and just entrepreneurial innovation ecosystem in climate and energy technologies. DOE seeks to understand the barriers to entry to DOE funding opportunities and other forms of assistance for first-time applicants, people and organizations from underrepresented communities, underserved and frontline communities, and from other non-traditional backgrounds, as well as understanding programmatic, operational, or other internal measures that DOE can implement to remove these barriers. Measures may encompass application support services for funding opportunities, incubation and acceleration services for entrepreneurship; and other measures to support a just and inclusive innovation ecosystem. This RFI is not aimed at policy recommendations that require changes in the law, but those that DOE can implement using its existing authorities.

Program and FOA Description for Grants.gov:The Department of Energy (DOE) is issuing this Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) to address the unique economic and design circularity challenges of plastic films, enabling energy and emissions reduction through their lifecycle.The BioEnergy Technology Office (BETO) develops technologies that convert domestic biomass and waste resources into fuels, products, and power to enable affordable energy, economic growth, and innovation in renewable energy and chemicals production. The Advanced Manufacturing Office (AMO) develops technologies that drive industrial decarbonization, energy productivity improvements in the U.S. manufacturing sector, efficiently utilize resources, and support the manufacture of clean energy products with benefits extending across the economy. BETO and AMO fund applied research, development, and demonstration (RD&D) to bolster the body of scientific and engineering knowledge to develop a circular economy for plastics through novel plastics development designed for circularity and establishing deconstruction and upcycling pathways for existing polymers that will generate high-value products. This FOA builds upon the FY20 BOTTLE FOA and seeks to fill a gap identified in the 2019 Plastics for a Circular Economy Workshop, where single-use packaging was highlighted as an important focus area. It will support high-impact technology R&D in technologies that overcome the challenges associated with the recycling of films, which are often used in single-use packaging applications.This FOA seeks applications that enable the recycling and upcycling of films. Challenges associated with film recycling are vast, spanning collection, sorting/separation, contamination, and lack of economic methods for recycling and upcycling. Multilayer materials present further challenges, including immiscibility of different polymer layers and inclusion of inorganic materials. Technology can help to address these challenges by developing methods for recycling, deconstruction, and upcycling films that are sufficiently economic to incentivize collection, sorting and retention. Designing films to be inherently more recyclable or biodegradable, while retaining desired properties such as flexibility, barrier properties and strength could also make recycling of films more economical.This FOA aims to increase recycling, upcycling, or environmentally benign degradation of films by pursuing two approaches:1) Development of recycling and upcycling pathways for plastic films that are economically favorable, lower green house gas (GHG) emissions, and reduce the embodied energy of plastics; and2) Redesign of multi-layer films to be inherently recyclable or biodegradable.EERE Exchange is designed to enforce the deadlines specified in this FOA. The “Apply” and “Submit” buttons will automatically disable at the defined submission deadlines. Should applicants experience problems with EERE Exchange, the following information may be helpful.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 (exchangehelp@hq.doe.gov). The eXCHANGE helpdesk and/or the EERE eXCHANGE System Administrators (eXCHANGE@go.doe.gov) will assist the Applicant in resolving all issues.Applicants that experience issues with submissions that result in a late submission: In the event that an Applicant experiences technical difficulties with a submission that results in a late submission, the Applicant should contact the eXCHANGE helpdesk for assistance (exchangehelp@hq.doe.gov) The eXCHANGE helpdesk and/or the EERE eXCHANGE System Administrators (eXCHANGE@go.doe.gov) will assist the Applicant in resolving all issues (including finalizing the submission on behalf of, and with the Applicant's concurrence). DOE will only accept late applications when the Applicant has a) encountered technical difficulties beyond their control; b) has contacted the eXCHANGE helpdesk for assistance; and c) has submitted the applicant through eXCHANGE within 24 hours of the FOA's posted deadline.

The activities to be funded under this FOA will support the government-wide approach to the climate crisis by driving the innovation that can lead to the deployment of clean energy technologies, which are critical for climate protection. Specifically, this funding program will help to reduce the soft costs of solar energy deployment—those costs not associated with the hardware—which account for up to 64% of the upfront cost of a residential solar installation. This FOA seeks an entity to manage and expand DOE’s SolSmart program, which supports and recognizes local governments that reduce soft costs and expand access to solar energy. This community designation and technical assistance program was launched in 2016 and has recognized almost 400 communities from Florida to Alaska. Now, DOE is expanding the program to incorporate new solar-related technologies and respond to the evolving needs of local governments. The chosen entity will manage the program for the next five years.

Industrial Decarbonization through Concentrating Solar Thermal