Environmental Sciences

No applicants  // Limit: 4* // Tickets Available: 4

*An entity may submit only one Concept Paper and one Full Application for each topic area of this FOA.

The Critical Materials Accelerator aims to validate and prototype technologies and processes that address critical materials challenges by developing alternatives, diversifying and expanding supply, increasing manufacturing and material efficiency, and establishing a circular economy. The Accelerator intends to speed up the adoption of innovation while promoting safe, sustainable, economic, and environmentally just solutions to meet current and future critical materials supply chain needs​.

This FOA solicits proposals that advance innovation to realize the Department’s critical minerals and materials vision of a reliable, resilient, affordable, diverse, sustainable, and secure domestic supply chains for the clean energy economy. Projects funded under this FOA will de-risk innovation and mature technology development in partnership with industry to reduce demand through alternative materials or technologies, extend the lifetime of critical materials, and advance secure and sustainable critical materials manufacturing technologies. Each topic area of the FOA addresses priority technologies and supply chain gaps identified by the Critical Materials Collaborative.

Topic Areas:

• Topic 1 – Use of Magnets with Reduced Critical Materials Content 
  • Topic 1a – Critical Material Lean/Free Magnets for Clean Energy Technologies: Projects will validate alternative magnet compositions that reduce or eliminate the use of critical materials by at least 25 wt.% 
  • Topic 1b – Motors and Drivetrains using Critical Material Lean/Free Magnets: Projects will prototype electric machines or drivetrains that use magnets that reduce or eliminate the use of critical materials by at least 25 wt.% 
• Topic 2 – Improved Unit Operations of Processing and Manufacturing of Critical Materials: Projects will make improvements to unit operations and/or processes to separate, refine/process critical materials for clean energy technologies that rely on critical materials.  
• Topic 3 – Critical Material Recovery from Scrap and Post-Consumer Products: Selectees will develop and validate approaches to recycle or recover critical materials from post-consumer products, including but not limited to, design for recycling and reuse and de-risking critical material recovery from waste and manufacturing scrap.  
• Topic 4 – Reduced Critical Material Demand for Clean Energy Technologies: Selectees will develop and validate materials, technologies, or processes that reduce or eliminate the use of critical materials for clean energy technologies. 

Submit ticket request  // Limit:2* // Tickets Available: 1

C. Algie (Architecture)

*If more than two submissions are received from a competitor, the two most recently submitted submissions will be considered. Only one submission per competitor can advance to Phase 2: Prepare!.

The Re-X Before Recycling Prize will award up to $5.6 million in federal funding and technical assistance from U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) national laboratories. The prize is designed to stimulate innovation and private investment in circular economy approaches that can transform waste streams into diverse, integrated circular supply networks and contribute to a robust, environmentally sustainable economy.

The prize is seeking innovations to unlock new or expanded supply chains that can reintegrate end-of-use products into the economy via re-use, repair, refurbishment, remanufacturing, and/or repurposing (“Re-X”) before recycling.

The Re-X Before Recycling Prize invites competitors to work on one of two categories: established or emerging waste streams.

The Re-X Before Recycling Prize has three phases that will run from 2023 to 2025. During Phase 1, also called Identify!, competitors will identify new or expanded circular supply chain opportunities and the innovations needed to realize them and deliver community benefits. During Phase 2, called Prepare!, competitors will prepare to develop their innovation. During the final Phase 3, Develop!, competitors will continue to advance their idea toward implementation.

Areas of interest: 

Established Waste Streams: This topic area includes innovations focusing on how to utilize products that are currently available in U.S. waste streams. This topic area would include currently discarded products such as electrical devices, furnishings, consumer goods, and building materials.

Emerging Waste Streams: This topic area includes innovations focusing on how to utilize products that will be available in the future in waste streams. For example, clean energy technologies such as wind, solar, and batteries must expand dramatically to reach our decarbonization goals resulting in waste at the end of their product lifespans. These products may not be available in current waste streams in large volumes but will be in the future.

No Applicants // Limit: 3 // Tickets Available: 3 

This NOFO announces the availability of funds and solicits applications from eligible entities to develop projects for hydrofluorocarbon (HFC) reclamation and innovative destruction technologies. Section 60109 of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) provided the EPA with $15 million for competitive grants for “reclaim and innovative destruction technologies” consistent with subsections (a) through (i) and subsection (k) of section 103 division S of Public Law 116-260 (42 U.S.C. 7675) (also known as the American Innovation and Manufacturing Act). Enacted in 2020, the American Innovation and Manufacturing (AIM) Act authorizes the EPA to address climate-damaging greenhouse gases (GHGs) called HFCs by: phasing down their production and consumption, maximizing reclamation and minimizing releases from equipment, and facilitating the transition to next-generation technologies through sector-based restrictions on HFCs. HFCs are potent GHGs commonly used in refrigeration and air conditioning equipment, as well as foams and many other applications. A global phasedown of HFCs is expected to avoid up to 0.5°C of global warming by 2100. There are hundreds of possible HFC compounds. The 18 HFCs listed as regulated substances by the AIM Act are some of the most commonly used HFCs and have high impacts as measured by the quantity emitted multiplied by their respective global warming potentials (GWPs). For more information on the AIM Act and its implementing regulations, please visit https://www.epa.gov/climate-hfcs-reduction.

Areas of Interest

The objectives of the HFC Reclaim and Innovative Destruction Grants, as described under Assistance Listing 66.047, are to support and contribute to addressing HFCs under the AIM Act by funding the following three project areas (listed order below does not indicate preference):
(1) Reclaim Technologies – pilot projects for new/better technologies to increase the reclamation of HFCs by expanding access to reclamation and improving the reclamation process;
(2) Reclaim Market Dynamics – programs or pilot projects for innovative strategies that address market dynamics to increase HFC reclamation by lowering barriers; or
(3) Innovative Destruction Technologies – pilot projects for innovative technologies or innovative deployment of technologies to destroy unusable and/or unwanted HFCs

 Limit: 2 // J.  Green (Environmental Science), L. Ikner (Environmental Science)

*Deadline note: Due to the competitive nature of this funding program, this selection process is running with an anticipated deadline.
We will inform all applicants of relevant updates in the guidelines, submission deadlines, and eligibility as soon as more information becomes available.

The Packard Fellowships for Science and Engineering Program invests in future leaders who can take risks, explore new frontiers in their fields of study, and follow uncharted paths that may lead to groundbreaking discoveries.

The Foundation established the Packard Fellowships for Science and Engineering to allow the nation's most promising early career professors to pursue their science and engineering research with few funding restrictions and limited paperwork requirements.

Competitive Proposals Will explain clearly in the nomination letter(s) why the investigator is creative, innovative and promising. The proposed research program has breakthrough potential and reflects that promise and a sense of adventure and creativity. Proposals should put the work and its significance in context of the larger field. And differentiates projects should be accessible to a group of very successful scientists from a diverse set of fields (i.e. stay away from field-specific jargon). Projects must have high impact referees that can emphasize the significance and impact of the “big idea” and how the fellowship will significantly impact the nominee’s career.

Eligibility:

• Candidates must be faculty members who are eligible to serve as principal investigators engaged in research in the natural and physical sciences or engineering and must be within the first three years of their faculty careers.
• Disciplines that will be considered include biology, chemistry, bio-medical engineering, physics, chemistry, mathematics, biology, astronomy, computer science, earth science, ocean science, and all branches of engineering. Candidates engaged in research in the social sciences will not be considered.
• Candidates must be faculty members in the first three years of their faculty careers, that is, whose initial appointment began no earlier than May 31, 2021, and no later than May 31, 2024.

No applicants // Limit: 1 // Tickets Available: 1 

The NERRS collaborative science program is intended to deliver highly credible and relevant information to the coastal management community by incorporating user input into the design and implementation of research projects, ensuring that the outcomes support the needs of stakeholders. This program will also increase the capacity of the NERRS management, research, education, stewardship, and coastal training sectors to transfer information and skills to end-users and more effectively support coastal and estuarine resource management. 

No applicants  // Limit: 1 // Tickets Available: 1 

The purpose of this document is to advise the public that NOAA is soliciting applications to administer a 5-year, applied research program that supports collaborative research in the National Estuarine Research Reserve System (NERRS).

This funding opportunity will provide support for the grantee to develop and administer a comprehensive national program that funds extramural collaborative science projects to address the system-wide research and management needs of the National Estuarine Research Reserve System, while being responsive to local and regional reserve priorities and those of NOAA. The NERRS collaborative science program is intended to deliver highly credible and relevant information to the coastal management community by incorporating user input into the design and implementation of research projects, ensuring that the outcomes support the needs of stakeholders. This program will also increase the capacity of the NERRS management, research, education, stewardship, and coastal training sectors to transfer information and skills to end-users and more effectively support coastal and estuarine resource management. A NERRS collaborative science program has been in existence for fifteen years, and this is the fourth competition for the five-year program. This funding opportunity is intended to support the administration of the collaborative research program and is not intended to directly support individual research projects or short term activities focused on specific local coastal and estuarine issues. Eligible funding applicants are: non-federal institutions of higher education, other non-profits, state, local, Indian Tribal Governments, and commercial organizations. Federal agencies and employees are not allowed to receive funds under this announcement but may serve as collaborators or project partners.

Amount Description

Total anticipated funding is approximately $25,000,000 for five years. The anticipated federal funding per year is approximately $5,000,000. Funding in FY 2024 and future years is subject to the availability of appropriations. It is anticipated that one multi-year award will be made with these funds and the total will be adjusted based on available funding.

Limit: 3 // Tickets Available: 2 

A. Dhar (Animal and Comparative Biomedical Sciences)

The objectives of the S-K Program and, therefore, the funding priorities for the S-K Grant Competition, have changed over the years since the program began in 1980. The program has evolved as Federal fishery management laws and policies and research needs have evolved in response to changing circumstances.

The Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act requires fishery managers to undertake efforts to prevent overfishing, rebuild overfished fisheries, ensure conservation, minimize by-catch, protect essential fish habitats, and realize the full potential of U.S. fishery resources. It further requires that the Federal government take into account the importance of fishery resources to fishing communities; provide for the sustained participation of such communities; and, to the extent possible, minimize the adverse economic impacts of conservation and management measures on such communities.

The objective of the S-K Research and Development Program, referred to throughout this document as the S-K Program, is to promote U.S. fisheries by assisting the fishing community to address marketing and research needs.

NMFS seeks applications that demonstrate direct benefits to U.S. fisheries and meaningful participation of fishing communities . The S-K Grant Competition is open to applicants from a variety of sectors, including individuals, industry, academia, and state and local governments.

 Limit: 1 // G. Valdez ( Global Health Programs)

The foundation will not consider more than one proposal from an organization in any calendar year. UArizona is not eligible again until the July 1, 2024 due date.

The Conservation, Food and Health Foundation seeks to protect the environment, improve food production, and promote public health in Africa, Asia, the Caribbean, Latin America, and the Middle East. 

The Foundation supports projects and applied research that:

• Generate local or regional solutions to problems affecting the quality of the environment and human life;
• Advance local leadership and promote professional development in the conservation, agricultural, and health sciences;
• Develop the capacity of local organizations and coalitions; and
• Address challenges in the field. 

The Foundation prefers to support projects that address under-funded issues and geographic areas.

The Foundation funds applied research, pilot projects, new initiatives, training, and technical assistance, rather than ongoing support for programs that are already well underway.  An important goal for the Foundation is to provide seed money to help promising projects, organizations, and individuals develop the track record they need to attract major foundation funding in the future.It is anticipated that most grants will fall in the $25,000-$50,000 per year range.

Areas of Interest 

The Conservation, Food & Health Foundation supports special projects and programs of non governmental organizations in three primary fields of interest: conservation, food, and health. Examples of areas of interest within these fields follow, but are not meant to be exclusive.

Conservation

• Conservation grants help improve ecological and environmental conditions in the developing world. The foundation supports field research and related research activities, training, and technical assistance efforts that:
• help conserve viable ecosystems and protect biological diversity in developing countries
• train local leaders in conservation and protection of resources, with an emphasis on technical and scientific training

Food

Food grants support focused efforts to improve access to food for consumption in developing countries. Areas of interest include projects that:

• promote or develop specific sustainable agriculture practices with potential to advance science and practice in other countries;
• explore and refine innovative education and training interventions for small scale food producers and farmers; and
• advance new approaches to control pests and diseases affecting important food crops of developing countries

Health

The foundation supports public health programs that are preventive rather than curative in nature. It supports research, technical assistance, and training projects that:

• improve public health through community-based efforts that address health promotion, disease prevention, family planning, and reproductive health.
• increase the understanding and treatment of tropical diseases

No limit per institution* // 

*Eligibility note: PO has confirmed that the limitation applies to the lead PI, not the institution. That is, DOE wll accept multiple applications from a specific institution, but there can be only one application from an individual who is the lead PI. That individual could be a co-PI/collaborator on another submission from that same institution or on an application that is led by someone else at another institution.

The BER ESS program goal is to advance an integrated, robust, and scale-aware predictive understanding of terrestrial systems and their interdependent microbial, biogeochemical, ecological, hydrological, and physical processes. To support this goal, the program uses a systems approach to develop an integrative framework to elucidate the complex processes and controls on the structure, function, feedbacks, and dynamics of terrestrial systems, that span from molecular to global scales and extend from the bedrock through the soil, rhizosphere, and vegetation to the atmosphere. The ESS program scope advances foundational process knowledge with an emphasis on understudied ecosystems. Supported research emphasizes ecological and hydro-biogeochemical linkages among system components and characterization of processes across interfaces (e.g., terrestrial-aquatic, coastal, urban) to address key knowledge gaps and uncertainties across a range of spatial and temporal scales. Incorporation of scientific findings into process and system models is an important aspect of the ESS strategy, both to improve predictive understanding as well as to enable the identification of new research questions and directions.

Application Types:

Standard – Standard applications are solicited for research projects that may extend up to three years’ duration addressing a research project objective(s) associated with SRA #1 or SRA #2, as described below in this FOA. Standard applications must include significant new field experiments as part of the proposed activities, use observations and experimental outcomes to inform and/or improve models in a ModEx approach, and advance the understanding of ecosystem and/or watershed systems. Projects focused primarily on modeling or model development and/or those lacking substantial new empirical data collection are out of scope. Standard applications should have budgets commensurate with the scope of work (but no more than $1,000,000 in total costs); applications do not have to be proposed at the award ceiling but can and should include smaller-scope research applications with commensurate budgets. The potential impact, probability of success, and the risk-reward balance will be considered when making funding decisions.

Synthesis – Only Synthesis applications are solicited for SRA #3. Synthesis applications should propose new science that is focused on meta-analysis and synthesis research efforts that address development and testing of ESS-relevant hypotheses using existing data, and that have the potential for high impact regarding ESS research priorities. Synthesis awards will have a duration of up to two years and an award ceiling of $400,000 in total costs. Synthesis applications should target innovative questions that can be addressed by both interrogating and integrating existing data to address key knowledge gaps that are relevant and transferable across ecosystems and/or watershed systems. Synthesis applications may not request funding for collection of new data or field research, support for field-related supplies or equipment, travel to or maintenance of field sites or research facilities, or operational support for research networks.