United States Department of Energy (DOE)

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Limiting Language
The University of Arizona is only eligible to submit to Topic Area 2: General Scientific Infrastructure (GSI)

Topic Area 2: General Scientific Infrastructure (GSI)
An eligible applicant may submit only one application to this topic area. If an entity submits more than
one full application, the DOE will only review the last submission.

Program Purpose 
The Office of Nuclear Energy’s (NE) program purpose is to advance nuclear energy science and technology to meet U.S. energy, environmental and economic needs. NE enables innovation, supports unique research infrastructure, and solves crosscutting challenges facing the nuclear energy sector through research, development and demonstration. NE has identified the following goals to address challenges in the nuclear energy sector, help realize the potential of advanced technology, and leverage the unique role of the government in spurring innovation:

• Enable continued operation of existing U.S. nuclear reactors.
• Enable deployment of advanced nuclear reactors.
• Develop advanced nuclear fuel cycles.
• Maintain U.S. leadership in nuclear energy technology.

Investing in the next generation of nuclear energy leaders and advancing university-led nuclear
innovation is vital to fulfilling NE's mission, which is primarily accomplished through NE’s Nuclear Energy
University Program (NEUP). NEUP was established in 2009 to consolidate NE’s university support and
enable the integration of university research within NE’s technical programs. Through various
competitive award opportunities, the program engages with U.S. universities and colleges to conduct
research and development (R&D), enhance infrastructure, and support student education, thereby
contributing to the development of a world-class nuclear energy and workforce capability.

Expected Performance Goals:
Topic Area 2: General Scientific Infrastructure (GSI)

• Procurement of equipment, software, instrumentation, and associated non-reactor upgrade
  requests that support nuclear energy-related R&D or education.
• Procurement of equipment and instrumentation for specialized facilities, classrooms, and
  teaching laboratories, and non-reactor NS&E research.
• Procurement of infrastructure that supports the sharing and use of equipment and
  instrumentation by multiple campuses of a university, multiple universities, or with national
  laboratories is encouraged.

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H. Jin (Systems and Industrial Engineering)

Limiting Language
An entity may submit only one concept paper and one associated application to this NOFO. The concept paper and application must address no more than one topic area identified in Key Facts section above. If an entity submits more than one concept paper the DOE will only review the last submission. Thislimitation does not prohibit an applicant from collaborating on other applications (e.g., as a potential subrecipient or partner) so long as the entity is listed as the applicant on only one concept paper and one associated application submitted under this NOFO.

Executive Summary
The Advanced Materials and Manufacturing Technologies Office (AMMTO) supports the development of a globally competitive U.S. energy industrial base that drives supply chain resiliency and energy security through materials and manufacturing innovation. The development of circular supply chains that enable efficient use of materials through reuse, repair, remanufacture, and recycling is important toward accomplishing these goals.1,2 Efforts to achieve a robust and competitive manufacturing sector through innovation in circular supply chains cannot be successful without: (1) a comprehensive understanding of the landscape of technical and non-technical factors that could impact the adoption of emerging technologies and (2) strong connections across the circularity field to accelerate innovations from R&D- scale to commercial practice. This NOFO seeks to establish a new accelerator which will address this need through the development of a comprehensive technical and market analysis portfolio and stakeholder engagement activities.

The Accelerator’s analysis portfolio will establish a comprehensive understanding of both technical and non-technical factors impacting the adoption of emerging technologies for circular supply chains. Technical factors of interest include the state of emerging technologies in terms of performance and cost metrics. Awareness of these technical factors requires strong understanding of the R&D landscape as well as the state of industrial practice. Non-technical factors of interest include market conditions, supply chain dynamics, policy and regulatory landscape, workforce readiness, infrastructure capabilities, among others. These non- technical market factors may be region-specific and would be critical to inform a systems-level perspective of potential barriers and pathways to widespread commercial adoption. The Accelerator will leverage understanding of technical and non-technical factors to analyze market opportunity within specific product and material market segments. This will identify specific early adopter markets and seq

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M. Phillips (Optical Sciences)
B. Parent (Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering)

Executive Summary
The FES Discovery Plasma Science: Plasma Science and Technology–General Plasma Science (GPS) program seeks new or renewal single-investigator or small-group applications to carry out hypothesis-driven frontier-level research in basic plasma science and engineering. This program aims to develop accurate descriptions of the complex behavior of the plasma state, to push it into new regimes that expand our concept of what constitutes a plasma, to design experiments and diagnostics to explore these states, and to validate theoretical models. 

For more information, see GPS program science drivers in the CPP Report: A Community Plan for Fusion Energy and
Discover Plasma Sciences, 2019-2020. This NOFO is focused on fundamental research involving plasma including astrophysical, dusty, and low temperature plasmas. Research toward developing plasma-based technologies is out of scope of this NOFO.

Limitations on Submissions 
Applicant institutions are limited to no more than two pre-applications (or lead applications), and PIs may only be named on no more than one pre-application (or lead application).

Individuals named as DOE/NNSA National Laboratory PIs, Co-PIs, or senior/key personnel must be an indispensable part of the laboratory with their effort closely integrated into the laboratory’s current plasma science research program and supported at least 50% of their time by the laboratory.

If a multi-institutional team is submitting collaborative applications, only the lead institution should submit a pre-application that should include all institutions, institutional Co-PIs, and all other personnel and relevant information.

DOE will consider the latest received submissions to be the institution’s intended submissions.
• Pre-applications in excess of the limited number of submissions will be discouraged.
• Applications in excess of the limited number of submissions will be declined without review.

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S. Ndlovu (Mining and Geological Engineering) 

Limited Submission Eligibility
Lead Organizations are limited to one submission. No limits on partnering as sub-recipients.

Purpose and Objectives
The intent of this Request for Proposals (RFP) is to seek out new opportunities to accelerate the transformational advances in science and engineering necessary to reduce material criticality for energy innovation, with specific emphasis on industrial relevance, participation, and adoption. Additionally, CMI seeks projects that strengthen and expand its R&D portfolio by developing the capabilities and expertise across supply chain stages of materials contained in CMI materials scope. The current materials scope within CMI is summarized as shown in Table 1. It specifies whether the initial Phase III research efforts are directed toward process innovation, material innovation, or a combination of both. CMI materials scope includes magnetic rare earth elements, energy storage materials, platinum group metals, and gallium, germanium and tellurium. The current R&D profile reflects CMI’s strategic plan and vision (as informed by CMI Phase III Roadmap) to address challenges across four broadly defined parts of the supply chain: upstream, midstream, downstream, and materials innovation.
 

Cost Share Requirement
Cost share (20% minimum) required for matching federal support of private sector industrial team members. A minimum of 20% cost share of total project costs is encouraged. 

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

With this FOA, SETO aims to promote innovative solar research, technology development, and product demonstration that can substantively increase U.S. domestic manufacturing across the solar energy supply chain and expand private investment in America’s solar manufacturing sector. These investments will help accelerate the growth of the solar industry, identify emerging opportunities, and drive down costs for our domestic energy market, positioning the United States on the leading edge of solar industry advances.

Topic Area 1: Solar Research and Technology Development
Topic Area 2: Solar Technology Demonstration
Topic Area 3: Solar Permitting Software Outreach, Education, and Development

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

A. Anani (Department of Mining and Geological Engineering)– Topic 4: Smart Technologies for Sustainable and Competitive U.S. Mining 

Q. Hao (Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering) - Topic 3: Smart Manufacturing for High Performance Materials 
 

Topic Areas:

• Topic 1: Smart Manufacturing for a Circular Economy 
• Topic 2: Smart Manufacturing of Tooling and Equipment for Sustainable Transportation 
• Topic 3: Smart Manufacturing for High Performance Materials 
• Topic 4: Smart Technologies for Sustainable and Competitive U.S. Mining 

This funding opportunity announcement (FOA) is being issued by the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Advanced Materials and Manufacturing Technologies Office (AMMTO). The mission of AMMTO is: “We inspire people and drive innovation to transform materials and manufacturing for America's energy future.” This is in alignment with AMMTO’s vision for the future – a globally competitive U.S. manufacturing sector that accelerates the adoption of innovative materials and manufacturing technologies in support of a clean, decarbonized economy.

This FOA seeks applications to address the development of smart manufacturing technologies –including through “smart RD&D” – that can contribute to a resilient, responsive, leading-edge, and efficient manufacturing sector that delivers the technologies needed for the nation’s clean energy transition. The manufacturing community can reduce manufacturing costs and accelerate time-to-market by integrating performance characteristics of final products with processes aided by a smart manufacturing framework. The information-driven collaborative orchestration of physical and digital processes across the entire value chain is one aspect of smart manufacturing. Smart manufacturing relies on a combination of physical and virtual technologies to make designing, processing, and manufacturing faster, higher value-added, more resilient, sustainable, and more cost-effective. Individual processes within a plant, factory, or entire value chain are integrated and continually monitored with sensing, process modeling, and predictive analytics. The physical processes focus on controlling and optimizing processing conditions for desired outcomes, while virtual processes uncover underlying complex interactions between the physical processes and provide insight into better ways to design and manufacture products (i.e., feedback for physical processes). This FOA seeks to implement smart manufacturing across several diverse application areas and market sectors to: (a) show the benefits of incorporating smart manufacturing in areas aligned with AMMTO’s mission, and (b) to provide practical experience which will be used to further refine AMMTO’s smart manufacturing strategy and future R&D direction.

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An entity may submit only one Concept Paper and one Full Application to this FOA.

This FOA seeks applications for new and/or expanded water power incubation or accelerator programs to address the commercialization needs of entrepreneurs and small businesses in marine energy and/or hydropower. The strategic goals of this FOA are to:

• Foster business creation, innovation, and competition in the water power field.
• Increase the diversity of people, perspectives, and ideas in water power.
• Ease commercialization pathways for water power entrepreneurs and small businesses to accelerate the commercialization of water power systems and solutions.

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*Applicant institutions are  limited to three pre-applications and three applications for each program (ASCR, BES, BER, FES, HEP, NP, DOE IP, ARDAP).

The Office of Science (SC) seeks applications for fundamental research in fields supported by SC to build research capacity at institutions historically underrepresented in the SC portfolio, i.e. non-R1 minority serving institutions (MSIs) and non-R1 emerging research institutions (ERIs). This FOA aims to build research capacity, including infrastructure and expertise at these institutions, through mutually beneficial relationships between applicants and DOE national laboratories, SC scientific user facilities, or R1 MSI/ERIs. 

SC supports fundamental research in applied mathematics, biology, chemistry, computer science, engineering, geoscience, isotope research, materials science, fusion energy science, and physics to transform our understanding of nature and catalyze scientific discoveries that can lead to technical breakthroughs. All applications to SC should focus on hypothesis-driven basic research. SC does not support applied research, product development, or prototyping.

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Applicant institutions are limited to no more than four (4) pre-applications or applications as a lead institution and no more than one pre-application or application for any individual PI.

The Department of Energy (DOE) Fusion Energy Science (FES) program is embarking on a transformative initiative aimed at creating a fusion innovation ecosystem, the “Fusion Innovation Research Engine (FIRE)”, by forming virtual, centrally managed teams called “Collaboratives”, that have a collective goal of bridging FES’s basic science research programs and growing fusion industries, including the activities supported under the FES milestone-based fusion development program.

At its core, FIRE represents a departure from traditional science programs. It is structured as a framework comprised of Collaboratives with the purpose of bridging the gap between foundational science and practical application. These Collaboratives are envisioned as dynamic hubs of innovation, driving advancements in fusion energy research in collaboration with both public and private entities. FES envisions the ecosystem surrounding the Collaboratives as a facilitator for collaboration and coordination with the basic science research program and other stakeholders, creating an engine for innovation. FIRE hopes to foster synergy and alignment of goals, accelerating progress towards the realization of fusion energy as a clean, sustainable power source. Moreover, this initiative aims to create new economic opportunities, bolster US-based manufacturing and supply chains, and enable the development of technologies crucial for national security, energy security, and defense.

FES envisions FIRE Collaboratives as a collection of virtual, centrally managed teams. These teams leverage expertise, capabilities, and facilities to systematically address FS&T gaps, fostering integrated research efforts, facilitating collaboration among diverse stakeholders, and enhancing communication to accelerate progress in enabling fusion energy. The term ‘fusion ecosystem’ refers to the network of collaborative relationships, resources, and initiatives aimed at advancing fusion energy. Within this ecosystem, FIRE Collaboratives serve as a pivotal component, driving coordinated efforts to address key challenges and accelerate advancements in fusion science and technology.

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Universities are permitted to submit one single application to General Scientific Infrastructure (GSI) support section of this FOA area per institution. 

The Office of Nuclear Energy (NE) mission is to advance nuclear energy science and technology to meet U.S. energy, environmental, and economic needs. NE has identified the following goals to address challenges in the nuclear energy sector, help realize the potential of advanced technology, and leverage the unique role of the government in spurring innovation:

• Keep existing U.S. nuclear reactors operating

• Deploy new nuclear reactors

• Secure and sustain our nuclear fuel cycle

• Expand international nuclear energy cooperation

Collectively, all NE-sponsored activities support the Department’s priorities to combat the climate crisis, create clean energy jobs with the free and fair chance to join a union and bargain collectively, and promote equity and environmental justice by delivering innovative clean energy technologies for nuclear energy systems.

Within Nuclear Energy University Program (NEUP), the specific goals of this Infrastructure FOA are:

• To support, maintain, or enhance the institution’s capacities to attract and teach high quality students interested in nuclear energy-related studies;

• Build the institution’s research or education capabilities; and

• Enhance the institution’s capabilities to perform R&D that is relevant to NE’s mission.

The following targeted objectives within this Infrastructure FOA will aide in achieving these goals.

(1) Upgrade and improve U.S. university nuclear research and training reactors. Upgrades for a research reactor that include the acquisition of equipment and/or instrumentation for activities related to safety, performance, control, or operational reliability. For example, equipment acquired for security/safety enhancements required by the federal/state/local regulatory agencies is permitted.

(2) Obtain equipment and instrumentation that significantly improves or expands the research, instruction, training capabilities, and/or operating capabilities related to NE program missions (e.g., utilization or handling of radiological or radioactive materials). For example, this may include radiation detection and measurement equipment.

(3) Contribute to strengthening the academic community’s nuclear engineering infrastructure.

Requests should focus on individual, discrete, definable items or capabilities. An applicant must demonstrate the educational or R&D connection between requested pieces of equipment to support the NE mission. Applications made of several uncorrelated equipment requests are not of interest. A request should not duplicate existing capabilities. To review existing NE R&D capabilities in the United States, refer to the Nuclear Energy Infrastructure Database (NEID), available at https://nsuf-infrastructure.inl.gov (account login required). Information on current NE research programs can be found at NE’s website: https://energy.gov/ne.