Evergreen Climate Innovations is on a mission with the U.S. Bank Foundation to support underserved and underrepresented cleantech entrepreneurs. The U.S. Bank Foundation Cleantech Inclusion Award is a grant awarded to entrepreneurs who are female and/or people of color and who are building innovative companies that benefit the environment, create jobs, and drive economic development.

This FOA will develop technologies enabling clean hydrogen production, transport, storage, and use in the energy sector, including electricity, heat, transportation, and industrial use. The development of these technologies supports the ambitious goals for a greenhouse gasneutral economy by 2050, a carbon pollution free power sector by 2035, and a fifty percent reduction from 2005 levels in economy-wide net greenhouse gas pollution by 2030. See Amendment 6 FOA for up-to-date information on Areas of Interest. 

The ultimate goal of this FOA is a reduction in geothermal well costs. Because drilling costs are highly variable and sensitive to one-off events, average daily drilling penetration rate (e.g. average m/day) is the basis of performance measurement selected in this FOA. This FOA seeks to affect a 25% improvement in geothermal drilling rates by supporting multiple demonstration projects that each target this level of improvement. This metric and performance target will allow for quantitative evaluation of project impacts to support broad deployment of the most successful approaches. The Department of Energy’s Geothermal Technologies Office seeks applications from drilling services providers, well service companies, research institutions, geothermal operators and developers, and other entities that can provide real-world, immediate solutions to address the goal of increasing the average daily drilling penetration rates for geothermal wells. Entities that control well access and operations—both commercial and government-funded—are encouraged to apply. Join GTO’s Drilling Demos Teaming Partner List to connect with prospective team members. Letters of intent are due by April 4, and full applications are due June 3.

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Solar Energy Technologies Office (SETO) announced the Concentrating Solar-Thermal Power (CSP) Fiscal Year 2022 Research, Development, and Demonstration funding program, which will award up to $25 million for innovative projects in CSP technologies. These projects will accelerate the large-scale development and deployment of solar technology. Projects supported by this opportunity will focus on lowering the cost of CSP technologies and creating new market opportunities for the industry, with the goal of enabling substantial deployment of CSP to decarbonize the electricity grid and energy system. These projects will work to apply CSP to new industries and advance the development of components for next-generation CSP systems based on solid particle heat transfer media. SETO expects to make about 8 to 15 awards, each ranging between $750,000 and $6 million. Diverse teams from universities, federally-funded research and development centers, nonprofit and for-profit companies, community-based organizations, state agencies, and local governments are encouraged to apply. Prior to submitting a full application for this opportunity, a brief, mandatory letter of intent is due on March 16 at 5:00 p.m. ET.

Bloomberg Philanthropies and Kapwa Consulting recently announced the Climate Challenge Justice 40 Capacity Building Fund (J40 Fund). The purpose of the J40 Fund is to provide funding to support community-based organizations to engage and partner with their local government to advance community-led projects that align with the Justice40 Initiative.

Investment areas include: clean energy and energy efficiency, clean transit, affordable and sustainable housing, training and workforce development, the remediation and reduction of legacy pollution, and the development of critical clean water infrastructure.

The fund is managed by Kapwa Consulting, LLC, who will issue approved awards as direct professional service subcontracts to qualified contractors. Contract amounts for community-based organizations are estimated to be up to $30,000. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis until the pool of funds is depleted; to apply to Round 3, do so by April 14th.

Selected start-ups will receive coaching and guidance from SeaAhead staff, a designated stand and presentation time at the 2022 IPF, dedicated promotions, and a deeply discounted registration cost at the IPF conference.

The Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy’s Water Power Technologies Office (WPTO) is accepting applications for the latest round of funding under the Hydroelectric Production Incentive Program under Section 242 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005. A total of $7 million is available for qualified facilities based on the number of kilowatt-hours (kWh) generated in calendar year 2020 (CY20).

The Product Development and Small Business Incubator Fund (PDSBI) offers long-term, asset-backed loans to product development companies and small business incubators/accelerators located in Texas. The loans finance the development and production of new or improved products or the stimulations of new or existing small businesses in Texas. The program targets those businesses which may be unable to obtain full financing or financing on workable terms in traditional capital markets.

This Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) seeks to empower regions to harness the benefits of a clean energy future. This FOA supports multiple avenues for localities to improve their energy efficiency, reduce carbon emissions, and bolster their local workforce through research, development, demonstration, and deployment (RDD&D) projects for renewable-fueled energy systems and technical assistance to support manufacturers in adopting innovative, smart technologies to help better manage their energy use.

Under this FOA, DOE will provide up to $7.5 million to support activities that drive innovation, deployment, and technical assistance activities for clean energy technologies that are critical for climate protection under two topics:

Topic Area 1: Advanced Technology Demonstration in a Renewably Supplied District Energy System

Topic Area 2: Regional Initiative to Integrate Smart Manufacturing and Energy Management Systems

This solicitation will provide funding to projects that fall into any one or both of the following categories:

1. Training for Existing Workers and Individuals in Formal Training Programs
2. Career Pathways for New Workers/New Entrants in Clean Energy

The Inclusive Energy Innovation Prize will provide a total of $2.5 million in funding to up to 10 teams to advance ideas for a just and equitable transition. The winners of Phase One will receive cash awards of $200,000 each. Phase One winners will be eligible to participate in a Phase Two of the prize 12 months later, during which time it is anticipated that a total of $500,000 will be awarded to up to three teams. 

The New York Clean Transportation Prizes program will electrify transportation, reduce air pollution, and enhance clean mobility in disadvantaged communities in New York State. The competitions will each run in two phases. In the first phase, participants must register by July 22, 2021, to be eligible to submit proposals.

The three prize competitions are:

• Clean Neighborhoods Challenge – up to three $10 million grand prizes will be awarded to innovative projects that address local air pollution reduction at scale in disadvantaged communities. The submission deadline is August 24, 2021.
• Electric Mobility Challenge – up to three $7 million grand prizes will be awarded to projects that demonstrate innovative safe and convenient electric mobility options that help solve disadvantaged community transportation needs. The submission deadline is August 25, 2021.
• Electric Truck & Bus Challenge – up to three $8 million grand prizes will be awarded to projects that demonstrate electrified solutions to the deployment of medium- and heavy-duty electric vehicles or their replacement through other electrified transportation modes. The submission deadline is August 26, 2021.

An independent pool of global experts will help New York State assess applications and guide the project selection process through the different phases of the competitions. Under the first phase of the program, projects selected and located in one of the six New York State investor-owned utility (IOU) territories will be eligible to receive the following award package:

• A $100,000 planning grant
• Up to $50,000 in funding for community partners
• Up to $50,000 in-kind support from NYSERDA provided expert consultants
• Additional support services for project management, community engagement, and measurement and verification