Are you a long duration energy storage (LDES) technology innovator? This voucher opportunity seeks to provide LDES technology companies, including developers, vendors and manufacturers, with services such as market assessment support, business plan formulation, technical modeling or analysis, testing, performance validation, and commercialization strategy support. This support will come from providers, such as national labs, consulting firms, non-profits, or technology testing centers, to advance non-hydrogen, electricity-in/electricity-out LDES technologies.

Vouchers will be distributed as in-kind support, meaning that ENERGYWERX will directly reimburse the voucher provider for the work they have completed on behalf of the voucher recipients. The value of each voucher will depend on the services defined in the Providers’ capability statements, with estimated values of support services per recipient ranging from $50k to $150k.

The Hydropower Testing Network (HyTN) program, pronounced “heighten“, aims to raise the technology readiness of hydropower innovations by connecting technology developers to testing facilities and implementing targeted testing activities that lead to the deployment of sustainable hydropower projects. The HyTN Voucher Opportunity (VO) seeks to provide U.S.-based hydropower technology developers the testing capabilities needed to increase the technical readiness and commercialization potential of innovative approaches to hydropower generation. The HyTN VO, developed in a partnership between the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Water Power Technologies Office (WPTO), the Office of Technology Transitions (OTT), and ENERGYWERX, facilitates matchmaking between U.S.-based hydropower technology developers (voucher recipients) and test facilities (voucher providers) with relevant physical testing capabilities. Once matches are made, WPTO distributes funds to the test facilities to provide these testing capabilities to the voucher recipients for projects lasting up to one year. This solicitation is currently open to voucher providers.

This program provides loan guarantees up to $250 million to assist in the development, construction, and retrofitting of new and emerging technologies. These technologies are: advanced biofuels, renewable chemicals and biobased products. To apply, you must have legal authority, experience, and expertise and demonstrate that you meet the FDIC definition of “Well Capitalized” at the time of application and issuance of the Loan Note Guarantee, including:

• Federal or state-chartered banks.
• Federally-recognized tribes.
• Cooperatives.
• Farm Credit Bank, or other Farm Credit System institution with direct lending authority.
• Credit Unions subject to credit examination and supervision by a state agency or the National Credit Union Administration.
• The National Rural Utilities Cooperative Finance Corporation.

The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management (FECM) announced up to $16 million in federal funding for large-scale conversion of carbon dioxide emissions into environmentally responsible and economically valuable products. With funding provided by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, projects will develop the sustainable feedstocks and conversion technologies necessary to produce crucial fuels, materials, and other carbon-based products that are better for the environment than current petroleum-derived equivalents. This funding opportunity announcement has two topic areas:

• Engineering-Scale Testing of Electrochemical Systems for the Conversion CO2 into Value-Added Products
• Feasibility Studies for Retrofitting of Refineries and Petrochemical Facilities for Carbon Conversion

The primary objectives of this funding opportunity announcement are to:

• Help small operators significantly reduce methane emissions from oil and natural gas operations, using commercially available technology solutions for methane emissions monitoring, measurement, quantification, and mitigation.
• Accelerate the repair of methane leaks from low-producing wells and the deployment of early-commercial technology solutions to reduce methane emissions from new and existing equipment such as natural gas compressors, gas-fueled engines, associated gas flares, liquids unloading operations, handling of produced water, and other equipment leakage.
• Improve communities’ access to empirical data and participation in monitoring through multiple installations of monitoring and measurement technologies while establishing collaborative relationships between equipment providers and communities.
• Enhance the detection and measurement of methane emissions from oil and gas operations at regional scale, while ensuring nationwide data consistency, through the creation of collaborative partnerships.

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has opened the second-round funding opportunity for enhanced geothermal systems (EGS) demonstrations authorized under President Biden’s landmark Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. The legislation authorizes DOE to support competitively selected pilot projects that collectively demonstrate EGS in different geologic settings, using a variety of development techniques and well orientations. The currently open FOA seeks projects in Topic Area 4 only: demonstrating EGS at a well-characterized site in the eastern United States with potential for near-term electricity or thermal power production.

Cleantech Open Northeast, NECEC won a Department of Energy DAC EPIC prize to hold a DAC Academy in the fall of 2024. The purpose is to accelerate five (5) Direct Air Capture (DAC) startups on the path to commercialization.  This is designed for startups at TRL 3-6. The startups can be from just about anywhere, as long as they can participate in person at the Bootcamp in NYC on October 16 and the Finale in Boston on December 10, meet regularly with their mentors, and attend the virtual webinars and workshops.

The Environmental Tech Lab is a collaboration between the NYC Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) and the New York City Partnership Foundation, the nonprofit affiliate of the Partnership Fund for New York City. We provide companies with expedited paths to testing, expert feedback, access to key decision makers from DEP, and an accelerated go/no-go decision. We enable public sector climate leaders to source, evaluate, and Pilot new solutions to their most critical challenges.

The AI for Climate and Nature Grand Challenge is a global $100 million initiative from the Bezos Earth Fund. The Grand Challenge is exploring new ideas for multiplying the impact of climate and nature efforts using modern AI. The first round of awards will focus on sustainable proteins, power grid optimization, and biodiversity conservation, in addition to embracing visionary wildcard solutions for climate and nature. The Bezos Earth Fund will determine the final slate of Seed Grantees who will be invited to participate in Phase 2.

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Solar Energy Technologies Office (SETO) announced the Fiscal Year 2024 Solar Energy Supply Chain Incubator funding opportunity (FOA), which will provide up to $38 million for research, development, and demonstration (RD&D) projects that de-risk solar hardware, manufacturing processes, and software products across a wide range of solar technology areas. The research and development (R&D) and demonstration (RD&D) 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 FOA will support the DOE decarbonization goals by advancing innovative solar hardware, software, and manufacturing processes across a broad range of technology readiness levels, from laboratory-scale to pilot-scale testing and prototype demonstration. Technologies of interest include photovoltaics (PV), systems integration, and concentrating solar-thermal power (CSP) technologies, as well as those that connect solar with storage or electric vehicles and dual-use PV applications like agrivoltaics and vehicle-integrated PV. SETO encourages for-profit applicants to team with diverse institutions including academic institutions, non-profits, state and local governments, and Tribal governments. The FOA also seeks projects that provide outreach, education, or technology development for software that delivers an automated permit review and approval process for rooftop solar PV with or without energy storage. Both for-profit and non-profit entities are eligible to apply under this topic. SETO expects to make between 11 and 23 awards ranging from $1 million to $5 million under this FOA. Learn more about past Incubator funding program awardees.

An open-innovation program for electric utilities, via which a cohort of mature power-sector startups co-develop business-cases for scalable technological innovations, with the aim of implementing pilot-projects as a precursor to larger deployment. Startups in the cohort will present business cases, showcasing the value that each startup’s solution can propose for the utility partner, STELCO. One startup will be selected at the end of the program for a fully funded pilot based on their business case.

With the Lithium-Ion Battery Recycling Prize, teams of creative individuals, entrepreneurs, and businesses will advance conceptual solutions to prototypes and finally to pilot validations to address challenges with the lithium-ion battery recycling supply chain. This new public contest aims to incentivize new submissions from battery industry entrepreneurs that demonstrate innovative solutions that work toward or deliver on the goal of the prize, while continuing to support the further development of Phase III winning solutions. This phase consists of two simultaneous competition tracks:

• Track 1: New Competitors —Legal business entities based in the United States with single process ideas, partial solutions or full concept solutions that enable or meet the prize goal. Track 1 is open to new participants and previous competitors of the Lithium-Ion Battery Recycling Prize. A single business entity may participate as a new competitor, or teams may be comprised of multiple businesses.
• Track 2: Verified Competitors — Phase III winners are invited to further develop their concept solutions with the added support of a $100,000 noncash voucher to be spent at a Voucher Service Provider within the American-Made Network. Voucher work must support the continued validation and demonstration of their Phase III pilot-scale solutions.