The DOE SC program in Basic Energy Sciences (BES) solicits new applications for multi-investigator cross-disciplinary fundamental research to address emerging new directions as well as long-standing challenges in liquid solar fuels generation via artificial photosynthesis approaches. Artificial photosynthesis is typically viewed as the generation of fuels using only sunlight, carbon dioxide, and water as inputs. However, for the purpose of this FOA the concept of artificial photosynthesis approaches will be expanded to include other abundant feedstocks beyond carbon dioxide, such as nitrogen. Regardless of feedstock, the focus must remain on fundamental scientific concepts for solar-driven liquid fuel production.

Projects under this FOA will fall under two different types. The first type will be initial engineering studies of carbon capture systems for industrial carbon sources. The second type will test advanced carbon capture materials, processes, or a combination of advanced materials and processes. The selected projects will be required to use actual flue gas at engineering scale either from coal or natural gas fired power systems.

The SHARKS^[1] Program seeks to develop new designs for economically attractive Hydrokinetic Turbines (HKT) for tidal and riverine currents. Tidal and riverine energy resources are renewable, have the advantage of being highly reliable and predictable, and are often co-located with demand centers, while HKT devices can be designed with low visual profiles and minimal environmental impact. These energy-producing devices are also uniquely suited for micro-grid applications, supplying energy to remote communities and other “blue economy” or utility-scale applications. This Program is aimed at applying Control Co-Design (CCD), Co-Design (CD) and Designing-for-OpEx (DFO) methodologies to HKT design.

This Program seeks to fund the development of new HKT designs that include, but are not limited to, hydrodynamics, mechanical structures, materials, hydro-structural interactions, electrical energy conversion systems, control systems, numerical simulations and experimental validations. Simultaneous consideration of the full problem can result in operational designs that are optimal, and suitable for deployment in a wide variety of tidal and riverine energy environments. The SHARKS Program seeks new HKT designs that are optimized within a Metric Space that quantifies the swept rotor area per unit of equivalent mass and the water-to-electron power generation efficiency, while navigating across LCOE (Levelized Cost of Energy) contours of constant value or isolines.

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). SETO supports solar energy research and development (R&D) in three technology areas—photovoltaics (PV), concentrating solar-thermal power (CSP), and systems integration—with the goal of improving the affordability, reliability, and performance of solar technologies on the grid. This section describes the overall goals of the Solar Energy Technologies Office Fiscal Year 2020 (SETO 2020) funding program and the types of projects being solicited for funding support through this FOA.

The SETO 2020 funding program seeks to advance R&D of solar technologies that reduce the cost of solar, increase the competitiveness of American manufacturing and businesses, and improve the reliability of the grid. These projects will advance R&D in PV, CSP, and energy management technologies, while also working to improve cybersecurity, expand solar to new applications like agricultural solar, integrate solar and storage, and utilize artificial intelligence to address research challenges.

The Wind Energy Technologies Office (WETO) is within the Department of Energy’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE). EERE advances America’s leadership in science and technology through early-stage research and development in sustainable transportation, renewable power, and energy efficiency.

WETO enables growth and U.S. competitiveness in the domestic wind industry by supporting early-stage research on technologies that enhance energy affordability, reliability, and resilience and strengthen U.S. energy security, economic growth, and environmental quality. More information is available at www.energy.gov/eere/wind.

WETO works with DOE National Laboratories, industry, universities, and other federal agencies to conduct research and development activities through competitively selected, directly funded, and cost-shared projects. WETO’s efforts target land-based utility-scale, offshore, and distributed wind power to fully support a national clean energy economy.

The Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) is issuing, on behalf of the Wind Energy Technologies Office (WETO), Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) DE-FOA-0002236 entitled “Offshore Wind Atmospheric Science and Project Development.”

This FOA has Two Topic Areas

Topic Area 1: The overall goal of this Topic Area is to provide funding for a project that will improve wind resource modeling and predictions in offshore wind energy development areas. Using lessons-learned and information gained during the previous program work in complex-terrain wind resource modeling and prediction, this Topic Area will focus on improving wind resource model physics for foundational wind forecasts and other applications in offshore wind energy development areas.

Topic Area 2: The overall goal of this Topic Area is to provide funding for a project(s) that will enable demonstration of a novel technology and/or methodology that will advance the state-of-the-art of offshore wind energy in the United States. The proposed project must either implement an innovative technology at engineering/pilot or full-scale, and/or employ a novel methodology that has yet to be utilized commercially in the United States for offshore wind.

The EMPOWERED funding program is a collaborative effort across EERE’s Solar Energy Technologies Office (SETO), Vehicle Technologies Office (VTO), and Building Technologies Office (BTO), to provide professionals with educational materials and training resources in fields newly interacting with distributed energy resources (DER). In this program, DER includes distributed solar, like on homes and businesses, as well as efficient building technologies and sustainable transportation technologies, such as electric vehicles.

The goal of this program is to create resources that will help those on the front lines of DER adoption—like first responders, safety officials, and building managers and owners—keep up with these rapidly emerging and advancing technologies. These professionals are at the forefront of America’s energy transition and play a role in easing adoption, ensuring safety, and reducing installation costs. Because of this, the participating EERE offices see these professionals as key to enabling understanding and acceptance of new energy technologies.

SETO, BTO, and VTO seek applicants that will create and integrate education and training materials for professionals who have significant involvement and authority over implementing solar, building, or vehicle technologies on the distribution system but who do not work primarily with these technologies. Those technologies include but are not limited to DER—like PV systems, building efficiency technologies, energy storage systems, AFV, EV—and EV infrastructure.

There was an informational webinar held on April 16, 2020 at 1pm EST. The slides and script are available on the program page.

Cleantech Open is the world’s largest cleantech accelerator, providing entrepreneurs and corporate innovators the resources they need to launch and grow successful cleantech businesses. Our one-of-a-kind innovation ecosystem built over the last 10 years of programming spans key cleantech innovation hubs in the U.S., linking labs and universities, service providers, investors, corporations, governments, and other cleantech incubators and accelerators. Through our annual accelerator, we provide between 100-150 companies in the U.S. a rich program of customer discovery, extensive mentoring, training, investor meetings, startup-corporate matching, and showcasing at both the regional and national levels. Since 2005, more than 70% of our reporting U.S. alumni companies are still operating and have collectively raised over $1.2B in external funding. Join this exciting community and be a part of our global network of innovation.

CalSEED is a $24m grant program created by the California Energy Commission to help early stage California clean energy startups bring concepts and prototypes to market. CalSEED provides Concept Award grants of $150,000 each to 20 – 25 projects each year. Additionally, the CalSEED program holds an annual Business Plan Competition for Concept Award winners. Winners of this Prototype Award competition receive an additional $450,000 in funding.

Learn more about eligibility requirements.

The Venture Summit will honor a select group of more than 100 Top Innovators from the Technology, CleanTech, Life Sciences, Healthcare, and FinTech sectors. These companies will be chosen to present their breakthrough investment opportunities to an exclusive audience of Venture Capitalists, Private Investors, Investment Bankers, Corporate Investors, and Strategic Partners.

The Department of Energy (DOE) has issued its FY 2020 Phase I Release 2 Funding Opportunity Announcement (DE-FOA-0002146) for the SBIR and STTR Programs.  Qualified small businesses with strong research capabilities in science or engineering in any of the research areas sought in the announcement are encouraged to apply.

The following DOE program offices are participating in this Funding Opportunity Announcement:

• Office of Cyber Security, Energy Security, and Emergency Response
• Office of Defense Nuclear Nonproliferation
• Office of Electricity
• Office of Environmental Management
• Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy
• Office of Fossil Energy
• Office of Fusion Energy Sciences
• Office of High Energy Physics
• Office of Nuclear Energy

Read the full list of DOE FY 2020 Phase 1 release 2 topics.

The Incubation Program offers hands-on incubation services for supporting cleantech startups grow in Southern California. The first six months of the program are dedicated to curriculum workshops, one on one sessions and roundtables focused on Market and Investor Readiness. After the six-month period, the program is focused on achieving the objectives outlined in a custom roadmap around fundraising, product development, market access, team growth, and partnerships.

Candidate Qualifications

Startups must:

• Have a cleantech solution that addresses one of our three priority areas: Clean Energy, Zero Emissions Transportation and Smart & Sustainable Cities: Circular Economy.
• Own or license a novel proprietary technology.
• Have a significant presence (operations or sales) in Southern California with founder or key executive able to attend meetings, workshops and events on campus at short notice.
• Have at least 2 full-time employees.
• Have a working prototype (TRL 4+).
• Commit to all curriculum opportunities in first 6-months.

Cleantech Open is an accelerator that supports entrepreneurs and corporate innovators by providing resources needed to grow a successful cleantech businesses. Applicants receive world-class mentoring, hands-on training investor meetings, startup-corporate matching, and showcasing at both the regional and national levels and networking opportunities in addition to cash prizes. Major judging criteria include team, technology and market.