The DOE Voucher Program builds bridges between U.S. entrepreneurs, businesses, technology developers or other relevant partners and third-party voucher providers to advance commercialization of innovative energy technologies. The first submission window solicits proposals from potential voucher providers. Voucher Opportunity (VO-5) addresses key adoption risk areas faced by companies working in carbon management (including carbon capture, transport, conversion, storage, and removal) and resource sustainability (methane detection and reduction technologies, advanced remediation technologies, and mineral sustainability technologies), including:

• Life cycle assessment (LCA) and/or techno-economic assessment (TEA)
• Independent assessment of Monitoring Reporting and Verification (MRV) technologies and practices.
• Independent assessment of the additionality of carbon management technologies.
• Third-party support for independent evaluation of community engagement and benefit plans.
• Support for independent entities building capacity to provide verification services to the growing carbon dioxide removal (CDR) industry.
• And more.

The DOE Voucher Program builds bridges between U.S. entrepreneurs, businesses, technology developers or other relevant partners and third-party voucher providers to advance commercialization of innovative energy technologies. The first submission window solicits proposals from potential voucher providers. Voucher Opportunity (VO-4) includes support activities such as:

• Market analysis/research
• Marketing Materials development
• Go to Market strategy
• Product Scale up
• Patent landscape analysis
• Intellectual Property legal support
• and more.

The DOE Voucher Program builds bridges between U.S. entrepreneurs, businesses, technology developers or other relevant partners and third-party voucher providers to advance commercialization of innovative energy technologies. The first submission window solicits proposals from potential voucher providers. Voucher Opportunity (VO-3) enables expert assistance to help AHJs and related institutions understand new clean energy technology benefits and challenges, and support the demonstration of these technologies through activities including:

• Evaluating siting and permitting best practices developed by similar jurisdictions,
• Developing streamlined permitting processes,
• Educating first responders and related personnel on technology safety requirements and risks
• Evaluating locality infrastructure/logistical readiness to utilize the designated technologies,
• Supporting community engagement on related issues.

The DOE Voucher Program builds bridges between U.S. entrepreneurs, businesses, technology developers or other relevant partners and third-party voucher providers to advance commercialization of innovative energy technologies. The first submission window solicits proposals from potential voucher providers. Voucher Opportunity (VO-2) enables evaluation of technology performance and support for obtaining site and technology related certifications through supporting activities including:

• Access to advanced modeling and digitization resources,
• Testing to obtain industry-relevant certifications,
• System performance validation and testing under certification-relevant operating conditions,
• Digital twin development,
• Testing in real-world environments,
• and more.

The DOE Voucher Program builds bridges between U.S. entrepreneurs, businesses, technology developers or other relevant partners and third-party voucher providers to advance commercialization of innovative energy technologies. The first submission window solicits proposals from potential voucher providers. As part of the application form, potential providers will submit the details of their capability statement, including the technical scope, deliverables, price, and throughput of the capability. Voucher Opportunity (VO-1) addresses key adoption risk areas faced by companies leaving the research and development stage, through supporting activities including:

• Bankability studies (including insurability evaluation)
• Manufacturing/supply chain assessments
• Techno-economic analyses
• Lifecycle analyses
• Market readiness analyses
• Community benefit assessments
• and more.

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.

The three-phase $2.25 million Silicon Carbide (SiC) Packaging Prize—launched by the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Office of Electricity—invites competitors to propose, design, build, and test state-of-the-art SiC packaging prototypes that move the industry beyond its current state. Competitors will describe their team, their plan to make progress toward SiC packaging, showcase their current prototypes, and provide evidence of their current metrics that are in alignment with the goals of the prize. The goal of this phase is to develop a set of design documents for a Phase 2 prototype which adheres to the requirements set.

The MSI Contract Readiness Prize is a one-phase capacity building prize that aims to boost equity across the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) contracting for small, medium, and large Historically Black Colleges (HBCUs), Tribal Colleges and Universities (TCUs), and other Minority Serving Institutions (MSIs), including Asian American, Native American, Pacific Islander Serving Institutions (AANAPISIs), Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSIs), and Predominantly Black Institutions (PBIs). This prize builds on the successes of the Biden Administration’s Justice40 Initiative that is working toward environmental justice for all Americans by involving MSIs as key strategic partners.

The Electronics Scrap Recycling Advancement Prize (E-SCRAP) is a $3.95M challenge sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Advanced Materials and Manufacturing Technologies Office (AMMTO). The prize aims to stimulate innovative approaches that reduce the costs and environmental impact of critical material recovery from electronic scrap (e-scrap).

The U.S. Department of Energy’s Wind Energy Technologies Office launched the Collegiate Wind Competition (CWC) in 2014. The CWC helps multidisciplinary teams of undergraduate students prepare for jobs in wind and renewable energy through the following activities:

• The Turbine Prototype Contest & Turbine Testing Contest, in which teams design, build, and present a unique, wind-driven power system based on market research and test the wind turbine in an on-site wind tunnel.
• The Project Development Contest, in which teams research wind resource data, transmission infrastructure, and environmental factors to create a site plan and financial analysis for a hypothetical wind farm.
• The Connection Creation Contest, in which teams conduct outreach with the wind energy industry, their local communities, and local media outlets to raise wind energy awareness and promote their accomplishments.

The Natural Gas Distribution Infrastructure Safety and Modernization
(NGDISM) grant’s eligible entities are municipality- or community-owned
utilities, not including for-profit entities, seeking assistance in repairing,
rehabilitating, or replacing high-risk, leak-prone natural gas distribution
infrastructure, or in acquiring equipment to reduce incidents and fatalities and
avoid economic losses. The NGDISM Grant Program also strives to create
good-paying jobs, promote economic growth, and benefit disadvantaged rural
and urban communities with safe provision of natural gas.

Grant funds will be made available to eligible entities seeking assistance in
repairing, rehabilitating, or replacing high-risk, actively leaking, or leak prone natural gas distribution infrastructure. Funds may also be used to acquire equipment that will assist in reducing natural gas distribution pipeline incidents and fatalities, as well as to avoid economic loss from leaks.

Training programs funded by the Brownfields Job Training Grant provide program graduates with the opportunity to seek and obtain environmental jobs that contractors may otherwise fill from outside the affected community. EPA intends to use this grant opportunity to support the creation of good-paying jobs with the free and fair choice to join a union and the incorporation of strong labor standards and workforce programs. Brownfields Job Training Grants help residents take advantage of jobs across a spectrum of brownfield related activities, including the assessment, cleanup, remediation, and planning/site preparation for the revitalization of brownfields. This can involve the assessment and cleanup of solid and hazardous waste; chemical risk management; stormwater management relating to site cleanup; planning and site preparation for low impact development activities; planning and site preparation for green infrastructure installation and maintenance; and vulnerability assessment and contamination mitigation planning. Applicants will be evaluated on the extent to which they partner with and secure hiring commitments from local contractors and other stakeholders in communities where EPA-funded projects are located.