This NOFO is being issued by DOE’s EERE SETO to invest in R&D, technical assistance, and stakeholder engagement activities that improve the compatibility of large-scale solar (LSS) facilities with wildlife and facilitate the dual use of land for agricultural and solar energy production (agrivoltaics). Projects selected in this NOFO will a) test strategies that mitigate adverse impacts and/or maximize benefits to wildlife and ecosystems at LSS facilities, b) provide technical assistance and engagement opportunities that enable stakeholders to improve the compatibility of LSS facilities with wildlife, or c) provide technical assistance and stakeholder engagement opportunities related to agrivoltaics.

This NOFO will support high-impact, applied R&D focused on relieving ‘pinch points’ in algal system cultivation and preprocessing, with the goal of improving process economics for biofuels and/or bioproducts. The target audience for this NOFO is algae stakeholders with an interest in commercialization, and the eligible applicants include institutions of higher education, for-profit and nonprofit organizations, state and local governmental entities, and Indian Tribes.

Circular supply chains improve security and reduce environmental impacts, maximizing the lifetime of materials and products in the economy to support a robust and competitive manufacturing sector while providing economy-wide environmental benefits. Research and development (R&D) of new technologies to increase reuse, repair, recycling, remanufacturing, and repurposing of products and
materials will be essential to realize these economic and environmental benefits. To maximize effectiveness, R&D must be informed by analysis of non-technical factors, including market forces, business models, and the policy landscape. Such analysis can provide a systems-level view–identifying promising technologies and deployment pathways as well as what roadblocks remain–especially when it leverages input from a wide set of connected stakeholders. Those stakeholders can also amplify the impact of DOE investments in technologies that advance circular supply chains. This Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) seeks to assemble a team that will conduct analysis, connect broad groups of stakeholders within multiple application spaces, and socialize EERE-developed innovations across a variety of industries to advance those innovations. The Accelerator’s role will include advancing the entire circularity field’s understanding of emerging technologies, thereby enabling the identification of potential roadblocks to deployment and opportunities to reduce the risks of technology commercialization.

The overall intent of this initiative is to accelerate the responsible deployment of geothermal energy in multiple underdeveloped regions of the U.S. by addressing specific barriers to deployment in each area. These barriers include a lack of adequate public data to guide and incentivize geothermal exploration activities, financial barriers that impede exploratory drilling and limited technical expertise in certain stakeholder organizations. Participants are expected to collaborate in identifying data gaps as well as prioritizing, planning, and executing geothermal data collection and dissemination activities with the aim of incentivizing and stimulating follow-up geothermal exploration and development activities.  The focus should be on pre-competitive data, i.e., datasets that would benefit multiple stakeholders if not the entire geothermal industry.  The goal is to make all newly collected data publicly available within a reasonable timeframe.  A limited embargo period may be allowed, where necessary, to incentivize industry participation.

The Joint Assessment of Resilience in Vulnerable Infrastructure Systems (JARVIS) Opportunity will provide funding to utilities to deploy advanced technologies and incorporate modeling to identify and mitigate grid vulnerabilities, enabling greater integration across diverse energy portfolios. Eligible applicants are utilities and partner technical assistance providers (which includes companies/entities, research institutions, consulting firms, technology companies, for-profit and non-profit organizations). JARVIS will provide awards of approximately $1M each and is making $35 million currently available.

The Carbon Utilization Procurement Grants program will help offset 50% of the costs to states, local governments, and public utilities or agencies to procure and use products developed through the conversion of captured carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide emissions. The commercial or industrial products to be procured and used under these grants must demonstrate a significant net reduction in greenhouse gas emissions compared to incumbent products via a life cycle analysis (LCA). The LCAs are checked for conformance and approved by DOE’s National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL).

DOE announced it will make up to $48 million available under the fourth opening of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law funding opportunity to support regional CO2 transport networks that connect sources of CO2 to locations for geologic storage or conversion to value-added products. Expanding commercial CO2 transport and storage supports the development of a large-scale carbon management industry to reduce emissions, provide new job opportunities, and enhance our energy security. This funding opportunity announcement has one area of interest: Front-End Engineering and Design Studies for CO2 Transport Infrastructure (Onshore and Offshore). Eligible applicants include institutions of higher education, for- and non-profit organizations, state and local governments, and tribal nations.

This contracting action is the second step in a two-step solicitation process to administer the State of New York’s $24 million award from the DOE’s Grid Deployment Office. New York was one of nine states and five tribal nations that were awarded a combined total of $125 million last November as the seventh cohort of Preventing Outages and Enhancing the Resilience of the Electric Grid Grant.

NYSERDA is using the award as Step 2 in the solicitation process to provide funding for implementation projects to eligible applicants. Municipal utility (MUNI), rural electric cooperative (COOP) or any small grid operator within the State of New York that sells less than 4,000,000 MWh electricity annually will be eligible to apply for funding to support the implementation of eligible projects.   Eligible entities are allowed to apply for PON 5896 without having applied for or received funds from Technical Assistance Technical Assistance Funding to Develop Grid Modernization Projects (PON 5737). Previous application and/or award of technical assistance funding from PON 5737 does not guarantee award for federal implementation funds and vice- versa.

This NOFO will provide direct assistance for advanced reactor and supporting facilities’ regulatory review activities by supporting cost-shared grants to fund a portion of Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) fees for pre-application and application review activities. Cost-shared grants will be awarded to selected applicants seeking funds in support of work with the NRC to increase regulatory certainty, review topical reports or white papers, and other efforts focused on obtaining certification and licensing approvals.

The CSCI is pleased to be able to provide grants to climate adaptation professionals to create or advance a climate resilience plan or project in collaboration with a community that is on the front lines of the climate crisis. The community should be represented in the application and effort by a community-based organization and a local, regional or Tribal government entity, as defined below. The proposed work can cover any step in the Steps to Resilience framework, and can be a new or ongoing collaboration.  The funds can be used for a range of activities depending on the needs of the community, including climate vulnerability and risk analyses, planning processes, community engagement, project prioritization, and/or the implementation of projects.

The Massachusetts Climatetech Studio, a partnership between the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center (MassCEC) and FedTech, helps entrepreneurs launch new climate technology ventures. The Climatetech Studio matches teams of entrepreneurs with cutting-edge technologies from federal and university labs during an intensive 16-week program cohort. Entrepreneurs work closely with expert coaches and advisors to assess the potential of their technologies and form strategies for successful commercialization. Each participant receives a $15,000 stipend and has the chance to win further prize money and grant funding. There is no cost to participate, no equity taken, and the program is designed to be flexible for those working full-time.

This NOFO supports BETO’s research and development (R&D) priorities in the areas of Conversion R&D. Specifically, it supports research and development of domestic chemicals and fuels from a variety of biomass and waste resources. Producing chemicals and propane/liquid petroleum gas (LPG) from renewable feedstocks helps to safeguard domestic supply chains, secure energy independence, support rural economies, and improve global competitiveness of the industry.