The DOE SC program in Basic Energy Sciences (BES) announces its interest in receiving new applications from single principal investigators (PIs) and from small teams to advance basic and fundamental chemical and materials sciences that underpin clean energy technologies and low-carbon manufacturing. The goal is creation of foundational knowledge to support the development of approaches that will minimize climate impacts of energy technologies and manufacturing. For this FOA, clean energy technologies include approaches to capture, produce, convert, store, and use energy that reduce or eliminate unwanted emissions such as greenhouse gases (e.g., carbon dioxide, methane, etc.). These technologies also include approaches such as direct air capture (DAC) and carbon storage/sequestration to decrease emissions that have been released into the environment from energy production and use. Low-carbon manufacturing refers to manufacturing processes that minimize carbon emissions and energy consumption. Investments from this FOA are anticipated to include awards that build foundational knowledge underpinning the Energy Earthshots Initiative.
Research Objectives
This FOA solicits new applications for fundamental research to discover, understand, and design new materials and chemical systems that will enable innovations in clean energy technologies and low-carbon manufacturing. Applications should emphasize advances in the understanding of fundamental chemical and materials mechanisms that control both energy efficiency and atom efficiency (creation of desired products without unwanted byproducts) in energy capture, production, conversion, storage, and use processes important for clean energy technologies and low-carbon manufacturing. This FOA also requests applications for fundamental chemical and materials sciences research on critical materials and minerals, which play essential roles in many clean energy technologies and manufactured products.
This FOA seeks fundamental research to provide the understanding needed for advances in current technologies and for innovations that could lead to new technological approaches, including efforts to advance the objectives of the Energy Earthshots Initiative. Research is encouraged that seeks understanding of the relationships between the chemical mechanisms and the properties of complex materials that underlie clean energy technologies and low-carbon manufacturing. For team efforts, interdisciplinary approaches that combine experimental with theoretical, computational and data science approaches are encouraged.
Applications are requested for fundamental scientific research that emphasizes one of the following Topic Areas (TA) as the primary target. The TA must be identified on the covers of the preapplication and application to be responsive to this FOA. If the applicant desires, information may be included in the application showing how the research could advance other secondary TAs but the proposed research must target a single primary TA. Note that applications to TA7, Critical Minerals and Materials, are required to explain how the proposed critical materials research will advance objectives in other TAs.
Topic Areas (for full descriptions see FOA):
- TA1 - Carbon-Neutral Hydrogen
- TA2: Solar Energy
- TA3: Carbon Dioxide Removal
- TA4: Energy Storage
- TA5: Nuclear Energy
- TA6: Transformative Manufacturing
- TA7: Critical Minerals and Materials
Interested applicants should upload the following documents in sequence in one PDF file (File name: Last name_DE-FOA-0002676_2022) no later than 4:00 p.m. on the internal submission deadline:
1. Cover Letter (1 page, pdf):
- Descriptive title of proposed activity
- Primary Topic Area (TA) addressed
- PI name, departmental affiliations(s) and contact information
- Co-PI's names and departmental affiliation(s)
- Names of other key personnel
- Participating institution(s)
- Number and title of this funding opportunity
2. Project Description (no more than three pages, pdf) clear and concise description of the objectives and technical approach of the proposed research
3. 2-page CV's of Investigators
Formatting Guidelines:
Font/size: Not smaller than 11 point
Document margins: 1.0” (top, bottom, left and right)
Standard paper size (8 ½” x 11)
Questions concerning the limited submissions process may be submitted to limitedsubs@psu.edu.