The research, development, 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 fund high-impact, applied research and development and prototype or pilot-scale technology validation and demonstration projects in order to expedite the adoption of transformational industrial technology necessary to increase energy efficiency across industry and in high GHG-emitting industrial subsectors, reducing both energy usage and GHG emissions. This includes cross-sector industrial decarbonization approaches via opportunities in energy efficiency; industrial electrification; low carbon fuels, feedstocks and energy sources; and industrial carbon capture and utilization. This FOA and its associated projects are separate from any forthcoming efforts to be funded under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, including activities related to Industrial Emissions Demonstration Projects.
Topic Areas
An entity may only submit one Concept Paper and one Full Application for each topic area of this FOA. See the full FOA for more detail.
- Topic Area 1: Decarbonizing Chemicals
- Topic 1 will focus on the development, validation, and demonstration needed to accelerate the commercial readiness of emerging low carbon unit operations to decarbonize the full supply chain of the chemicals sector. Technologies with potential for significant reductions in carbon emissions that increase energy efficiency for manufacturing high-volume chemicals are of interest, as are technologies that consider sustainable chemistry practices as defined in Topic 1 Background.
- Topic Area 2: Decarbonizing Iron and Steel
- This topic will initiate or accelerate novel technology innovations for iron and steel industry operations; applicants should develop and achieve advances in technologies leading to commercial readiness of low carbon or net-zero carbon process technologies for the iron and steel industry. All applications should include an Industry Partner on the team. The term “Industry Partner” includes non-profit and for-profit entities engaged in iron and steel production or processing, or a related industry. Applications submitted under this topic must address at least one of the areas of interest stated in the FOA.
- Topic Area 3: Decarbonizing Food and Beverage Products
- This topic will accelerate novel technology innovations for food and beverage operations; applicants should develop and demonstrate new advances in processes to accelerate the commercial readiness of emerging, low carbon or net-zero carbon process technologies for the food and beverage industry. All applications should include an Industry Partner on the team. The term “Industry Partner” includes non-profit and for-profit entities engaged in food and beverage production or processing, or a related industry. Applications submitted under this topic must address the area of interest stated in the FOA.
- Topic Area 4: Decarbonizing Cement and Concrete
- This topic will accelerate technology innovations for cement and concrete operations. Applicants should develop and demonstrate advances to accelerate the commercial readiness of emerging, low carbon or net-zero carbon process technologies for the cement and concrete industry, in order to provide energy savings, carbon emissions reduction, and other benefits such as reduced complexity and improved process efficiency/optimization in the cement/concrete production sector. Decarbonization pathways of interest include energy efficiency, LCFFES, and carbon capture and utilization technologies. All applications should include an Industry Partner on the team. The term “Industry Partner” includes non-profit and for-profit entities engaged in cement and concrete production or processing, or a related industry. Applications submitted under this topic must address at least one of the areas of interest stated in the FOA.
- Topic Area 5: Decarbonizing Paper and Forest Products
- This topic will accelerate novel technology innovations for paper and forest products industry operations; applicants should develop and demonstrate new advances in processes to accelerate the commercial readiness of emerging, low carbon or net-zero carbon process technologies for the paper and forest products industry. All applications should include an Industry Partner on the team. The term “Industry Partner” includes non-profit and for-profit entities engaged in paper and forest products production or processing, or a related industry. Applications submitted under this topic must address at least one of the areas of interest stated in the FOA.
- Topic Area 6: Cross-sector Decarbonization Technologies
- This AOI focuses on developing and using enabling technologies to demonstrate novel high operating temperature storage (HOTS) thermal systems to harvest, store, and utilize waste heat generated from industrial manufacturing processes. The long-term goal of this focus area is to aid in decarbonizing the industrial manufacturing sector. Waste heat generated and exhausted from medium and high-temperature industrial processes (such as blast furnaces used in iron and steel production) are target applications. The thermal storage mediums may be solid, liquid, phase-change, granular, or thermo-chemical. The heat should be stored at relatively high temperatures (400°C and above) for use over the span of 10 or more hours. The stored thermal energy must be used in an industrial application, such as petrochemicals manufacturing, iron and steel production, food and beverage processing, or used to generate a flexible and transportable energy source, such as electricity.
Cost Sharing
For Tier 1 project applications, the cost share must be at least 20% of the total allowable costs (i.e., the sum of the government share, including FFRDC costs if applicable, and the recipient share of allowable costs equals the total allowable cost of the project) for research and development projects.
Tier 2 project applications should be organized into at least one of the three distinct phases and must include activities in Phase 2 or Phase 3: research and development (Phase 1); design and testing (Phase 2); and installation and demonstration (Phase 3). The cost share for Phase 1 and Phase 2 must be at least 20% of the total allowable costs. For Phase 3, the demonstration phase, the cost share must be at least 50% of total allowable costs. Applications must clearly identify what work and which costs are associated with each phase.
Interested applicants should upload the following documents in sequence in one PDF file (File name: Last name_DE-FOA-0002804_2023) no later than 4:00 p.m. on the internal submission deadline:
1. Cover Letter (1 page, pdf):
- Descriptive title of proposed activity
- 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
- Topic Area and Area of Interest of Proposal
2. Project Description (no more than two pages, pdf) identifying the project scope that addresses the key aspects and elements of the sponsor's solicitation, principal investigators, collaborators, and partner organizations. References may be included on an additional page.
3. Estimated Budget (1 page, including cost share details, if applicable)
4. 2-page CV's of Investigators
Formatting Guidelines:
Font/size: Times New Roman (12 pt.)
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.