The Genesis Mission: Transforming Science and Energy with AI

The Genesis Mission Transforming Science and Energy with AI funding opportunity is issued by the United States Department of Energy through multiple offices including the Office of Science, Office of Critical Minerals and Energy Innovation, Office of Environmental Management, Office of Electricity, Hydrocarbons and Geothermal Energy Office, and Office of Nuclear Energy. This initiative reflects a coordinated federal effort to accelerate scientific discovery and research and development workflows through the integration of advanced artificial intelligence models and frameworks. The program is part of a broader national strategy to strengthen American leadership in science, energy, and national security by leveraging AI to address complex challenges across multiple domains such as energy systems, biotechnology, critical materials, and nuclear technologies. The primary objective of this funding opportunity is to support interdisciplinary teams in developing innovative AI-driven approaches that enhance scientific discovery and operational efficiency. The program is structured around the Genesis Mission, which emphasizes the development of AI-enabled research workflows, predictive modeling, and integration of large-scale scientific data resources. Funded projects are expected to contribute to national initiatives such as the American Science Cloud and the Transformational AI Models Consortium, enabling shared access to data, models, and computational infrastructure. The program seeks to advance capabilities that can significantly reduce the time required for experimentation, improve predictive accuracy, and enable scalable scientific solutions. Funding is organized into two phases. Phase I supports small teams with awards ranging from five hundred thousand to seven hundred fifty thousand dollars over a nine month period. Phase II supports larger teams with significantly expanded funding, typically three to five times the Phase I award per year over a three year period. The total anticipated program funding is approximately two hundred ninety three point seven six million dollars. Allowable uses of funds include research and development activities, computational modeling, experimental validation, and collaboration across institutions. Cost sharing is generally not required for research institutions, but for profit entities must provide at least twenty percent cost share for research and development and fifty percent for demonstration activities. Eligibility is broad and includes domestic applicants such as institutions of higher education, nonprofit organizations, private companies, and government affiliated research entities. Multi institutional collaboration is strongly encouraged and in many cases required, with teams expected to include partners from at least two categories such as national laboratories, industry, and academic institutions. Foreign entities may participate as subrecipients if they provide unique capabilities not available domestically. Individuals serving as principal investigators must hold permanent or indefinitely extensible positions at their institutions and possess the necessary expertise to lead the proposed work. The application process includes submission of full proposals through federal grant systems, with specific requirements outlined in the funding opportunity announcement. Applicants must prepare detailed project narratives, budget justifications, and supporting documentation. Evaluation criteria include scientific and technical merit, alignment with program goals, feasibility of the proposed approach, and the potential for achieving transformative impact. Review processes involve responsiveness screening, merit review, and selection based on programmatic priorities and resource availability. Key deadlines for the current funding cycle include May first for Phase I applications and Phase II letters of intent, May nineteenth for Phase II applications, and December seventeenth for follow on Phase II submissions resulting from Phase I awards. The program is expected to continue in future fiscal years with updated focus areas and additional funding opportunities. Award notifications and project start dates are determined following the review process and funding availability. Applicants are encouraged to engage early, form collaborative teams, and align proposals closely with the strategic objectives of the Genesis Mission.