Engineering (ENG): Chemical, Bioengineering, Energy, and Transport Systems (CBET) Grant

The U.S. National Science Foundation Directorate for Engineering, through the Division of Chemical, Bioengineering, Energy, and Transport Systems, administers the Engineering (ENG): Chemical, Bioengineering, Energy, and Transport Systems (CBET) funding opportunity. The solicitation supports foundational engineering research involving the transformation and transport of matter and energy by chemical, thermal, mechanical, and biological means. The program integrates physical, chemical, and biological sciences in engineering discovery and is intended to advance scientific knowledge while supporting technological innovation, U.S. economic competitiveness, national security, and quality of life. NSF emphasizes both systematic advances building on prior scholarship and ambitious, potentially transformative research that can challenge prevailing paradigms or establish new theories, methods, research tools, datasets, and lines of inquiry. The solicitation encompasses four ENG: CBET programs. Chemical Process Systems supports foundational research involving reaction engineering and molecular thermodynamics, reactor design, catalysis, electrochemical and photochemical systems, chemical separations, and data-enabled process-system design. Engineering Biological and Biomedical Systems supports engineering research involving microbial populations, cells, therapeutic cells and tissues, biosensing platforms, biological-system design, and rehabilitation engineering. Energy, Water, and Resource Engineering supports foundational engineering research to manage energy, water, minerals, and material resources. Transport Phenomena supports research concerning single- and multiphase system dynamics, physicochemical phenomena at fluid interfaces, thermodynamics and thermal transport, and combustion of gas, liquid, and solid fuels. Research fitting one program and multidisciplinary research spanning multiple programs are welcome. NSF is particularly interested in intellectually ambitious and potentially transformative foundational research, including work that creates opportunities for exceptional early-career investigators and research that scientifically justifies the use of emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence, advanced computation, and automation. Proposals do not need to promise a near-term product, deployment, commercial outcome, or later-stage technology development to be competitive. Projects must provisionally define a comprehensive set of objectives and targets appropriate to the proposed work and explain how they will be achieved. Measures of success may include research publications and other scholarly outputs, established or expanded datasets, patents, new technologies or techniques, support for undergraduate and graduate students and postdoctoral fellows, and training of students in specific critical areas. NSF anticipates approximately 225 to 275 awards and an anticipated program funding amount of $100,000,000, subject to the availability of funds. Awards may be Standard Grants or Continuing Grants. The solicitation does not establish a specific minimum or maximum individual award amount. NSF anticipates a portfolio with a range of project budgets and durations, and budgets and durations must be commensurate with the scope of the proposed work. NSF encourages investigators to consider longer awards of up to five years when they would support ambitious, transformative research and reduce administrative burden. Investigators may also consider mechanisms such as Planning Proposals, RAPID, EAGER, and RAISE for appropriate preliminary or time-sensitive work. Inclusion of voluntary committed cost sharing is prohibited. The solicitation states no applicable indirect cost limitations or other budgetary limitations. Eligible proposers are the categories identified in Chapter I.E of the NSF Proposal and Award Policies and Procedures Guide. Unaffiliated individuals are specifically not eligible to submit proposals under this solicitation. There are no restrictions or limits on who may serve as principal investigator, the number of proposals an organization may submit, or the number of proposals a PI or co-PI may submit. Proposers are strongly encouraged to email a one-page project summary to the appropriate Cognizant Program Director before submitting a full proposal and to discuss the project's potential program fit well in advance of submission. This communication is advisory and does not constitute proposal review or influence funding decisions. Program contacts are cbet-cps@nsf.gov for Chemical Process Systems, cbet-ebbs@nsf.gov for Engineering Biological and Biomedical Systems, cbet-ewre@nsf.gov for Energy, Water, and Resource Engineering, and cbet-tp@nsf.gov for Transport Phenomena. Full proposals are accepted at any time and are due by 5 p.m. in the submitting organization's local time when submitted. There is no required letter of intent or preliminary proposal. Proposers may submit through Research.gov or Grants.gov and must prepare proposals according to the NSF Proposal and Award Policies and Procedures Guide in effect on the proposal's due date; Grants.gov submissions are additionally governed by the NSF Grants.gov Application Guide. Collaborative proposals submitted as separate submissions from multiple organizations must use Research.gov. NSF proposals are evaluated using the National Science Board-approved Intellectual Merit criterion, concerning the potential to advance knowledge, and Broader Impacts criterion, concerning the potential to benefit society and contribute to desired societal outcomes. Review may involve ad hoc review, panel review, or internal NSF review, and proposals undergo an initial compliance check followed by review by an NSF Program Officer and, in most cases, three or more external experts. Successful applicants are notified through the submitting organization by an NSF Grants and Agreements Officer. Standard NSF award conditions and reporting requirements apply. Unless an award notice provides otherwise, the principal investigator must submit annual project reports and a project outcomes report for the general public. The solicitation establishes no recurring annual deadline because proposals are accepted anytime. Research.gov technical questions may be directed to rgov@nsf.gov or 1-800-381-1532, and Grants.gov questions may be directed to support@grants.gov or 1-800-518-4726. The NSF general information number is 703-292-5111. The solicitation was posted August 17, 2026 and replaces multiple prior ENG: CBET program descriptions.

Emphasize foundational engineering research with strong Intellectual Merit and Broader Impacts. NSF is particularly interested in intellectually ambitious and potentially transformative work, including projects that challenge prevailing paradigms or create new theories, methods, tools, datasets, or lines of inquiry. Clearly define project objectives and targets and explain how they will be achieved. Discuss program fit with a Program Director well before submission. Where AI, advanced computation, or automation is used, scientifically justify its role rather than using it incidentally.