Federal Opportunity Zone Benefits Grants

This is a Request for Information (RFI) only. This RFI is not accepting applications for financial assistance. The purpose of this RFI is solely to solicit input for ARPA-E consideration to inform the possible formulation of future programs. The purpose of this Request for Information (RFI) is to solicit input for potential future ARPA-E research programs focused on innovative technologies and approaches for resource exploration, discovery, appraisal, mining, and processing of critical minerals. Goals of the potential programs could include: Increased recovery rates of critical minerals; Minimized hazardous mine tailings; Reduced energy consumption from any/all stages of mineral development; Minimal carbon emissions from any/all stages of mineral development; Minimal aquifer and hydrological disturbance on the mining sites; Rapid data development/use for permitting and mine planning from governments and local communities; Autonomous operation in remote environments; and Increased access to deeper, more diffuse, hotter, lower grade resources. The domestic supply of critical minerals in the United States (U.S.) has been a national security and economic concern since the U.S. Critical Minerals Stockpiling Act was enacted in 1939. However, the capacity for U.S. mineral resource exploration and mining has been significantly reduced over the last several decades and the U.S. has become increasingly dependent on the international supply of critical minerals. Critical minerals such as nickel, copper, cobalt, lithium, rare earth elements, and platinum-group elements are key ingredients in many advanced technologies. Uses for these critical metals include computers and information services, defense industry applications, batteries for electric vehicles, and other clean energy industry technologies. The transition from fossil fuels to clean energy will depend on the extensive supplies of critical minerals for the products related to energy production, storage, and use. As a result, the annual demand for critical minerals is increasing rapidly. For example, nickel demand from the electric vehicle sector is expected to grow globally from 92 kilotons in 2020 to 2.6 megatons in 2040. With the combination of high demand due to rapid technological advancements and uncertain supply due to geopolitical risks, the U.S. domestic mineral supply is increasingly insufficient to support the transition from fossil fuels to renewable, clean energy sources. Further exacerbating the issue is that the current global mineral supply cannot support the U.S. transition to 100% electrification. Consequently, to meet the supply and demand, the U.S. could look towards the extraction of critical minerals from both conventional and unconventional resources. To view the RFI in its entirety, please visit https://arpa-e-foa.energy.gov.

To obtain a copy of the Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) please go to the ARPA-E website at https://arpa-e-foa.energy.gov. To apply to this FOA, Applicants must register with and submit application materials through ARPA-E eXCHANGE (https://arpa-e-foa.energy.gov/Registration.aspx). For detailed guidance on using ARPA-E eXCHANGE, please refer to the ARPA-E eXCHANGE User Guide (https://arpa-e-foa.energy.gov/Manuals.aspx). ARPA-E will not review or consider concept papers submitted through other means. For problems with ARPA-E eXCHANGE, email ExchangeHelp@hq.doe.gov (with FOA name and number in the subject line). Questions about this FOA? Check the Frequently Asked Questions available at http://arpa-e.energy.gov/faq. For questions that have not already been answered, email ARPA-E-CO@hq.doe.gov. Agency Overview: The Advanced Research Projects Agency Energy (ARPA-E), an organization within the Department of Energy (DOE), is chartered by Congress in the America COMPETES Act of 2007 (P.L. 110-69), as amended by the America COMPETES Reauthorization Act of 2010 (P.L. 111-358), as further amended by the Energy Act of 2020 (P.L. 116-260) to: (A) to enhance the economic and energy security of the United States through the development of energy technologies that (i) reduce imports of energy from foreign sources; (ii) reduce energy-related emissions, including greenhouse gases; (iii) improve the energy efficiency of all economic sectors; (iv) provide transformative solutions to improve the management, clean-up, and disposal of radioactive waste and spent nuclear fuel; and (v) improve the resilience, reliability, and security of infrastructure to produce, deliver, and store energy; and (B) to ensure that the United States maintains a technological lead in developing and deploying advanced energy technologies. ARPA-E issues this Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) under its authorizing statute codified at 42 U.S.C. 16538. The FOA and any awards made under this FOA are subject to 2 C.F.R. Part 200 as supplemented by 2 C.F.R. Part 910. ARPA-E funds research on and the development of transformative science and technology solutions to address the energy and environmental missions of the Department. The agency focuses on technologies that can be meaningfully advanced with a modest investment over a defined period of time in order to catalyze the translation from scientific discovery to early-stage technology. For the latest news and information about ARPA-E, its programs and the research projects currently supported, see: http://arpa-e.energy.gov/. ARPA-E funds transformational research. Existing energy technologies generally progress on established learning curves where refinements to a technology and the economies of scale that accrue as manufacturing and distribution develop drive down the cost/performance metric in a gradual fashion. This continual improvement of a technology is important to its increased commercial deployment and is appropriately the focus of the private sector or the applied technology offices within DOE. By contrast, ARPA-E supports transformative research that has the potential to create fundamentally new learning curves. ARPA-E technology projects typically start with cost/performance estimates well above the level of an incumbent technology. Given the high risk inherent in these projects, many will fail to progress, but some may succeed in generating a new learning curve with a projected cost/performance metric that is significantly lower than that of the incumbent technology. ARPA-E funds technology with the potential to be disruptive in the marketplace. The mere creation of a new learning curve does not ensure market penetration. Rather, the ultimate value of a technology is determined by the marketplace, and impactful technologies ultimately become disruptive that is, they are widely adopted and displace existing technologies from the marketplace or create entirely new markets. ARPA-E understands that definitive proof of market disruption takes time, particularly for energy technologies. Therefore, ARPA-E funds the development of technologies that, if technically successful, have clear disruptive potential, e.g., by demonstrating capability for manufacturing at competitive cost and deployment at scale. ARPA-E funds applied research and development. The Office of Management and Budget defines applied research as an original investigation undertaken in order to acquire new knowledgedirected primarily towards a specific practical aim or objective and defines experimental development as creative and systematic work, drawing on knowledge gained from research and practical experience, which is directed at producing new products or processes or improving existing products or processes. (http://science.energy.gov/). Office of Science national scientific user facilities (http://science.energy.gov/user-facilities/) are open to all researchers, including ARPA-E Applicants and awardees. These facilities provide advanced tools of modern science including accelerators, colliders, supercomputers, light sources and neutron sources, as well as facilities for studying the nanoworld, the environment, and the atmosphere. Projects focused on early-stage R for the improvement of technology along defined roadmaps may be more appropriate for support through the DOE applied energy offices including: the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (http://www.eere.energy.gov/), the Office of Fossil Energy (http://fossil.energy.gov/), the Office of Nuclear Energy (http://www.energy.gov/ne/office-nuclear-energy), and the Office of Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability (http://energy.gov/oe/office-electricity-delivery-and-energy-reliability). Applicants interested in receiving financial assistance for basic research (defined by the Office of Management and Budget as experimental or theoretical work undertaken primarily to acquire new knowledge of the underlying foundations of phenomena and observable facts) should contact the DOEs Office of Science (http://science.energy.gov/). Office of Science national scientific user facilities (http://science.energy.gov/user-facilities/) are open to all researchers, including ARPA-E Applicants and awardees. These facilities provide advanced tools of modern science including accelerators, colliders, supercomputers, light sources and neutron sources, as well as facilities for studying the nanoworld, the environment, and the atmosphere. Projects focused on early-stage R for the improvement of technology along defined roadmaps may be more appropriate for support through the DOE applied energy offices including: the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (http://www.eere.energy.gov/), the Office of Fossil Energy (http://fossil.energy.gov/), the Office of Nuclear Energy (http://www.energy.gov/ne/office-nuclear-energy), and the Office of Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability (http://energy.gov/oe/office-electricity-delivery-and-energy-reliability). Program Description: According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), a circular economy refers to an economy that uses a systems-focused approach and involves industrial processes and economic activities that are restorative or regenerative by design, enables resources used in such processes and activities to maintain their highest value for as long as possible, and aims for the elimination of waste through the superior design of materials, products, and systems. Further, a circular economy reduces material use, redesigns materials, products, and services to be less resource intensive, and recaptures waste as a resource to manufacture new materials and products. Successfully achieving a circular economy requires implementing the above principles to the supply chains of numerous products. Specifically, creating a circular EV battery supply chain focuses on optimizing the full vehicle life cycle. Thus, the emphasis must shift from production and sales within an ownership model to a model focusing on customers mobility needs and access in the form of leasing, as it exists today, vehicle-on-demand (e.g., Zipcar), and mobility-on-demand (e.g., robotaxis). These different business models may coexist but will require increasing collaboration and transparency among different actors, while costs and revenues will be distributed across the supply chain. A circular supply chain offers new revenue streams and business opportunities by providing services to maximize EVs lifetime performance through: Enhancing regular predictive maintenance; Repairing and remanufacturing of battery modules and packs; Improving the reuse and recovery of EOL parts and materials; and Minimizing carbon footprint and maximizing resource efficiency. A circular supply chain also offers opportunities to reduce production and operating costs by: Improving the quality and stability of critical minerals supply chains through cell regeneration, reuse, and recycling; Facilitating rework, reuse, repair, and remanufacture of batteries through modular designs, reversible manufacturing materials and methods; and Reducing asset costs per unit amount of energy delivered owing to the retention of the embedded manufacturing value of batteries, their prolonged lifetime, and the extended use of EVs. The overarching goal of the CIRCULAR program is to successfully translate the above definition of a circular economy to the domestic EV battery supply chain by supporting the development of innovative solutions that can overcome both the technological and economic barriers to broad commercial adoption. CIRCULAR acknowledges that simultaneous advancements in multiple technological domains may be required to accomplish this ambitious objective. Therefore, the program is intentionally structured into three technology development categories designed to converge towards the creation of a domestic circular supply chain for EV batteries. The CIRCULAR program recognizes that conventional recycling is not the only, nor primary, pathway to closing the supply chain loop. Therefore, the primary objective of this program is to catalyze the creation of a circular EV battery supply chain in North America. The program will support the development and deployment of foundational technologies capable of maintaining materials and products in circulation at their highest level of performance and safety for as long as possible. Achieving this goal will directly impact ARPA-E mission areas as follows: Decrease Energy-Related Imports: The CIRCULAR program aims to reduce the import of critical battery materials, cells, packs, and EVs by establishing new supply chain loops within the U.S. Currently, individual steps in the battery supply chain (mining, material processing, cell component assembly, battery cell manufacturing, and recycling) are concentrated mostly outside of the U.S. Reduce Emissions: The CIRCULAR program aims to decrease the domestic energy burden and carbon footprint of the EV battery supply chain by extending the service life of battery cells and packs and by maintaining manufacturing value to the greatest extent possible through regeneration, repair, reuse, and remanufacture. The program will also reduce emissions associated with battery recycling by minimizing the amount of waste and by recycling only pack components that have reached their EOL. Improve Energy Efficiency: The CIRCULAR program aims to minimize energy and material consumption within the battery supply chain and to exploit opportunities to improve energy efficiency through innovative battery design, material regeneration, and/or manufacturing strategies. To view the FOA in its entirety, please visit https://arpa-e-foa.energy.gov.

This is a Request for Information (RFI) only. This RFI is not accepting applications for financial assistance. The purpose of this RFI is solely to solicit input for ARPA-E consideration to inform the possible formulation of future programs. The purpose of this Request for Information (RFI) is to solicit input for a potential ARPA-E program focused on the development of technologies to recover high energy-value materials from wastewater to reduce energy demands and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions associated with conventional sourcing and waste stream treatment. Wastewater in this RFI is broadly defined, and includes municipal, livestock, industrial, and mining sources. High energy-value materials under consideration are nutrients (i.e., ammonia and phosphorus) and critical minerals, where the latter are a group of 50 elements in the periodic table including lithium and rare earth elements (REEs). To view the RFI in its entirety, please visit https://arpa-e-foa.energy.gov.

This grant provides funding to U.S.-based organizations, including universities and companies, to develop innovative technologies that enhance plant engineering for sustainable energy and bioenergy production.

This funding opportunity provides financial support to eligible public entities, such as state and local governments and transit agencies, for transformative transportation infrastructure projects that improve safety, mobility, and community connectivity across urban, rural, and tribal areas.

This funding opportunity supports multidisciplinary teams in the U.S. to accelerate the development of advanced catalysts for energy applications through high-throughput experimentation and artificial intelligence.

FY 2024 Natural Gas Distribution Infrastructure Safety and Modernization Grant

This funding opportunity provides financial support for small businesses to develop innovative technologies for harnessing geothermal energy from extremely hot rock formations, promoting sustainable electricity production.

This grant provides funding for innovative energy research projects that aim to develop transformative technologies for improving energy efficiency, reducing emissions, and enhancing energy security in the United States.

The "Request for Information (RFI) - Engineering Solutions to Harvest Biomass Carbon for Durable Removal and Storage (Carbon Harvesting)" grant is seeking ideas for a potential future program that aims to develop innovative technologies to enhance the energy efficiency of carbon dioxide removal, using photosynthesis, to help achieve the U.S. net zero targets by reducing the energy demand of carbon removal processes.

This grant provides funding to small businesses to accelerate the development of advanced catalytic technologies that support the transition to sustainable energy and reduce carbon emissions.

This is a Request for Information (RFI) only. This RFI is not accepting applications for financial assistance. The purpose of this RFI is solely to solicit input for ARPA-E consideration to inform the possible formulation of future programs. The purpose of this Request for Information (RFI) is to solicit input for a potential ARPA-E program focused on the development of highly insulating R-10-rated glass for windows and R-50-rated walls for residential and commercial building retrofit and new construction.1 This RFI aims to identify potential participants and gather insights to inform the development of a potential funding opportunity focused on these transformative technologies. Heating and cooling of residential and commercial buildings in the United States accounted for about 12% of total national energy consumption (amounting to 12 quadrillion British thermal units) in 2022.2 Approximately 45% of this heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) energy was used to compensate for heat transfer through the building envelope (e.g., windows, walls, doors, attic, and air leaks).2 Reducing the energy a building uses has multiple benefits beyond lower utility costs and carbon dioxide emissions. Smaller, less expensive HVAC equipment and ducting systems would increase useful interior space and reduce demands on the electrical grid. To view the RFI in its entirety, please visit https://arpa-e-foa.energy.gov.

This grant seeks innovative ideas from researchers, companies, and academic institutions to explore and develop environmentally sustainable methods for discovering and assessing natural hydrogen resources underground.

This program provides funding to a wide range of applicants, including universities, companies, and non-profits, to develop innovative technologies for faster and more accurate mineral resource characterization, particularly for rare earth elements and critical minerals essential for energy production.

This funding opportunity provides financial support to nonprofit organizations that assist rural communities in improving their water and wastewater systems through training and technical assistance.

To obtain a copy of the Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) please go to the ARPA-E website at https://arpa-e-foa.energy.gov. To apply to this FOA, Applicants must register with and submit application materials through ARPA-E eXCHANGE (https://arpa-e-foa.energy.gov/Registration.aspx). For detailed guidance on using ARPA-E eXCHANGE, please refer to the ARPA-E eXCHANGE User Guide (https://arpa-e-foa.energy.gov/Manuals.aspx). ARPA-E will not review or consider concept papers submitted through other means. For problems with ARPA-E eXCHANGE, email ExchangeHelp@hq.doe.gov (with FOA name and number in the subject line). Questions about this FOA? Check the Frequently Asked Questions available at http://arpa-e.energy.gov/faq. For questions that have not already been answered, email ARPA-E-CO@hq.doe.gov. Agency Overview: The Advanced Research Projects Agency Energy (ARPA-E), an organization within the Department of Energy (DOE), is chartered by Congress in the America COMPETES Act of 2007 (P.L. 110-69), as amended by the America COMPETES Reauthorization Act of 2010 (P.L. 111-358), as further amended by the Energy Act of 2020 (P.L. 116-260): (A) to enhance the economic and energy security of the United States through the development of energy technologies that (i) reduce imports of energy from foreign sources; (ii) reduce energy-related emissions, including greenhouse gases; (iii) improve the energy efficiency of all economic sectors; (iv) provide transformative solutions to improve the management, clean-up, and disposal of radioactive waste and spent nuclear fuel; and (v) improve the resilience, reliability, and security of infrastructure to produce, deliver, and store energy; and (B) to ensure that the United States maintains a technological lead in developing and deploying advanced energy technologies. ARPA-E issues this Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) under its authorizing statute codified at 42 U.S.C. 16538. The FOA and any cooperative agreements or grants made under this FOA are subject to 2 C.F.R. Part 200 as supplemented by 2 C.F.R. Part 910. ARPA-E funds research on, and the development of, transformative science and technology solutions to address the energy and environmental missions of the Department. The agency focuses on technologies that can be meaningfully advanced with a modest investment over a defined period of time in order to catalyze the translation from scientific discovery to early-stage technology. For the latest news and information about ARPA-E, its programs and the research projects currently supported, see: http://arpa-e.energy.gov/. ARPA-E funds transformational research. Existing energy technologies generally progress on established learning curves where refinements to a technology and the economies of scale that accrue as manufacturing and distribution develop drive improvements to the cost/performance metric in a gradual fashion. This continual improvement of a technology is important to its increased commercial deployment and is appropriately the focus of the private sector or the applied technology offices within DOE. In contrast, ARPA-E supports transformative research that has the potential to create fundamentally new learning curves. ARPA-E technology projects typically start with cost/performance estimates well above the level of an incumbent technology. Given the high risk inherent in these projects, many will fail to progress, but some may succeed in generating a new learning curve with a projected cost/performance metric that is significantly better than that of the incumbent technology. ARPA-E funds technology with the potential to be disruptive in the marketplace. The mere creation of a new learning curve does not ensure market penetration. Rather, the ultimate value of a technology is determined by the marketplace, and impactful technologies ultimately become disruptive that is, they are widely adopted and displace existing technologies from the marketplace or create entirely new markets. ARPA-E understands that definitive proof of market disruption takes time, particularly for energy technologies. Therefore, ARPA-E funds the development of technologies that, if technically successful, have clear disruptive potential, e.g., by demonstrating capability for manufacturing at competitive cost and deployment at scale. ARPA-E funds applied research and development. The Office of Management and Budget defines applied research as an original investigation undertaken in order to acquire new knowledgedirected primarily towards a specific practical aim or objective and defines experimental development as creative and systematic work, drawing on knowledge gained from research and practical experience, which is directed at producing new products or processes or improving existing products or processes. Applicants interested in receiving financial assistance for basic research (defined by the Office of Management and Budget as experimental or theoretical work undertaken primarily to acquire new knowledge of the underlying foundations of phenomena and observable facts) should contact the DOEs Office of Science (http://science.energy.gov/). Office of Science national scientific user facilities (http://science.energy.gov/user-facilities/) are open to all researchers, including ARPA-E Applicants and awardees. These facilities provide advanced tools of modern science including accelerators, colliders, supercomputers, light sources and neutron sources, as well as facilities for studying the nanoworld, the environment, and the atmosphere. Projects focused on early-stage R for the improvement of technology along defined roadmaps may be more appropriate for support through the DOE applied energy offices including: the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (http://www.eere.energy.gov/), the Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management (https://www.energy.gov/fecm/office-fossil-energy-and-carbon-management), the Office of Nuclear Energy (http://www.energy.gov/ne/office-nuclear-energy), and the Office of Electricity (https://www.energy.gov/oe/office-electricity). SBIR/STTR Program Overview: The Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs are Government-wide programs authorized under Section 9 of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 638). The objectives of the SBIR program are to (1) stimulate technological innovation in the private sector, (2) strengthen the role of Small Business Concerns in meeting Federal R needs, (3) increase private sector commercialization of innovations derived from Federal R activities, (4) foster and encourage participation by socially and economically disadvantaged and women-owned Small Business Concerns, and (5) improve the return on investment from Federally funded research and economic benefits to the Nation. The objective of the STTR program is to stimulate cooperative partnerships of ideas and technologies between Small Business Concerns and partnering Research Institutions through Federally funded R activities. ARPA-E administers a joint SBIR/STTR program in accordance with the Small Business Act and the SBIR and STTR Policy Directive issued by the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA). ARPA-E provides SBIR/STTR funding in three phases (Phase I, Phase II, and Phase IIS). Program Overview: The Technologies to Emend and Obviate SYnthetic Nitrogens Toll on Emissions (TEOSYNTE) program aims to lower nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions from the cultivation of corn and sorghum used for United States ethanol production by 50%. The program will emphasize plant and microbial bio-design strategies that lower the application of synthetic nitrogen (N) fertilizer on corn and sorghum fields while maintaining crop yields and reducing 50% of N2O emissions. Lowering the requirements of synthetic N fertilizer will also lower costs to farmers, as the cost of fertilizer is a significant portion of the operating expenses of a farm. This program will enable technologies to reduce N fertilizer consumption and N2O emissions. These technologies will transform agriculture and lower the N2O contribution to the carbon intensity (CI) of ethanol produced today for light duty vehicles and in the future for sustainable aviation fuel. Technologies developed under the TEOSYNTE program must achieve specific targets as outlined in Section I.E. in order to meet the programs objectives to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and N fertilizer usage over multiple seasons while maintaining crop yields. To view the FOA in its entirety, please visit https://arpa-e-foa.energy.gov.

This funding opportunity provides financial support for organizations to conduct research and improve programs that benefit Native American children and families, focusing on early childhood education and family economic well-being.

This grant provides funding to small businesses, academic institutions, and other eligible organizations to develop innovative technologies for generating electricity from extremely hot geothermal energy sources.

This funding opportunity provides financial support to small businesses developing innovative technologies to harness superhot geothermal energy, aiming to create sustainable and cost-effective electricity generation systems.

Grant Title: Request for Information (RFI) on Enabling and Transformative Technologies for Superhot Geothermal Power. This grant aims to gather ideas from various researchers and technologists on innovative methods to develop and speed up the construction of high-temperature geothermal wells for electricity generation and other uses.