Energy Storage Pilot Demonstrations - FY 2024
| Agency: | U.S. Department of Energy |
|---|---|
| CFDA: | 81.255 |
| Federal FON: | DE-FOA-0003399 |
| Office: | Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations (OCED) |
| Multipart Grant: | No |
| Next Due: | 03/14/2025 (Multiple) |
|---|---|
| Solicitation Date: | 09/06/2024 |
| Match Required: | Yes |
| Match Type: | Cash/In-Kind |
| Actual Funds: | $100,000,000 (Estimated) |
| Award Range: | $5,000,000 (Min) / $20,000,000 (Max) |
Summary:
The purpose of this program is to address challenges in both technology readiness level (TRL) and adoption readiness level (ARL), primarily through increasing confidence in performance and cost characteristics, planning for manufacturability and supply chain maturation, and engagement with investors and end users. Specifically, this program seeks to:
- Advance a diverse set of non-lithium long-duration energy storage technologies toward commercial viability and utility-scale deployment
- Generate high-quality operational datasets and techno-economic models
- Build investor, utility, and other end user confidence in the real performance and adoptability of the proposed solutions
To support the goals of building a clean and equitable energy economy, the funding agency anticipates supporting projects that define a robust community benefits plan, including:
- Supporting meaningful community and labor engagement
- Investing in America's workforce and supporting good jobs
- Advancing diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility (DEIA)
- Contributing to the Justice40 Initiative, the goal of which is to ensure that 40 percent of the overall benefits of certain federal investments flow to disadvantaged communities
The funding agency seeks to fund technology demonstrations for energy storage solutions at the pilot-scale. This program will focus on non-lithium technologies with long-duration discharge in stationary storage applications, potentially including electrochemical, mechanical, and/or thermal solutions. Priority will be given to proposals that include utility, developer, and/or end user members, a plan to demonstrate the storage technology in an operational environment, and a plan to build investor confidence to secure support for follow-on projects. The funding agency is seeking to support projects that can:
- Demonstrate reliable, repeatable technology performance at pilot scale
- Generate high-fidelity operational data sets that enable quantification of the social cost of greenhouse gas (GHG) avoided from the project as well as anticipated future deployments of the technology
- Produce high-confidence techno-economic models and cost-down projects from First of a Kind to Nth of a Kind
- Refine and optimize system designs for commercial deployments
- Reine and optimize robust and resilient supply chains
- Establish partnerships with end-users and financiers for future projects
This program will fund demonstrations of a variety of energy storage solutions at pilot-scale to advance technology maturity, reduce uncertainty in cost and performance characteristics, generate operational datasets, and increase investor and end-user confidence in technical and commercial maturation pathways and timelines. The funding agency will consider proposals that include:
- Electrochemical solutions, including flow and non-flow batteries
- Mechanical solutions, including both pressure- and gravity-based
- Thermal solutions, including sensible, latent, and thermochemical heat storage mechanisms configured for electrical to electrical, electrical to thermal, and thermal to thermal input-output configurations
Funding will support technology maturation activities including design for manufacturability, pilot system development, fabrication and installation, operational testing and validation, and commercial scale system design and supply chain maturation. Refer to page 16 of the NOFA file for additional project examples. In the interest of maximizing funding impact and differentiating this program from related prior and current efforts of the funding agency, project must meet the minimum requirements stated on page 15 of the NOFA file.
This program is being released in coordination with the Department of Energy's (DOE's) Office of Electricity (OE) Critical Facility Energy Resilience (CiFER) program, known in eCivis Grants Network as US17992. Applicants may apply separately to both this program and the CiFER program.
Last Updated: December 27, 2024
Eligibility Notes:
Eligible applicants are:
- State, territory, or District of Columbia energy offices
- Indian tribes
- Tribal organizations
- Institutions of higher education
- Electric utilities, including electric cooperatives, tribal utilities, municipally owned electric utilities, and investor-owned utilities
- Private energy storage companies
Applicant teams must include at least one technology provider as a recipient or a subrecipient. Priority will be given to proposals that include utility, developer, and/or end-user members; a plan to demonstrate the solution in an operational environment; and a plan to build investor confidence to secure support for follow-on projects.
For any project that potentially impacts Indian tribes, applicants are required to submit documentation demonstrating that an authorized representative of each potentially impacted Indian tribe is, at a minimum, aware of the nature of the application and its potential impacts to the relevant Indian tribes.
This program is being released in coordination with the Department of Energy's (DOE's) Office of Electricity (OE) Critical Facility Energy Resilience (CiFER) program, known in eCivis Grants Network as US17992. Applicants may apply separately to both this program and the CiFER program.
Each concept paper must be limited to a single concept, and each application must be limited to a single proposal.
DOE federally funded research and development centers (FFRDCs) are eligible to apply for funding as a subrecipient, but are not eligible to apply as a recipient. Non-DO FFRDCs are eligible to participate as a subrecipient, subject to approval of their sponsor agency, but are not eligible to apply as a recipient. Federal agencies, instrumentalities, and corporations, other than DOE, are eligible to participate as a subrecipient but are not eligible to apply as a recipient.
Eligible Applicants:
Local GovernmentAcademic Institutions
Native American Tribe
Private Sector
State Government
Tribal Organizations/Institutions
Application Notes:
Mandatory concept papers must be submitted by 5:00 p.m. ET on October 16, 2024.
Concept papers must be submitted online at oced-exchange.energy.gov.
Concept papers must include:
- Cover page
- Technical solution and business case
- Project plan and team
- Community benefits plan
Concept papers are limited to six pages and must be submitted in .pdf format and must be formatted on standard-sized pages with margins no smaller than one inch on every side. Concept papers must be formatted in black Calibri font no smaller than 12-point, although figures and tables may be 10-point. References must be included as footnotes or endnotes, which will count toward the maximum page requirements, in a font no smaller than 10-point. Page numbers must be included in the footer of every page. The control number must be prominently displayed on the upper-right corner of the header of every page and included in the file name.
Concept papers will be evaluated according to the following criteria:
- Applicant clearly describes the proposed scope of the pilot demonstration project including the key technologies and systems, demonstration site and test plan, and commercialization approach
- Applicant clearly identifies how the proposed approach could be replicated and/or extended to commercial-scale, long-duration energy storage systems
- Where appropriate, the applicant demonstrates how it plans to leverage other federal and/or state funding and/or incentive programs, including rebates and tax credits, and partnerships
- Applicant has identified a preliminary project development plan and timeline that shows a clear path to execution of the proposed project, including a finance plan, and key risks, challenges, and possible mitigation strategies, and has shown the impact that DOE funding as the proposed project would have on supporting decarbonization goals
- Applicant and proposed team have the qualifications, experience, capabilities, and other resources necessary to design, develop, build, and operate the proposed project
- Description of strategies to ensure meaningful community and labor engagement; quality jobs and workforce development; diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility (DEIA); benefits to disadvantaged communities; the Justice40 Initiative; and methods to ensure accountability for all strategies
- Proposed work, if successfully accomplished, would meet the program objectives, including achieving market liftoff and attracting follow-on investments from the private sector
The funding agency will encourage a subset of applicants to submit applications; other applicants will be discouraged from submitting an application. An applicant that receives a discouraged notification may still submit an application; however, by discouraging the submission of an application, the funding agency intends to convey its lack of programmatic interest in the proposed project in an effort to save the applicant the time and expense of preparing an application that is unlikely to be selected for award negotiations.
Applications must be submitted by 5:00 p.m. ET on February 13, 2025.
The due date for the application has been extended to 5:00 p.m. ET on March 14, 2025. Additional information is included in the revised NOFA file.
Applications must be submitted online at oced-exchange.energy.gov.
Applications must include:
- SF 424
- Technical volume (25 pages max)
- Community benefits plan (5 pages max)
- Community partnership documentation (2 pages max per document)
- Impacting Indian tribe documentation (if applicable)
- Resumes (2 pages max per resume)
- Letters of commitment (1 page max per letter)
- SF 424A
- Budget justification workbook
- Subrecipient budget justification (if applicable)
- Transparency of foreign connections
- Potentially duplicative federal funding (if applicable)
- SF LLL
- Disclosure of existing work or relationship with national laboratories (if applicable)
Applications must be formatted on standard-sized pages with margins no smaller than one inch on every side, and must be formatted in black Calibri font no smaller than 12-point, although figures and tables may be 10-point. References must be included as footnotes or endnotes, which will count toward the maximum page requirements, in a font no smaller than 10-point. Page numbers must be included in the footer of every page. The control number must be prominently displayed on the upper right corner of the header of every page and included in the file name. The maximum file size that may be uploaded is 50 MB. If a file exceeds 50 MB but is still within the maximum page limit, it must be broken into parts and denoted to that effect. Files must be formatted and named according to the specifications detailed on page 23 of the NOFA file.
The following are required in order to submit an application:
- Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) number
- SAM (System for Award Management) registration
Applicants may obtain a UEI number and verify or renew SAM registration status at www.ecivis.com/sam.
Applications will be evaluated according to the following criteria:
- Technical approach and impact (25 percent)
- Financial and market viability (25 percent)
- Management and organization (20 percent)
- Work plan (15 percent)
- Community benefits plan (15 percent)
Refer to the NOFA file and Application folder for additional application information.
| Match Required: | Yes |
|---|---|
| Match Type: | Cash/In-Kind |
| Actual Funds: | $100,000,000 (Estimated) |
| Award Range: | $5,000,000 (Min) / $20,000,000 (Max) |
|---|
Match Notes:
Applicants must provide at least 50 percent of the total project costs via cash or in-kind contributions.
Matching contributions may come from project recipients, subrecipients, state or local governments, tribes, or other third-party financing.
In general, matching contributions may include realized tax credits; however, in general, matching contributions may not include deferred or avoided costs such as tax credits.
Unless otherwise allowed by law, matching contributions may not come from federal sources.
Funding Notes:
A total of $100 million is expected to be available through this program to support an anticipated 5 to 15 cooperative agreements or grants expected to range from $5 million to $20 million.
The anticipated award date is summer 2025.
The project period is expected to last up to five years, beginning in fall 2025 and ending in summer 2030.
Commercialization support activities, such as supply chain maturation and system design for future developments, are limited to 15 percent of the project budget.
Applicants selected for award negotiations must request prior written approval to charge pre-award costs.
Funds will not support:
- Proposals that use lithium-based energy storage technologies or other technologies that are deployed at less than 100 MW capacity
- Proposals that intend to produce a bulk chemical as a storage medium, such as hydrogen or ammonia
- Proposals with technologies that cannot achieve a ten-hour continuous discharge duration
- Proposals that intend to expand or construct a pilot manufacturing line or manufacturing facility
- Lobbying
- Applications not based on established scientific principles
Contacts:
Program Staff
LDESFOA@hq.doe.gov
Agency Address
Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations
U.S. Department of Energy
1000 Independence Ave., SW
Washington, D.C. 20585
Contact Notes:
Questions should be directed to the program staff.
Concept papers and applications must be submitted online at oced-exchange.energy.gov.
The agency address provided is for reference purposes only.
Files:
Application File: US18091_Application_FY2024.zip (405.4 Kb)NOFA File: US18091_NOFA_FY2024.pdf (1.3 Mb)
Other Pre-Award File: US18091_Q&A_FY2024.pdf (610.7 Kb)
File Notes:
The NOFA file contains the full solicitation for this program. The Application folder contains the required forms for submission. The Q&A file contains a list of questions and answers regarding this program.
December 27, 2024
A revised solicitation containing an updated due date for the application has been released and attached as the NOFA file. In addition, an updated list of questions and answers regarding this program has been released and attached as the Q&A file. The Application section has been updated accordingly.
December 2, 2024
An updated list of questions and answers regarding this program has been released and attached as the Q&A file.
October 21, 2024
An updated list of questions and answers regarding this program has been released and attached as the Q&A file.
September 18, 2024
A list of questions and answers regarding this program has been released and attached as the Q&A file.