Department of Energy Fuel Cells Technologies Office Annual Funding Opportunity Announcement

For Topics 1, 2, and 3, core FFRDC members of the ElectroCat, HydroGEN, and HyMARC EMN consortia are ineligible to apply to their associated FOA topic(s) as prime or subrecipients. However, core FFRDCs that are core members of a consortium can apply to other consortium topics for which they are not core members (e.g., Argonne National Laboratory is ineligible to apply to Topic 1 since they are a core member of ElectroCat, but is eligible to apply to Topics 2 and 3). The core members of each consortium are listed below.

Core ElectroCat Consortium members: Los Alamos National Laboratory, Argonne National Laboratory, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, National Renewable Energy Laboratory

Core HydroGEN Consortium members: National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Sandia National Laboratory, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Idaho National Laboratory, Savannah River National Laboratory, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory

Core HyMARC Consortium members: Sandia National Laboratory, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

The fuel cells market is growing rapidly, and has seen an annual growth rate of 30% every year since 2010 as well as $2 billion annual revenue in 2014. Light duty vehicles are an emerging application for fuel cells that already enable 95% lower petroleum consumption per mile than conventional internal combustion engine vehicles.

Applicants to this funding opportunity announcement (FOA) will collaborate with national lab consortia launched within the EMN. The EMN consortia have been established to make unique, world-class capabilities at the national laboratories more accessible to industry, facilitating collaborations that will expedite the development and manufacturing of advanced materials for commercial markets.

The FOA topics include:
• Topic 1: PGM-free Catalyst and Electrode R&D – this topic will leverage the Electrocatalysis Consortium (ElectroCat) to accelerate the development of catalysts made without platinum group metals (PGM-free) for use in fuel cells for transportation.
• Topic 2: Advanced Water Splitting Materials – this topic will leverage the HydroGEN Consortium to accelerate the development of advanced water splitting materials for hydrogen production, with an initial focus on advanced electrolytic, photoelectrochemical, and solar thermochemical pathways.
• Topic 3: Hydrogen Storage Materials Discovery – this topic will leverage the Hydrogen Materials—Advanced Research Consortium (HyMARC) to address unsolved scientific challenges in the development of viable solid-state materials for hydrogen storage onboard fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs).
• Topic 4: Precursor Development for Low-Cost, High-Strength Carbon Fiber for Use in Composite Overwrapped Pressure Vessel Applications – this topic will aim to reduce the cost of onboard hydrogen storage necessary for FCEVs. Applicants for this topic will be encouraged to collaborate with LightMAT, a consortium launched by the DOE Vehicle Technologies Office to enable light-weighting of vehicles through the development of high-strength steels and carbon fiber.

The full FOA is posted on the EERE Exchange website at https://eere-exchange.energy.gov. To apply to this FOA, Applicants must register with and submit application materials through EERE Exchange, EERE’s online application portal.

Information on where to submit questions regarding the content of the announcement and where to submit questions regarding submission of applications is found in the full FOA posted on the EERE Exchange website.

The Exchange system enforces hard deadlines for Concept Paper and Full Application submissions. The APPLY and SUBMIT buttons automatically disable at the defined submission deadlines. The intention of this design is to consistently enforce a standard deadline for all applicants.

Applicants that experience issues with submissions PRIOR to the FOA Deadline:
In the event that an Applicant experiences technical difficulties with a submission PRIOR to the deadline, the Applicant should contact the eXCHANGE helpdesk for assistance (EERE‐ExchangeSupport@hq.doe.gov). The eXCHANGE helpdesk &/or the EERE Exchange System Administrators (Exchange@ee.doe.gov ) will assist the Applicant in resolving all issues.

Applicants that experience issues with submissions that result in a late submission:
In the event that an Applicant experiences technical difficulties with a submission that results in a late submission, the Applicant should contact the Exchange helpdesk for assistance (EERE‐ExchangeSupport@hq.doe.gov). The eXCHANGE helpdesk &/or the EERE eXCHANGE System Administrators (eXCHANGE@ee.doe.gov) will assist the Applicant in resolving all issues (including finalizing the submission on behalf of and with the Applicant’s concurrence). DOE will only accept late applications when the Applicant has a) encountered technical difficulties beyond their control; b) has contacted the Exchange helpdesk for assistance, and c) has submitted the application through Exchange within 24 hours of the FOA’s posted deadline.