Electric Vehicles for American Low-Carbon Living (EVs4ALL) | DE FOA 0002760

Opportunity Information: Apply for DE FOA 0002760

Electric Vehicles for American Low-Carbon Living (EVs4ALL) is a competitive funding opportunity from the U.S. Department of Energy's Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) under FOA number DE-FOA-0002760. The program sits squarely in ARPA-E's mission of backing high-risk, high-reward energy technologies that can create step-change improvements rather than incremental gains along existing technology roadmaps. In this case, the focus is on next-generation electric-vehicle battery technologies that could meaningfully speed up and broaden EV adoption across the U.S. by improving everyday consumer realities like cost, convenience, reliability, and safety, not just lab performance.

The FOA frames the problem in climate and emissions terms: the U.S. contributes a disproportionately large share of global CO2 emissions, and transportation is the largest domestic emitting sector, with road passenger vehicles representing a major portion of those emissions. EVs are an obvious decarbonization lever as electricity generation becomes cleaner, but current adoption patterns show that EVs have not yet become a mainstream, broadly accessible option nationwide. The announcement notes that EV sales reached 3.6% of U.S. new car sales in 2021, but that sales were heavily concentrated in states like California and skewed toward a narrower demographic group. EVs4ALL is designed around the idea that technical barriers in batteries are directly tied to these adoption gaps, especially for people without home charging, for drivers in cold climates, and for buyers in the used-car market.

EVs4ALL highlights three specific market needs that the agency wants battery innovations to address. First is the reality that roughly 37% of Americans live in homes without garages or carports, which often means no simple, reliable way to charge overnight. For that segment, the program emphasizes the need for batteries that can be charged rapidly while remaining safe, since convenient fast-charging becomes more important when home charging is not available. Second, the FOA points to cold-weather performance as a real adoption barrier in northern states, where batteries can lose usable capacity and power at low temperatures; as a result, ARPA-E is looking for batteries that maintain stronger performance and resilience in the cold. Third, the announcement ties affordability to durability and the used EV market: with a median U.S. household income around $70,000 and two-thirds of Americans typically buying used vehicles, long-lasting batteries are positioned as essential to making used EVs more appealing and trustworthy, particularly because lower-cost used models may otherwise come with ranges that feel too limited or uncertain.

From a funding and administration standpoint, ARPA-E expects to make about 10 awards, with an award ceiling of $6,000,000 per project. The FOA lists multiple possible award instruments, including cooperative agreements, grants, and other mechanisms, and it categorizes the work under science and technology and other research and development. Eligibility is described as unrestricted (open to any type of entity), subject to any additional eligibility clarifications that may appear in the full FOA text. Like other ARPA-E programs, EVs4ALL is oriented toward applied research and experimental development that can be advanced substantially within a defined project period and budget, with an emphasis on solutions that could ultimately be manufacturable and scalable enough to become disruptive in the real market.

The submission process is strictly handled through ARPA-E's online portal, ARPA-E eXCHANGE, and the FOA stresses that ARPA-E will not review concept papers submitted through any other channel. Applicants are directed to retrieve the full FOA from the ARPA-E FOA website, register for eXCHANGE, and use the eXCHANGE User Guide for step-by-step submission guidance. For technical issues with the portal, the contact is ExchangeHelp@hq.doe.gov (with the FOA name and number in the email subject line), while FOA questions are routed first through ARPA-E's FAQ page and then, if unresolved, to ARPA-E-CO@hq.doe.gov. The original deadline listed for submissions was June 16, 2022 at 9:30 a.m. Eastern Time, with a recommendation to submit at least 48 hours early to avoid last-minute issues.

Overall, EVs4ALL is best understood as ARPA-E's attempt to push battery technology in directions that matter to ordinary drivers who are not early adopters, not concentrated in mild climates, and not always able to pay for a new vehicle. The program is explicitly not just about improving energy density on paper; it is about batteries that can safely fast-charge for people who cannot plug in at home, perform reliably in freezing conditions, and last long enough to support a healthy used EV ecosystem, which together would make EV ownership more practical and attractive for a much larger share of the country.

• The Department of Energy, Advanced Research Projects Agency Energy in the opportunity zone benefits, science and technology and other research and development sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Electric Vehicles for American Low-Carbon Living (EVs4ALL)" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 81.135.
• This funding opportunity was created on May 03, 2022.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Jun 16, 2022 Submissions to this FOA are due no later than 930 a.m. Eastern Time on 06/16/2022. Applicants are strongly encouraged to submit at least 48 hours in advance of the due date.. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $6,000,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 10 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Unrestricted (i.e., open to any type of entity above), subject to any clarification in text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility.

Apply for DE FOA 0002760

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