Opportunity Information: Apply for DE FOA 0001874
The FY18 Hydrogen and Fuel Cell R&D Funding Opportunity Announcement (DE-FOA-0001874) was a U.S. Department of Energy solicitation, administered through the DOE Golden Field Office, aimed at pushing early-stage research and development that tackles key technical hurdles holding back fuel cells and the broader hydrogen ecosystem. The main intent was to speed progress toward energy options that are affordable, clean, safe, and reliable, while strengthening U.S. energy security and cutting emissions. A notable feature of the opportunity is its emphasis on pairing public R&D support with private-sector engagement, not only to advance technology, but also to help address practical, real-world barriers that can slow commercialization and deployment.
The FOA was framed around strong market momentum and growing strategic interest in fuel cells. It pointed to rapid global market growth in 2016, with reported revenues above $1.6 billion, and highlighted that the United States had purchased more than 20,000 fuel cell units for material handling equipment since 2009. It also underscored light-duty vehicles as an emerging and increasingly important fuel cell application, drawing attention because of fuel cells' potential to deliver high efficiency, reduce petroleum use, and cut criteria pollutants. In other words, the opportunity was positioned not as purely academic research, but as work meant to connect to growing commercial demand and to the practical requirements of transportation and other end-use sectors.
The funding was offered through cooperative agreements, which typically means DOE expected substantial involvement during the project period (for example, technical collaboration, milestones, and active project management rather than a hands-off grant). The activity area was energy, under CFDA 81.087. The expected scale of the program was substantial: up to 30 awards were anticipated, with an award ceiling of $2,500,000 per project. Eligibility was listed broadly as "Others" with applicants instructed to consult the FOA text for the specific eligibility details and clarifications.
Technically, the FOA was organized into three topic areas. Topic 1, under the Energy Materials Network (EMN) and specifically the ElectroCat consortium, targeted one of the most persistent cost challenges in fuel cell vehicles and other PEM fuel cell applications: the use of expensive platinum group metals in catalysts. This topic aimed to accelerate development of non-platinum-group-metal electrocatalysts suitable for transportation fuel cells. A major purpose of using the EMN structure was to make specialized, world-class national laboratory capabilities easier for industry to access, encouraging industry-lab collaboration and shortening the path from materials discovery to scalable manufacturing approaches that are relevant to commercial markets.
Topic 2, labeled H2@Scale, focused on hydrogen as a cross-cutting energy carrier that can link the electric grid, transportation, and industrial hydrogen users and producers. The topic aimed to improve efficiency and resiliency for both the electrical system and transportation while enabling broader gains in hydrogen-related industries. The FOA highlighted areas such as materials compatibility (important because hydrogen can affect metals, seals, and other infrastructure components), electrolyzer integration (relevant to producing hydrogen from electricity, including renewable electricity), and analysis (covering modeling, techno-economic assessment, systems analysis, and other work needed to identify the most impactful pathways and integration strategies).
Topic 3, Innovative Concepts, supported applied early-stage fuel cell R&D across transportation, stationary power, and early market uses, with a clear emphasis on driving down cost and improving durability. While the core of DOE's portfolio was described as polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs) and platinum-based catalysts, this topic also left room for longer-term or alternative technical approaches that could offer meaningful advantages over conventional PEMFC pathways. This structure signaled a balance between near- and mid-term improvements to dominant technologies and selective support for higher-risk concepts that might deliver step-change benefits.
In terms of application logistics, submissions were handled through EERE Exchange (https://eere-exchange.energy.gov), DOE EERE's online portal. The process required registration and electronic submission through that system, with instructions and points of contact for both technical questions and submission issues provided in the full FOA posting. The timeline included a concept paper stage and a full application stage, with concept papers due May 7, 2018 at 5:00 pm ET and full applications due June 12, 2018 at 5:00 pm ET, which is typical of DOE competitive solicitations designed to screen ideas early and focus full application effort on the most promising concepts.Apply for DE FOA 0001874
- The Department of Energy, Golden Field Office in the energy sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "FY18 Hydrogen and Fuel Cell R&D Funding Opportunity Announcement" and is now available to receive applicants.
- Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 81.087.
- This funding opportunity was created on Apr 17, 2018.
- Applicants must submit their applications by Jun 12, 2018 Submission Deadline for Concept Papers May 7, 2018 500pm ET Submission Deadline for Full Applications June 12, 2018 500pm ET. (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 $2,500,000.00 in funding.
- The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 30 candidate(s).
- Eligible applicants include: Others (see text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility for clarification).
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