CHADWICK CP FOA.pdf

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AR-311-02.23

FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE

FUNDING OPPORTUNITY ANNOUNCEMENT

ADVANCED RESEARCH PROJECTS AGENCY – ENERGY (ARPA-E)

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

CREATING HARDENED AND DURABLE FUSION FIRST WALL

INCORPORATING CENTRALIZED KNOWLEDGE (CHADWICK)

Announcement Type: Initial Announcement Funding Opportunity No. DE-FOA-0003240

CFDA Number 81.135

Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) Issue Date: January 11, 2024 First Deadline for Questions to ARPA-E-CO@hq.doe.gov: 5 PM ET, February 2, 2024 Submission Deadline for Concept Papers: 9:30 AM ET, February 13, 2024 Second Deadline for Questions to ARPA-E-CO@hq.doe.gov: 5 PM ET, TBD Submission Deadline for Full Applications: 9:30 AM ET, TBD Submission Deadline for Replies to Reviewer Comments: 5 PM ET, TBD Expected Date for Selection Notifications: September 2024 Total Amount to Be Awarded Approximately $30 million, subject to the availability of appropriated funds for

FOA DE-FOA-0003240.

Anticipated Awards ARPA-E may issue one, multiple, or no awards under this FOA. The Federal share of awards may vary between $1 million and $7 million.

• For eligibility criteria, see Section III.A of the FOA.

• For cost share requirements under this FOA, see Section III.B of the FOA.

• 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, see Section IV.H.1 of the FOA.

• Applicants are responsible for meeting each submission deadline. Applicants are strongly encouraged to submit their applications at least 48 hours in advance of the submission deadline.

• For detailed guidance on compliance and responsiveness criteria, see Sections III.C.1 through III.C.4 of the FOA.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

REQUIRED DOCUMENTS CHECKLIST ................................................................................................................... - 1 -

I. FUNDING OPPORTUNITY DESCRIPTION ..................................................................................................... - 2 -

A. AGENCY OVERVIEW ........................................................................................................................................... - 2 - B. PROGRAM OVERVIEW........................................................................................................................................ - 3 - C. PROGRAM OBJECTIVES ...................................................................................................................................... - 5 - D. TECHNICAL CATEGORIES OF INTEREST ................................................................................................................... - 7 -

1. CATEGORY A – PLASMA-FACING COMPONENT MATERIALS ................................................................................ - 7 -

2. CATEGORY B – STRUCTURAL MATERIALS ......................................................................................................... - 7 -

3. CATEGORY C – CAPABILITY TEAMS ................................................................................................................. - 7 -

4. CATEGORY AND TEAM LOGISTICS ................................................................................................................... - 8 -

E. TECHNICAL PERFORMANCE TARGETS .................................................................................................................... - 9 - F. DATA STORAGE AND ACCESS PLAN .................................................................................................................... - 16 -

II. AWARD INFORMATION ........................................................................................................................... - 18 -

A. AWARD OVERVIEW ......................................................................................................................................... - 18 - B. RENEWAL AWARDS ......................................................................................................................................... - 18 - C. ARPA-E FUNDING AGREEMENTS ...................................................................................................................... - 19 -

1. COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS........................................................................................................................ - 19 -

2. FUNDING AGREEMENTS WITH FFRDCS/DOE LABS, GOGOS, AND FEDERAL INSTRUMENTALITIES .......................... - 19 -

3. OTHER TRANSACTIONS AUTHORITY .............................................................................................................. - 20 -

D. STATEMENT OF SUBSTANTIAL INVOLVEMENT ....................................................................................................... - 20 -

III. ELIGIBILITY INFORMATION ...................................................................................................................... - 22 -

A. ELIGIBLE APPLICANTS ....................................................................................................................................... - 22 -

1. INDIVIDUALS ............................................................................................................................................. - 22 -

2. DOMESTIC ENTITIES ................................................................................................................................... - 22 -

3. FOREIGN ENTITIES ..................................................................................................................................... - 22 -

4. CONSORTIUM ENTITIES ............................................................................................................................... - 23 -

B. COST SHARING ............................................................................................................................................... - 23 -

1. BASE COST SHARE REQUIREMENT ................................................................................................................ - 23 -

2. INCREASED COST SHARE REQUIREMENT ........................................................................................................ - 24 -

3. REDUCED COST SHARE REQUIREMENT .......................................................................................................... - 24 -

4. LEGAL RESPONSIBILITY ............................................................................................................................... - 25 -

5. COST SHARE ALLOCATION ........................................................................................................................... - 25 -

6. COST SHARE TYPES AND ALLOWABILITY ........................................................................................................ - 25 -

7. COST SHARE CONTRIBUTIONS BY FFRDCS AND GOGOS .................................................................................. - 26 -

8. COST SHARE VERIFICATION ......................................................................................................................... - 26 -

C. OTHER .......................................................................................................................................................... - 27 -

1. COMPLIANT CRITERIA ................................................................................................................................. - 27 -

2. RESPONSIVENESS CRITERIA.......................................................................................................................... - 28 -

3. SUBMISSIONS SPECIFICALLY NOT OF INTEREST ................................................................................................. - 29 -

4. LIMITATION ON NUMBER OF SUBMISSIONS .................................................................................................... - 29 -

IV. APPLICATION AND SUBMISSION INFORMATION ................................................................................. - 30 -http://arpa-e.energy.gov/faq mailto:ExchangeHelp@hq.doe.gov

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 (with FOA name and number in subject line); see FOA Sec. VII.A.

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A. APPLICATION PROCESS OVERVIEW ..................................................................................................................... - 30 -

1. REGISTRATION IN ARPA-E eXCHANGE....................................................................................................... - 30 -

2. CONCEPT PAPERS ...................................................................................................................................... - 30 -

3. FULL APPLICATIONS ................................................................................................................................... - 30 -

4. REPLY TO REVIEWER COMMENTS ................................................................................................................. - 31 -

5. PRE-SELECTION CLARIFICATIONS AND “DOWN-SELECT” PROCESS ...................................................................... - 31 -

6. SELECTION FOR AWARD NEGOTIATIONS ........................................................................................................ - 31 -

B. APPLICATION FORMS ....................................................................................................................................... - 32 - C. CONTENT AND FORM OF CONCEPT PAPERS .......................................................................................................... - 32 -

1. CONCEPT PAPER ........................................................................................................................................ - 33 - A. CONCEPT SUMMARY .................................................................................................................................. - 33 - B. INNOVATION AND IMPACT .......................................................................................................................... - 33 - C. PROPOSED WORK ..................................................................................................................................... - 33 - D. TEAM ORGANIZATION AND CAPABILITIES ...................................................................................................... - 34 -

D. CONTENT AND FORM OF FULL APPLICATIONS ....................................................................................................... - 34 - E. CONTENT AND FORM OF REPLIES TO REVIEWER COMMENTS .................................................................................. - 34 - F. INTERGOVERNMENTAL REVIEW ......................................................................................................................... - 34 - G. FUNDING RESTRICTIONS ................................................................................................................................... - 34 -

1. ALLOWABLE COSTS .................................................................................................................................... - 34 -

2. PRE-AWARD COSTS ................................................................................................................................... - 34 -

3. PATENT COSTS .......................................................................................................................................... - 35 -

4. CONSTRUCTION ......................................................................................................................................... - 35 -

5. FOREIGN TRAVEL ....................................................................................................................................... - 35 -

6. PERFORMANCE OF WORK IN THE UNITED STATES............................................................................................ - 35 -

7. PURCHASE OF NEW EQUIPMENT .................................................................................................................. - 36 -

8. TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER AND OUTREACH ...................................................................................................... - 36 -

9. LOBBYING ................................................................................................................................................ - 37 -

10. CONFERENCE SPENDING ............................................................................................................................. - 37 -

11. INDEPENDENT RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT COSTS....................................................................................... - 37 -

12. PROHIBITION ON CERTAIN TELECOMMUNICATIONS AND VIDEO SURVEILLANCE SERVICES OR EQUIPMENT ................. - 38 -

13. BUY AMERICA REQUIREMENT FOR PUBLIC INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS .............................................................. - 38 -

14. REQUIREMENT FOR FINANCIAL PERSONNEL .................................................................................................... - 39 -

H. OTHER SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS .................................................................................................................. - 39 -

1. USE OF ARPA-E eXCHANGE .................................................................................................................... - 39 -

V. APPLICATION REVIEW INFORMATION ..................................................................................................... - 41 -

A. CRITERIA ....................................................................................................................................................... - 41 -

1. CRITERIA FOR CONCEPT PAPERS ................................................................................................................... - 41 -

2. CRITERIA FOR FULL APPLICATIONS ................................................................................................................ - 42 -

3. CRITERIA FOR REPLIES TO REVIEWER COMMENTS ............................................................................................ - 42 -

B. REVIEW AND SELECTION PROCESS ...................................................................................................................... - 42 -

1. PROGRAM POLICY FACTORS ........................................................................................................................ - 42 -

2. ARPA-E REVIEWERS ................................................................................................................................. - 43 -

3. ARPA-E SUPPORT CONTRACTORS ............................................................................................................... - 43 -

C. ANTICIPATED ANNOUNCEMENT AND AWARD DATES ............................................................................................. - 44 -http://arpa-e.energy.gov/faq

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 (with FOA name and number in subject line); see FOA Sec. VII.A.

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VI. AWARD ADMINISTRATION INFORMATION ......................................................................................... - 45 -

A. AWARD NOTICES ............................................................................................................................................ - 45 -

1. REJECTED SUBMISSIONS ............................................................................................................................. - 45 -

2. CONCEPT PAPER NOTIFICATIONS .................................................................................................................. - 45 -

3. FULL APPLICATION NOTIFICATIONS ............................................................................................................... - 45 -

B. ADMINISTRATIVE AND NATIONAL POLICY REQUIREMENTS ..................................................................................... - 45 -

1. UNIQUE ENTITY IDENTIFIER AND SAM, FSRS, AND FEDCONNECT REGISTRATIONS ............................................... - 46 -

2. NATIONAL POLICY ASSURANCES ................................................................................................................... - 47 -

3. PROOF OF COST SHARE COMMITMENT AND ALLOWABILITY .............................................................................. - 47 -

4. COST SHARE PAYMENTS ............................................................................................................................. - 47 -

5. ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT QUESTIONNAIRE ................................................................................................... - 48 -

6. TECHNOLOGY-TO-MARKET PLAN ................................................................................................................. - 48 -

7. INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY AND DATA MANAGEMENT PLANS ............................................................................. - 48 -

8. U.S. COMPETITIVENESS .............................................................................................................................. - 49 -

9. CORPORATE FELONY CONVICTIONS AND FEDERAL TAX LIABILITY ........................................................................ - 50 -

10. APPLICANT RISK ANALYSIS .......................................................................................................................... - 51 -

11. RECIPIENT INTEGRITY AND PERFORMANCE MATTERS ....................................................................................... - 51 -

12. NONDISCLOSURE AND CONFIDENTIALITY AGREEMENTS REPRESENTATIONS .......................................................... - 52 -

13. INTERIM CONFLICT OF INTEREST POLICY FOR FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE .................................................................. - 53 -

14. COMMERCIALIZATION PLAN AND SOFTWARE REPORTING ................................................................................. - 53 -

15. FRAUD, WASTE, AND ABUSE ....................................................................................................................... - 53 -

C. REPORTING .................................................................................................................................................... - 54 -

VII. AGENCY CONTACTS ............................................................................................................................. - 55 -

A. COMMUNICATIONS WITH ARPA-E .................................................................................................................... - 55 - B. DEBRIEFINGS .................................................................................................................................................. - 56 -

VIII. OTHER INFORMATION ......................................................................................................................... - 57 -

A. TITLE TO SUBJECT INVENTIONS .......................................................................................................................... - 57 - B. GOVERNMENT RIGHTS IN SUBJECT INVENTIONS.................................................................................................... - 57 -

1. GOVERNMENT USE LICENSE ........................................................................................................................ - 58 -

2. MARCH-IN RIGHTS .................................................................................................................................... - 58 -

C. RIGHTS IN TECHNICAL DATA .............................................................................................................................. - 58 - D. PROTECTED PERSONALLY IDENTIFIABLE INFORMATION .......................................................................................... - 59 - E. FOAS AND FOA MODIFICATIONS ...................................................................................................................... - 59 - F. OBLIGATION OF PUBLIC FUNDS.......................................................................................................................... - 60 - G. REQUIREMENT FOR FULL AND COMPLETE DISCLOSURE .......................................................................................... - 60 - H. RETENTION OF SUBMISSIONS ............................................................................................................................ - 60 - I. MARKING OF CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION ........................................................................................................ - 60 - J. EXPORT CONTROL INFORMATION ...................................................................................................................... - 61 - K. COMPLIANCE AUDIT REQUIREMENT ................................................................................................................... - 61 -

IX. GLOSSARY ............................................................................................................................................... - 62 -http://arpa-e.energy.gov/faq

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- 1 -

REQUIRED DOCUMENTS CHECKLIST

For an overview of the application process, see Section IV.A of the FOA.

For guidance regarding requisite application forms, see Section IV.B of the FOA.

For guidance regarding the content and form of Concept Papers, Full Applications, and Replies to Reviewer Comments, see Sections IV.C, IV.D, and IV.E of the FOA.

SUBMISSION COMPONENTS OPTIONAL/

MANDATORY

FOA

SECTION DEADLINE

Concept Paper

• Each Applicant must submit a Concept Paper in Adobe PDF format by the stated deadline. The Concept Paper must not exceed 5 pages in length including graphics, figures, and/or tables, and must include the following:

o Concept Summary o Innovation and Impact o Proposed Work o Team Organization and Capabilities

Mandatory IV.C

9:30 AM ET,

February 13, Full Application [TO BE INSERTED BY FOA MODIFICATION IN APRIL 2024] Mandatory IV.D 9:30 AM ET, TBD

Reply to Reviewer Comments

[TO BE INSERTED BY FOA MODIFICATION IN APRIL 2024]

Optional IV.E 5 PM ET, TBD http://arpa-e.energy.gov/faq mailto:ARPA-E-OpenFOA@hq.doe.gov

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- 2 -

I. FUNDING OPPORTUNITY DESCRIPTION

A. 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.

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- 3 -

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 knowledge…directed 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.”1 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”)2 should contact the DOE’s 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&D 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).

B. PROGRAM OVERVIEW

The Creating Hardened And Durable fusion first Wall Incorporating Centralized Knowledge (CHADWICK) program will pursue discovery and testing of novel, first-wall materials that will maintain design performance over the target 40-year design lifetime of a fusion power plant.3 In most fusion power systems, the fusion reactions are physically contained by the first wall.

1 OMB Circular A-11 (https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/a11_web_toc.pdf), Section 84,

pg. 3.

2 OMB Circular A-11 (https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/a11_web_toc.pdf), Section 84,

pg. 3.

3 Entler. S, Horacek. J, Dlouhy. T, Dostal. V, “Approximation of the economy of fusion energy,” Energy, vol. 152, pp.

489—497, 2018.

mailto:ExchangeHelp@hq.doe.gov http://science.energy.gov/ http://science.energy.gov/user-facilities/ http://www.eere.energy.gov/ https://www.energy.gov/fecm/office-fossil-energy-and-carbon-management https://www.energy.gov/fecm/office-fossil-energy-and-carbon-management http://www.energy.gov/ne/office-nuclear-energy https://www.energy.gov/oe/office-electricity

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 (with FOA name and number in subject line); see FOA Sec. VII.A.

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- 4 -

The first wall bears the mechanical load and protects the components from the extreme heat and highly energetic charged and neutral particles (Figure 1).4 The safety and structural performance of the first wall are compromised over time by significant exposure to high-energy (>1 million electron volts (MeV)) neutrons and heat flux as much as 10 megawatts per square meter (MW/m2)). As fusion energy advances towards commercial deployment, the lifetime and maintainability of first-wall materials will become a major challenge for the commercial viability of fusion power plants with high neutron flux.

Figure 1. Conceptual illustration of a fusion power system from ITER and the layered components between the fusion plasma and the ambient environment.5

Thermal effects on materials are relatively well understood. However, the combination of heat plus an intense neutron environment can generate many nonlinear effects that are difficult to predict. Radiation most commonly damages a material by driving atomic displacements and the transmuting of isotopes within the material structure. Some transmutation events encourage the development of activation product gasses, such as hydrogen and helium, which encourage wall swelling. The combination of stresses caused by atomic dislocations, swelling, and thermal contraction and expansion drive material hardening and embrittlement, ultimately promoting premature cracking and failure.6 The most common descriptor for radiation damage is displacements per atom (dpa). These displacements can cause irradiation embrittlement leading to the loss of ductility in a material after exposure to radiation. Fusion power plant first-wall materials are anticipated to experience >50 dpa over the desired 40-year operational

4 Mitteau. R, Calcagno. B, Chappuis. P, Eaton. R, Gicquel. S, Chen. J, Labusov. A, Martin. A, Merola. M, Raffray. R, Ulrickson. M and Zacchia. F, "The design of the ITER first-wall panels," Fusion Engineering and Design, no. 88, pp.

568—570, 2013.

5 IAEA, “ITER Mockup”, [Online]. Available:

https://www.iter.org/doc/www/content/com/Lists/Stories/Attachments/1449/Mockup_1_small.jpg.

6 S. Zinkle and J. Busby, "Structural materials for fission & fusion energy," Materials Today, vol. 12, no. 11, pp. 13— 19, 2009.

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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 (with FOA name and number in subject line); see FOA Sec. VII.A.

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- 5 -period. Radiation damage has been observed to harden and embrittle first-wall materials at levels as low as 5 dpa.

The goal of the CHADWICK program is the discovery, development, and production of new materials that can maintain the following metrics in a fusion first-wall environment:

• Room temperature ductility after 50 dpa of irradiation damage and helium generation;

• Sufficiently high thermal conductivity to remove up to 10 MW/m2 of heat;

• Activation below 10,000 Sieverts per hour (Sv/hr) to enable remote handling;

• Swelling below 1% to maintain dimensional stability; and

• Tritium retention and plasma erosion lower than current state-of-the-art (SoA) materials.

SoA materials under consideration for fusion first-wall applications are currently limited to reduced activation ferritic martensitic (RAFM) steels and tungsten.7 Both materials suffer from irradiation and helium embrittlement issues that make fusion power plants prohibitively expensive to qualify and operate.8,9 New materials that are highly resistant or functionally immune to irradiation embrittlement up to 50 dpa can increase the lifetime of the first wall by a factor of 10. These materials are envisioned to be essential to the deployment of sustained and economical fusion energy.

C. PROGRAM OBJECTIVES

The primary objective of the CHADWICK program is the development of new first-wall materials that will significantly improve the commercial viability of nuclear fusion. Commercial materials with known high-temperature resistance will often see severe embrittlement and swelling under irradiation.10 Materials that exhibit high irradiation resistance may show low thermal conductivity or high activation. Finding a material that has the most optimized performance for a fusion first wall is a major scientific and engineering challenge. The multi-objective optimization of new materials will challenge the scientific community to use the latest tools to solve the longstanding problem of finding a material that can survive in a fusion environment.

This program seeks to go beyond optimization of known alloys and provide a comprehensive wide-ranging survey and analysis of new material chemistries and manufacturing processes by

7 Grammes. T, Emmerich. T, Qu. D, Heinze.O, Vaben. R and Aktaa. J, "Functionally graded tungsten/EUROFER coating for DEMO first-wall: From laboratory to industrial production," Fusion Engineering and Design, vol. 188, 2023.

8 Bhattacharya. A, Zinkle. S, Henry. J, Levine. S. M, Edmondson. P. D, Bilbert. M. R, Tanigawa. H and Kessel. C. E, "Irradiation damage concurrent challenges with RAFM and ODS steels for fusion reactor first-wall/blanket: a review," Journal of Physics Energy, vol. 4, 2022.

9 Nogami. S, Hasegawa. A, Fukuda. M, Rieth. M, Reiser. J and Pintsuk. G, "Mechanical properties of tungsten:

Recent research on modified tungsten materials in Japan," Journal of Nuclear Materials, vol. 543, p. 152506, 2021.

10 Hunn. J. D, Lee. E. H, Byun. T. S, Mansur. L. K “Ion-irradiation-induced hardening in Inconel 718” Journal of Nuclear Materials, vol. 296, p.203—209.

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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 (with FOA name and number in subject line); see FOA Sec. VII.A.

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- 6 -reimagining what is possible in fusion materials. For example, recent advancement in high entropy alloys (HEA) suggest higher strength can be found by combining three or more alloying elements in comparable amounts without sacrificing toughness or ductility.11 Advancements and validation of computational multi-scale modeling such as density functional theory, objective kinetic Monte Carlo, and 3D dislocation dynamics have also enabled better predictive modeling of irradiated microstructure, allowing more sophisticated design of materials targeted specifically against irradiation damage.12

Under the ARPA-E ULtrahigh Temperature Impervious Materials Advancing Turbine Efficiency (ULTIMATE) program, more than 350 novel refractory alloys have been synthesized and experimentally validated for basic properties using high-throughput materials discovery approaches. Diverse materials processing routes such as additive manufacturing, powder metallurgy, melting, and casting have been successfully used to produce coupons of acceptable quality. Some of these alloys showed exceptional high-temperature strength (1300oC yield strength >350 megapascal (MPa)) without compromising the room temperature fracture toughness (>10 megapascal square root meter (MPa√m)).13 Similarly, ARPA-E’s Galvanizing Advances in Market-aligned fusion for an Overabundance of Watts (GAMOW) program showed that laser powder bed fusion techniques can produce novel tungsten alloys at >95% density without room temperature cracking. Under the GAMOW program, five tons of nanostructured ferritic alloys were produced to validate the scalability of nanostructured materials.14

In addition to increasing the strength and density of a material, the first wall will require resistance to irradiation embrittlement, plasma erosion, tritium retention, low activation, and high thermal conductivity. It is crucial to leverage the tools available today to discover new materials that can solve fusion first-wall challenges, which will enable sustained operations of fusion power systems required for the commercialization of fusion energy in the future.

For the CHADWICK program, ARPA-E highly encourages computational and experimental material scientists to work together with metallurgists, chemists, nuclear engineers, irradiation experts, and data scientists to discover new materials that address the problem of irradiation embrittlement in a fusion environment (see Section I.D.3). Instead of testing all possible combinations of material elements and impurities, computational material scientists will use SoA modeling tools to down-select options to a subset that is reasonable for testing. It is

11 Miracle. D and Spanos. G, "Defining Pathways for Realizing the Revolutionary Potential of High Entropy Alloys," The Minerals, Metals & Materials Society (TMS), Pittsburgh, 2021.

12 Gilbert. M, Arakawa. K, Caturla. M. J, Dudarev. S. L, Gao. F, Goryaeva. A. M, Hu. S. Y, Kurtz. R. J, Litnovsky. A, Marian. J, Marinica. M. C, Martinez. E, Marquis. E. A, Mason. D. R, Nguyen. B. N, Olsson. P, Osetskiy. Y, Senor. D, Setyawan. W, Short. M.P, Suzudo. T, Trelewicz. J. R, Tsuru. T, Was. G. S, Wirth. B. D, Yang. L, Zhang. Y, Zinkle. S. J, "Perspectives on multiscale modelling and experiments to accelerate materials development for fusion," Journal of Nuclear Materials, vol. 554, p. 153113, 2021.

13 ARPA-E, "ULTIMATE," ARPA-E, 18 11 2020. [Online]. Available: https://arpa-e.energy.gov/technologies/programs/ultimate.

14 ARPA-E, "GAMOW," ARPA-E, 02 09 2020. [Online]. Available: https://arpa-e.energy.gov/technologies/programs/gamow.

http://arpa-e.energy.gov/faq

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 (with FOA name and number in subject line); see FOA Sec. VII.A.

Problems with ARPA-E eXCHANGE? Email ExchangeHelp@hq.doe.gov (with FOA name and number in subject line).

- 7 -expected that new materials will be tested and analyzed in direct comparison with their current SoA counterparts to show improved performance. For the CHADWICK program, a new material is defined as having novel composition, microstructure, or macrostructure compared to existing commercially available products. This program is agnostic towards how the new material is discovered but will enforce strict interim and final metrics on material performance. More specific metrics for a particular area of research are presented in Section I.E Technical Performance Targets. Applicants shall describe their detailed approach on materials discovery and justification for how it can achieve the metrics of this program.

D. TECHNICAL CATEGORIES OF INTEREST

The CHADWICK program is comprised of three technical categories to support the program objectives outlined in Section I.C. Applicants can apply to Category A, Category B, a combination of Categories A and B, or Category C, based on their expertise. Category C capability teams will support analysis and facilitate communications between Category A and B project teams and fusion power system designer end users by performing techno-economic analyses (TEA) and life-cycle analyses (LCA) of their materials products. See Section I.F of the FOA for specifics of data-sharing requirements between Category A/B and Category C teams.

1. CATEGORY A – PLASMA-FACING COMPONENT MATERIALS

Applicants to this category will discover and validate materials that maintain room temperature ductility after significant irradiation damage and helium generation while satisfying the unirradiated thermal conductivity, plasma erosion, and tritium retention performance metrics of tungsten in fusion power system first-wall applications.

2. CATEGORY B – STRUCTURAL MATERIALS

Applicants to this category will discover and validate materials that maintain room temperature ductility after significant irradiation damage and helium generation while satisfying the unirradiated thermal, mechanical, and tritium retention performance metrics of RAFM steels in fusion power system first-wall applications.

3. CATEGORY C – CAPABILITY TEAMS

Applicants seeking to contribute an expert or specialist capability that could assist multiple Category A and/or B experimental teams in fulfilling program objectives should consider selecting Category C.

Applicants to this category will have the capability to consolidate the materials discovery and performance data generated within the program (more information is available in Section I.F).

Category C teams will develop and maintain a materials database and perform TEA on fusion http://arpa-e.energy.gov/faq

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 (with FOA name and number in subject line); see FOA Sec. VII.A.

Problems with ARPA-E eXCHANGE? Email ExchangeHelp@hq.doe.gov (with FOA name and number in subject line).

- 8 -power system concepts using different materials of construction and develop a material activation analysis tool for rapid assessment of radioactivity to support LCA of fusion materials.

Capability teams will support project performers on digitization, standardization, and storage of materials data, and create the framework for TEA and LCA of fusion power system designs with various materials of construction. Capability teams will function as a resource for existing fusion designers to establish a baseline model that captures high-level requirements on first-wall materials, and model differing materials of construction to evaluate the impact on the total cost. Capability teams will also be responsible for assessing the radioactivity of new material compositions to ensure that Class C radioactive waste requirements will be met, as well as neutron activation metrics outlined in Section I.E.

4. CATEGORY AND TEAM LOGISTICS

For Categories A and/or B, submissions should include cross-functional teams, with each individual team capable of materials discovery, rapid synthesis and screening that minimizes humans in the loop, irradiation damage modeling, and irradiation and materials testing. The program is intended to bring together cutting-edge material screening and synthesis technologies with SoA irradiation physics modeling to create a new framework that can discover, synthesize, irradiate, test, and validate fusion materials within the maximum three-year Period of Performance. Applicants are strongly encouraged to utilize the Teaming Partner List Announcement, available via ARPA-E eXCHANGE (https://arpa-e-foa.energy.gov) to find collaborators with complementary expertise for submission to this program.

A team which proposes materials to solve both plasma-facing and structural needs may submit one joint application to both Categories A and B. A joint application will be judged by the criteria of both categories. For each submission, the teams must provide detailed descriptions of their approach for validating the performance metrics of the final material products.

Teams proposing to establish the process, standards, workflow, and tools necessary to rapidly screen and validate the cost performance of the materials products should apply to Category C.

Teams in Category C will concurrently develop a tool for rapid assessment of radioactivity of new materials discovered by Category A and B teams. Such teams will also build and maintain a material performance database to conduct TEA and LCA. Figure 2 illustrates an example process flow and the expertise anticipated for the successful execution of projects under this program.

Each project team will have a Technology-to-Market component to promote paths to commercialization of fusion materials. The teams are expected to perform activities supporting market identification, investor engagement, and partnership with private fusion companies to commercialize their material or software product. When appropriate, connections to federal programs involved in finance scaling may be facilitated. The Technology-to-Market component also encourages engagement with community-based organizations for two-way dialogue surrounding waste streams originating from these materials and engagements with other http://arpa-e.energy.gov/faq mailto:ARPA-E-OpenFOA@hq.doe.gov https://arpa-e-foa.energy.gov/

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 (with FOA name and number in subject line); see FOA Sec. VII.A.

Problems with ARPA-E eXCHANGE? Email ExchangeHelp@hq.doe.gov (with FOA name and number in subject line).

- 9 -industry stakeholders. More information is available in Section IV.F.8 Technology Transfer and Outreach and Section VI.B.6 Technology-to-Market Plan.

Figure 2. Sample process flow of a materials discovery framework for integrated irradiation testing of fusion first-wall materials.

Examples of technical approaches of interest for fusion materials discovery include but are not limited to:

• Advanced HEAs with high radiation resistance and high thermal conductivity;

• Novel oxide dispersion strengthened alloys with low irradiation embrittlement and low activation;

• High-temperature refractory alloys with increased ductility and low plasma erosion;

• High temperature ceramics with increased fracture toughness and low tritium retention;

• Coating or liquid plasma-facing material with low plasma erosion and low activation;

• Approaches that couple material physics modeling predictions of irradiated microstructure to aid in the optimization of irradiated properties that can be validated via testing;

• Approaches that leverage an AI/ML based materials discovery framework to accelerate the screening and analysis of material properties; and

• Approaches that leverage unique composition or structural advantages from advanced manufacturing techniques that have not been assessed under irradiation.

E. TECHNICAL PERFORMANCE TARGETS

Presently, there are many fusion power system concepts that show promise for eventual use in a fusion power plant. Each of the unique concepts has different loading conditions on their first wall. However, all first-wall materials for concepts that use deuterium and tritium as fuel are expected to suffer from significant irradiation embrittlement that will result in failures and http://arpa-e.energy.gov/faq

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