FundOpp_DE-FOA-0002987_Amd_000002.pdf

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Department of Energy (DOE)

Office of Manufacturing and Energy Supply Chains (MESC)

DOE Heat Pump Defense Production Act Program

Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) Number: DE-FOA-0002987 FOA Type: Amendment 000002

Assistance Listing Number: 81.253

FOA Amendment 000001 Issue Date: 7/21/2023 FOA Amendment 000002 Issue Date: 2/14/2024 Submission Deadline for Round 2 Concept Papers: 3/15/2024 Submission Deadline for Round 2 Full Applications: 4/29/2024 Expected Date for DOE Round 2 Selection Notifications: July 2024 Expected Timeframe for Round 2 Award Negotiations: July-Sep 2024

*Round 2: This FOA is being re-opened to solicit applications for new Topic Areas:

• Topic Area 3. Residential Heat Pump Production Capability

• Topic Area 4. Heat Pump Water Heater Production Capability

• Topic Area 5. All Other Heat Pump and Component Production Capability

Complete details for how to apply to this FOA opening are contained herein.

• Applicants must submit a Concept Paper by 5:00pm ET on the due date listed above to be eligible to submit a Full Application.

• To apply to this FOA, applicants must register with and submit application materials through Exchange at https://infrastructure-exchange.energy.gov/, the online application portal.

• Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) and System for Award Management (SAM) - Each applicant (unless the applicant is excepted from those requirements under 2 CFR 25.110) is required to: (1) Be registered in the SAM at https://www.sam.gov before submitting its application; (2) provide a valid UEI number in its application; and (3) continue to maintain an active SAM registration with current information at all times during which it has an active federal award or an application or plan under consideration by a federal awarding agency. DOE may not make a federal award to an applicant until the applicant has complied with all applicable UEI and SAM requirements and, if an applicant has not fully complied with the requirements by the time DOE is mailto:FOA2987@netl.doe.gov mailto:InfrastructureExchangeSupport@hq.doe.gov https://infrastructure-exchange.energy.gov/ https://www.sam.gov/

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NOTE: Due to the high demand of UEI requests and SAM registrations, entity legal business name and address validations are taking longer than expected to process. Entities should start the UEI and SAM registration process as soon as possible. If entities have technical difficulties with the UEI validation or SAM registration process, they should utilize the HELP feature on SAM.gov. SAM.gov will work entity service tickets in the order in which they are received and asks that entities not create multiple service tickets for the same request or technical issue. Additional entity validation resources can be found here: GSAFSD Tier 0 Knowledge Base - Validating your Entity.

• Applicants must designate primary and backup points-of-contact in Exchange with whom MESC will communicate to conduct award negotiations. If an application is selected for award negotiations, it is not a commitment to issue an award. It is imperative that the applicant/selectee be responsive during award negotiations and meet negotiation deadlines. Failure to do so may result in cancelation of further award negotiations and rescission of the selection.

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Amendments

Amend.

No.

Date Description of Amendment

000001 7/21/2023 This Amendment is to revise Section IV.D.ii. The Engineering, Procurement, Construction and Operations (EPC&O) project documents should now be submitted as an attachment to the Technical Volume. The EPC&O project documents will not be included in the Technical Volume page limitation.

Text that is revised or newly incorporated with this amendment is highlighted in yellow.

000002 2/14/2024 The purpose of this amendment is to revise the following:

• Add the submission deadline for Round 2 Concept Papers.

• Add the date of the second closing of 4/29/2024.

• Update the Program Goals (Section I.A.i.).

• Update Topic Areas to close Topic Areas 1&2 and include

Topic Areas 3, 4, and 5 (Section I.B.).

• Update the Estimated Award Funding language and table

(Section II.A.i.).

• Update the Period of Performance table (Section II.A.ii.).

• Update the Full Application Content Requirements to remove the Data Management Plan requirement (Section IV.D.i.).

• Update the Technical Volume Content Requirements (Section IV.D.ii.).

• Update the Community Benefits Plan requirement (Section IV.D.xvii.).

• Update the Current & Pending Support language and links (Section IV.D.xviii.).

• Update the Risk Assessment language (Section IV.I.ix.).

• Update Criterion 1: Technical Merit, Innovation, and

Impact (Section V.A.ii.).

• Incorporate Appendix E Community Benefits Plan template.

• Remove language regarding Data Management Plans.

• Remove language regarding Davis-Bacon Act

Requirements.

• Various administrative and formatting changes.

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Text that is revised or newly incorporated with this amendment is highlighted in blue. Removal of text within the FOA document will not be highlighted.

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i

Table of Contents Table of Contents.................................................................................................................................................... i

I. Funding Opportunity Description

A. Background and Context

i. Program Purpose and Strategic Goals

ii. Technology Space and Strategic Goals

B. Topic Areas C. Applications Specifically Not of Interest D. Community Benefits Plan: Job Quality and Equity E. Authorizing Statutes

II. Award Information

A. Award Overview

i. Estimated Funding

ii. Period of Performance

iii. New Applications Only

B. DOE Funding Agreements

III. Eligibility Information

A. Eligible Applicants

i. Individuals

ii. Domestic Entities

iii. Foreign Entities

iv. Incorporated Consortia

v. Unincorporated Consortia

B. Cost Sharing

i. Legal Responsibility

ii. Cost Share Allocation

iii. Cost Share Types and Allowability

iv. Cost Share Contributions by FFRDCs

v. Cost Share Verification

vi. Cost Share Payment

C. Compliance Criteria D. Responsiveness Criteria E. Other Eligibility Requirements

i. Requirements for DOE/NNSA and non-DOE/NNSA FFRDCs Included as a Subrecipient F. Limitation on Number of Concept Papers and Full Applications Eligible for Review G. Questions Regarding Eligibility

IV. Application and Submission Information

A. Application Process

i. Additional Information on Exchange

B. Application Forms C. Content and Form of the Concept Paper D. Content and Form of the Full Application

i. Full Application Content Requirements

ii. Technical Volume

iii. Resumes

iv. Letters of Commitment

v. Off-Take Agreement Letters of Commitment

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ii

vi. Community Partnership Documentation Letter(s)

vii. Statement of Project Objectives (SOPO)

viii. SF-424: Application for Federal Assistance

ix. Budget Justification Workbook

x. Summary for Public Release

xi. Summary Slides

xii. Subrecipient Budget Justification (if applicable)

xiii. Authorization for non-DOE/NNSA or DOE/NNSA FFRDCs (if applicable)

xiv. SF-LLL: Disclosure of Lobbying Activities (required)

xv. Waiver Requests (if applicable)

xvi. Reserved

xvii. Community Benefits Plan: Job Quality and Equity

xviii. Current and Pending Support

xix. Locations of Work

xx. Environmental Considerations Summary

xxi. Potentially Duplicate Funding Notice

E. Post Selection Information Requests F. Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) and System for Award Management (SAM) G. Submission Dates and Times H. Intergovernmental Review I. Funding Restrictions

i. Allowable Costs

ii. Pre-Award Costs

iii. Performance of Work in the United States (Foreign Work Waiver)

iv. Construction

v. Foreign Travel

vi. Equipment and Supplies

vii. Reserved

viii. Lobbying

ix. Risk Assessment

x. Invoice Review and Approval

xi. Prohibition related to Foreign Government-Sponsored Talent Recruitment Programs

xii. Affirmative Action and Pay Transparency Requirements

xiii. Foreign Collaboration Considerations

V. Application Review Information

A. Technical Review Criteria

i. Concept Papers

ii. Full Applications

B. Standards for Application Evaluation C. Other Selection Factors

i. Program Policy Factors

ii. Strengthening Secure, Domestic, Clean Energy Supply Chains

D. Evaluation and Selection Process

i. Overview

ii. Pre-Selection Interviews

iii. Pre-Selection Clarification

iv. Recipient Integrity and Performance Matters

v. Selection

E. Anticipated Notice of Selection and Award Negotiation Dates

VI. Award Administration Information

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iii

A. Award Notices

i. Ineligible Submissions

ii. Concept Paper Notifications

iii. Full Application Notifications

iv. Successful Applicants

v. Alternate Selection Determinations

vi. Unsuccessful Applicants

B. Administrative and National Policy Requirements

i. Registration Requirements

ii. Award Administrative Requirements

iii. Foreign National Participation (September 2021)

iv. Subaward and Executive Reporting

v. National Policy Requirements

vi. Environmental Review in Accordance with National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA)

vii. Flood Resilience

viii. Applicant Representations and Certifications

ix. Statement of Federal Stewardship

x. Intellectual Property Provisions

xi. Reporting

xii. Go/No-Go Review

xiii. Conference Spending

xiv. Indemnity

xv. Uniform Commercial Code (UCC) Financing Statements

xvi. Implementation of Executive Order 13798, Promoting Free Speech and Religious Liberty

xvii. Participants and Collaborating Organizations

xviii. Current and Pending Support

xix. U.S. Manufacturing Commitments

xx. Interim Conflict of Interest Policy for Financial Assistance

xxi. Fraud, Waste and Abuse

xxii. Human Subjects Research

xxiii. Real Property and Equipment

VII. Questions/Agency Contacts

VIII. Other Information

A. FOA Modifications B. Government Right to Reject or Negotiate C. Commitment of Public Funds D. Treatment of Application Information E. Evaluation and Administration by Non-Federal Personnel F. Notice Regarding Eligible/Ineligible Activities G. Notice of Right to Conduct a Review of Financial Capability H. Requirement for Full and Complete Disclosure I. Retention of Submissions J. Title to Subject Inventions K. Government Rights in Subject Inventions L. Rights in Technical Data M. Copyright N. Export Control O. Prohibition on Certain Telecommunications and Video Surveillance Services or Equipment P. Personally Identifiable Information (PII) Q. Annual Independent Audits R. Informational Webinar

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iv

Appendix A – Cost Share Information

Appendix B – Sample Cost Share Calculation for Blended Cost Share Percentage

Appendix C – Waiver Requests For: 1. Foreign Entity Participation; and 2. Foreign Work

Appendix D – Environmental Considerations Summary

Appendix E – Community Benefits Plan Template

A. General Project Information

B. Community and Labor Engagement

C. Investing in Quality Jobs

D. Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility

E. Justice40 Initiative

F. Summary Table: Community Benefits Outcomes and Objectives

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I. Funding Opportunity Description

A. Background and Context The Office of Manufacturing and Energy Supply Chains (MESC) is issuing this Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA). Awards made under this FOA will be funded, in whole or in part, with funds appropriated by the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) of 2022.

U.S. manufacturing output of electric heat pumps, which include ground-source and air-source heat pumps, as well as both space heating and water heating equipment, is not yet at the rate or volume needed to fully achieve U.S. climate and energy security goals. Buildings, homes, offices, schools, hospitals, military bases, and other critical facilities drive more than 40% of all U.S. energy consumption. U.S. energy supplies are largely dependent on fossil fuels that remain susceptible to geopolitical impacts from nations that are not U.S. strategic partners or allies.

Electric heat pumps are industrial resources, materials, or critical technology items essential to the national defense. Increased usage of electric heat pumps will allow the United States and its allies to reduce its reliance on fossil fuels from adversaries, and thus strengthen U.S. energy security and national defense. Electric heat pumps also allow consumers and businesses to cut energy use and costs, reduce climate risks, and create jobs.

The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) of 2021 (Pub. L. 117-58), and the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) of 2022 (Pub. L. 117-169) included several incentives that are expected to increase demand of electric heat pumps in retrofit and new markets but may not ensure domestic capacity of electric heat pumps at the speed and scale required to meet the anticipated demand. In June 2022, President Biden issued five determinations under the Defense Production Act (DPA) of 1950 (50 U.S.C. 4501 et seq.), including a presidential determination to allow DOE to use its delegated DPA authorities to expand the domestic production capability for electric heat pumps.1

Section 30001 of the IRA appropriated $500 million to carry out the DPA, of which $250 million was subsequently allocated to the Department of Energy to support the growth of manufacturing needed to meet the anticipated growing demand for electric heat pumps. This funding could help scale up U.S. heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) and water heating (WH) manufacturing; accelerate installation of high-efficiency electric heat pumps in homes, qualified buildings; and

1 Presidential Determination No. 2022-18, “Presidential Determination Pursuant to Section 303 of the Defense Production Act of 1950, as Amended, on Electric Heat Pumps,” June 6, 2022 mailto:FOA0002987@netl.doe.gov

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industrial settings, and complement investment coming through other BIL and IRA provisions described earlier.

i. Program Purpose and Strategic Goals The main goal of this program is to ensure national security by accelerating the growth of domestic production capability of electric heat pumps to meet the anticipated increased demand for clean energy technologies as the economy transitions to net-zero emissions. The program will also aim to:

• Expand United States electric heat pump manufacturing to reduce the amount of energy needed in our buildings, leading to less reliance by the U.S. and allies on adversaries, such as Russia, for oil and gas.

• Strengthen heat pump system, components, and material supply chains

• Create economic prosperity for communities, especially underserved communities, by ensuring access to federal resources

• Support the creation of good-paying jobs

As part of the whole-of-government approach to advance equity and encourage worker organizing and collective bargaining,2,3,4 this FOA and any related activities will seek to encourage meaningful engagement and participation of workforce organizations, including labor unions, as well as underserved communities and underrepresented groups, including consultation with Tribal Nations.5 Consistent with Executive Order 14008,6 this FOA is designed to help meet the goal that 40% of the overall benefits of federal investments in clean energy and climate solutions flow to disadvantaged communities, as identified by the White House Council on Environmental Quality’s Climate and Economic Justice Screening Tool (CEJST), located at https://screeningtool.geoplatform.gov/, and to drive the creation of accessible good-paying jobs with the free and fair chance for workers to join a union.

Additionally, applications to this FOA could consider heat pumps that support other Federal government efforts such as the Affordable Home Energy Shot (https://www.energy.gov/eere/affordable-home-energy-shot) goals by considering

2 EO 13985, “Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities Through the Federal Government,” January 20, 2021.

3 EO 14025, “Worker Organizing and Empowerment,” April 26, 2021.

4 EO 14052, “Implementation of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act,” November 18, 2021.

5 EO 13175, November 6, 2000 “Consultation and Coordination with Indian Tribal Governments”, charges all executive departments and agencies with engaging in regular, meaningful, and robust consultation with Tribal officials in the development of federal policies that have Tribal implications. Memorandum on Tribal Consultation and Strengthening Nation-to-Nation Relationships | The White House.

6 EO 14008, “Tackling the Climate Crisis at Home and Abroad,” January 27, 2021.

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technologies with company designs to reduce costs, weight, size, and complexity of installation.

ii. Technology Space and Strategic Goals This FOA seeks applications to expand domestic production capability of efficient electric heat pump systems, components, and materials in the United States.

Detailed technical descriptions of the specific Topic Areas are provided in the sections that follow.

B. Topic Areas

Topic Areas: The following requirements apply to all both topic areas.

Projects must include plans for investment in workforce needed to support that corresponding production capability.

A portion of the project may propose using Defense Production Act funding for workforce development to the extent it is necessary for the development of heat pump production capabilities; however, Defense Production Act funding for workforce development is limited to a one-time investment and cannot provide wage subsidies or cover other recurring wage and benefits costs. General examples of workforce investment could include, but are not limited to, partnerships with labor unions or other workforce groups, apprenticeship programs, pre-apprenticeship programs, technical training programs, or other skilled labor training programs.

Topic Area 1: New or additional domestic production capability: The objective of this topic area is to construct new commercial-scale facilities or expand existing facilities to create new or additional domestic production capability for electric heat pump materials, heat pump components, and heat pump systems (air- or ground-source heat pump, heat pump water heaters) where domestic production capability would address clear supply-chain vulnerabilities. Topic Area 1 is now closed.

Topic Area 2: Retrofit an existing production capability: The objective of this topic area is to retool or retrofit existing commercial-scale facilities to transition manufacturing from non-heat pump HVAC systems and/or water heating equipment to produce electric heat pump materials, heat pump components, and heat pump systems (air- or ground-source heat pump, heat pump water heaters) where domestic production capability would address clear supply-chain vulnerabilities. This topic area also considers retooling and retrofits to existing heat pump materials, components, and systems facilities that would significantly increase

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heat pump efficiency and/or expand market to cold climates. Topic Area 2 is now closed.

Topic Area 3: Residential Heat Pump Production Capability: The objective of this topic area is to create new or additional domestic production capability for heat pumps and components serving single dwelling residential units by constructing new commercial-scale facilities, expanding existing facilities, or retrofitting an existing production capability.

Topic Area 4: Heat Pump Water Heater Production Capability: The objective of this topic area is to create new or additional domestic production capability for heat pump water heaters and components by constructing new commercial-scale facilities, expanding existing facilities, or retrofitting an existing production capability.

Topic Area 5: All Other Heat Pump and Component Production Capability: The objective of this topic area is to create new or additional domestic production capability for all other heat pumps and components outside of Topic Areas 3 or 4 (for example, heat pumps serving multifamily dwelling units, commercial and industrial heat pumps) by constructing new commercial-scale facilities, expanding existing facilities, or retrofitting an existing production capability.

C. Applications Specifically Not of Interest The following types of applications will be deemed nonresponsive and will not be reviewed or considered (See Section III.D. of the FOA):

• Applications that fall outside the technical parameters specified in Sections

I.A. and I.B. of the FOA.

• Applications that focus on installation and deployment of heat pumps.

• Applications that are based on research, development, or pilot-scale activities.

D. Community Benefits Plan: Job Quality and Equity To support the goal of building a clean and equitable energy economy, the IRA-funded projects are expected to (1) support meaningful community and labor engagement; (2) invest in America’s workforce; (3) advance diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility; and (4) contribute to the President’s goal that 40% of the overall benefits of certain federal investments flow to disadvantaged communities (the Justice40 Initiative). To ensure these goals are met, applications must include a Community Benefits Plan that describes how the proposed project would incorporate the four objectives stated above.

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Applicants are encouraged to submit Community and Labor Partnership Documentation from established labor and community-based organizations that demonstrate the applicant’s ability to achieve the above goals as outlined in the Community Benefits Plan. Within the Community Benefits Plan, the applicant is encouraged to provide specific detail on how to ensure the delivery of measurable community and jobs benefits, ideally through the use of negotiated agreements between the applicant and the community, and/or the applicant and labor unions referred to collectively here as “Workforce and Community Agreements.” These include good neighbor agreements, community benefits agreements, community workforce agreements, project labor agreements, and other collective bargaining agreements. See Section IV.D.xvii. for the Community Benefits Plan content requirements.

DOE recognizes the similarities between workforce investment as a component of the Topic Areas (see Section I.B) and workforce as a part of the Community Benefits Plan. Applicants may use some or all of their workforce investment as a component of the Topic Areas to support the objectives of a Community Benefits Plan.

Applicants should: (i) clearly explain how the proposed workforce investment is consistent with the characteristics and limitations described in the Topic Areas; and

(ii) identify any overlap between the Topic Areas and the Community Benefits Plan.

E. Authorizing Statutes The programmatic authorizing statute is:

Section 30001 of the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 (Pub. L. 117-169) and Title III of the Defense Production Act of 1950, as amended (50 U.S.C. 4501 et seq).

Awards made under this announcement will fall under the purview of 2 CFR Part 200 as amended by 2 CFR Part 910.

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II. Award Information

A. Award Overview

i. Estimated Funding DOE expects to make a total of approximately $63,000,000 of federal funding available for new awards under Round 2 of this FOA, subject to the availability of appropriated funds. DOE anticipates making approximately 3-12 awards under Round 2 of this FOA. DOE may issue one, multiple, or no awards. The awards are anticipated to vary between $5,000,000 and $50,000,000. DOE awards will not exceed $50,000,000.

DOE may issue awards in one, multiple, or none of the following Round 2 topic areas:

Topic Area

Number

Anticipated Number of

Awards

Anticipated Minimum Award Size for Any

One Individual Award (Fed Share)

Maximum Award Size for Any One Individual Award

(Fed Share)*

Approximate Total Federal Funding Available for All

Awards **

3 1-4 $5,000,000 $50,000,000 $21,000,000

4 1-4 $5,000,000 $50,000,000 $21,000,000

5 1-4 $5,000,000 $50,000,000 $21,000,000

Note *: Federal award values will not exceed this amount.

Note **: These values are estimates, selections may result in more funding or less funding per Topic Area.

DOE may establish more than one budget period for each award and fund only the initial budget period(s). Funding for all budget periods, including the initial budget period, is not guaranteed.

ii. Period of Performance Anticipated project durations are provided in the table below. Project continuation will be contingent upon several elements, including satisfactory performance and DOE’s Go/No-Go decision. For a complete list and more information on the Go/No- Go review, see Section VI.B.xii.

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Topic Area Number

Anticipated Award Period

3 Up to 48 months

4 Up to 48 months

5 Up to 48 months

iii. New Applications Only DOE will accept only new applications under this FOA. DOE will not consider applications for renewals of existing DOE-funded awards through this FOA.

B. DOE Funding Agreements DOE has the authority to provide financial support to prime recipients through grants. DOE anticipates funding projects selected under this FOA through grants.

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III. Eligibility Information

To be considered for substantive evaluation, an applicant‘s submission must meet the criteria set forth below. If the application does not meet these eligibility requirements, it will be considered ineligible and removed from further evaluation.

A. Eligible Applicants

i. Individuals U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents are eligible to apply for funding as a prime recipient or subrecipient.

ii. Domestic Entities The proposed prime recipient and subrecipient(s) must be domestic entities. The following types of domestic entities are eligible to participate as a prime recipient or subrecipient of this FOA:

1. Institutions of higher education;

2. For-profit entities;

3. Non-profit entities; and

4. State, territorial, and local governmental entities, and tribal nations.

To qualify as a domestic entity, the entity must be organized, chartered or incorporated (or otherwise formed) under the laws of a particular state or territory of the United States; have majority domestic ownership and control; and have a physical place of business in the United States.

DOE/NNSA FFRDCs are eligible to apply for funding as a subrecipient. NETL is not eligible for award under this announcement and may not be proposed as a subrecipient on another entity’s application. An application that includes NETL as a prime recipient or subrecipient will be considered non-responsive.

Non-DOE/NNSA FFRDCs are eligible to participate as a subrecipient but are not eligible to apply as a prime recipient.

Federal agencies and instrumentalities (other than DOE) are eligible to participate as a subrecipient but are not eligible to apply as a prime recipient.

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Entities banned from doing business with the United States government such as entities debarred, suspended, or otherwise excluded from or ineligible for participating in Federal programs are not eligible to apply for funding.

Nonprofit organizations described in Section 501(c)(4) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 that engaged in lobbying activities after December 31, 1995, are not eligible to apply for funding.

iii. Foreign Entities In limited circumstances, DOE may approve a waiver to allow a foreign entity to participate as a prime recipient or subrecipient. A foreign entity may submit a Concept Paper and Full Application to this FOA, but the Full Application must be accompanied by an explicit written waiver request. Likewise, if the applicant seeks to include a foreign entity as a subrecipient, the applicant must submit a separate explicit written waiver request in the Full Application for each proposed foreign subrecipient.

Appendix C lists the information that must be included in a foreign entity waiver request. The applicant does not have the right to appeal DOE’s decision concerning a waiver request.

iv. Incorporated Consortia Domestic incorporated consortia are eligible to participate as a prime recipient or subrecipient. For consortia incorporated (or otherwise formed) under the laws of a state or territory of the United States, please refer to “Domestic Entities” above. For consortia incorporated (or otherwise formed) in a foreign country, please refer to the requirements in “Foreign Entities” above.

Each consortium must have an internal governance structure and a written set of internal rules. Upon request, the consortium must provide a written description of its internal governance structure and its internal rules to the DOE Contracting Officer.

If the consortium includes foreign members, the applicant must submit a separate explicit written waiver request in the Full Application for each foreign member. See Appendix C.

v. Unincorporated Consortia

Unincorporated Consortia must designate one member of the consortium to serve as the prime recipient/consortium representative. The prime recipient/consortium representative must qualify as a domestic entity.

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Upon request, unincorporated consortia must provide the DOE Contracting Officer with a collaboration agreement, commonly referred to as the articles of collaboration, which sets out the rights and responsibilities of each consortium member. This agreement binds the individual consortium members together and should include the consortium’s:

• Management structure;

• Method of making payments to consortium members;

• Means of ensuring and overseeing members’ efforts on the project;

• Provisions for members’ cost sharing contributions; and

• Provisions for ownership and rights in intellectual property developed previously or under the agreement.

If the consortium includes foreign members, the applicant must submit a separate explicit written waiver request in the Full Application for each foreign member. See Appendix C.

B. Cost Sharing Applicants are bound by the cost share proposed in their Full Applications if selected for award negotiations.

For all both topic areas, the cost share must be at least 50% of the total project costs7 for demonstration or commercial application projects.8 The cost share must come from non-federal sources unless otherwise allowed by law.

i. Legal Responsibility Although the cost share requirement applies to the project as a whole, including work performed by members of the project team other than the prime recipient, the prime recipient is legally responsible for paying the entire cost share. If the funding agreement is terminated prior to the end of the project period, the prime recipient is required to contribute at least the cost share percentage of total expenditures incurred through the date of termination.

The prime recipient is solely responsible for managing cost share contributions by the project team and enforcing cost share obligation assumed by project team members in subawards or related agreements.

7 Total project costs is the sum of the government share, including FFRDC costs if applicable, and the recipient share of project costs.

8 Energy Policy Act of 2005, Pub.L. 109-58, sec. 988. Also see 2 CFR 200.306 and 2 CFR 910.130 for additional cost sharing requirements.

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ii. Cost Share Allocation Each project team is free to determine how best to allocate the cost share requirement among the team members. The amount contributed by individual project team members may vary, as long as the cost share requirement for the project as a whole is met.

iii. Cost Share Types and Allowability An applicant selected under this FOA cannot use, designate, or provide leverage federal financing, such as DOE Loan Guarantees, to provide the required cost share or to otherwise support the same scope that is proposed in response to this FOA.

Additionally, the achievement of MESC project objectives must not rely upon a current or future DOE Loan Guarantee for another project.

An applicant selected under this FOA cannot subordinate DOE’s interest in property or equipment for any purpose.

Also, in general, deferred or avoided costs such as tax credits may be considered in the overall project business case but cannot be counted towards the cost share requirements.

An applicant selected under this FOA cannot propose the value of previously acquired equipment, buildings, or land as cost share.

Every cost share contribution must be allowable under the applicable federal cost principles, as described in Section IV.I.i. of the FOA. In addition, cost share must be verifiable upon submission of the Full Application.

Project teams may provide cost share in the form of cash or in-kind contributions.

Cost share may be provided by the prime recipient, subrecipients, or third parties (entities that do not have a role in performing the scope of work).

Vendors/contractors may not provide cost share. Any partial donation of goods or services is considered a discount and is not allowable.

Cash contributions include, but are not limited to: personnel costs, fringe costs, supply and equipment costs, indirect costs and other direct costs.

In-kind contributions are those where a value of the contribution can be readily determined, verified and justified but where no actual cash is transacted in securing the good or service comprising the contribution. Allowable in-kind contributions include but are not limited to: the donation of volunteer time or the donation of space or use of equipment.

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To the extent applicable to an Application, DOE will consider data that is commercially available at an established market price to be an allowable cost under the project (either as DOE share or non-federal cost share) but DOE will not consider in-kind data (e.g., data, owned by an entity, that is not routinely sold commercially but is instead donated to the project and assigned a value) to be an allowable cost under the project, including as recipient cost share. Estimation methods used by the recipient to assign a value to in-kind data cannot be objectively verified by DOE and therefore will not be accepted by DOE as an allowable cost under any project selected from this FOA. Consequently, DOE will not recognize in-kind data costs in any resulting approved DOE budget.

Project teams may use funding or property received from state or local governments to meet the cost share requirement, so long as the funding was not provided to the state or local government by the federal government.

The recipient may not use the following sources to meet its cost share obligations including, but not limited to:

• Revenues or royalties from the prospective operation of an activity beyond the project period;

• Proceeds from the prospective sale of an asset of an activity;

• Federal funding or property (e.g., federal grants, equipment owned by the federal government); or

• Expenditures that were reimbursed under a separate federal program.

Project teams may not use the same cash or in-kind contributions to meet cost share requirements for more than one project or program.

Cost share contributions must be specified in the project budget, verifiable from the prime recipient’s records, and necessary and reasonable for proper and efficient accomplishment of the project. As all sources of cost share are considered part of total project cost, the cost share dollars will be scrutinized under the same federal regulations as federal dollars to the project. Every cost share contribution must be reviewed and approved in advance by the Contracting Officer and incorporated into the project budget before the expenditures are incurred.

Applicants are encouraged to refer to 2 CFR 200.306 and 2 CFR 910.130 for additional cost sharing requirements.

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iv. Cost Share Contributions by FFRDCs Because FFRDCs are funded by the federal government, costs incurred by FFRDCs generally may not be used to meet the cost share requirement. FFRDCs may contribute cost share only if the contributions are paid directly from the contractor’s Management Fee or another non-federal source.

v. Cost Share Verification Applicants are required to provide written assurance of their proposed cost share contributions in their Full Applications.

Upon selection for award negotiations, applicants are required to provide additional information and documentation regarding their cost share contributions. Please refer to Appendix A of the FOA.

vi. Cost Share Payment DOE requires prime recipients to contribute the cost share amount incrementally over the life of the award. Specifically, the prime recipient’s cost share for each billing period must always reflect the overall cost share ratio negotiated by the parties (i.e., the total amount of cost sharing on each invoice when considered cumulatively with previous invoices must reflect, at a minimum, the cost sharing percentage negotiated).

In limited circumstances, and where it is in the government’s interest, the DOE Contracting Officer may approve a request by the prime recipient to meet its cost share requirements on a less frequent basis, such as monthly or quarterly.

Regardless of the interval requested, the prime recipient must be up to date on cost share at each interval. Such requests must be sent to the Contracting Officer during award negotiations and include the following information: (1) a detailed justification for the request; (2) a proposed schedule of payments, including amounts and dates;

(3) a written commitment to meet that schedule; and (4) such evidence as necessary to demonstrate that the prime recipient has complied with its cost share obligations to date. The Contracting Officer must approve all such requests before they go into effect.

C. Compliance Criteria All applicant submissions must:

• comply with the applicable content and form requirements listed in Section IV.

of the FOA;

• include all required documents;

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• be successfully uploaded in Exchange https://infrastructure-exchange.energy.gov/, including clicking the “Submit” button; and

• be submitted by the deadline stated in the FOA.

DOE will not review or consider submissions submitted through means other than Exchange, submissions submitted after the applicable deadline, or incomplete submissions.

Applicants are strongly encouraged to submit their Concept Papers and Full Applications at least 48 hours in advance of the submission deadline. Under normal conditions (i.e., at least 48 hours in advance of the submission deadline), applicants should allow at least 1 hour to submit a Concept Paper or Full Application. Once the Concept Paper or Full Application is submitted in Exchange, applicants may revise or update that submission until the expiration of the applicable deadline. If changes are made to any of these documents, the applicant must resubmit the Concept Paper or Full Application before the applicable deadline. DOE will not extend the submission deadline for applicants that fail to submit required information by the applicable deadline due to server/connection congestion.

D. Responsiveness Criteria All “Applications Specifically Not of Interest,” as described in Section I.C. of the FOA, are deemed nonresponsive and are not reviewed or considered.

E. Other Eligibility Requirements

i. Requirements for DOE/NNSA and non-DOE/NNSA FFRDCs Included as a Subrecipient

DOE/NNSA and non-DOE/NNSA FFRDCs may be proposed as a subrecipient on another entity’s application subject to the following guidelines:

a. Authorization for non-DOE/NNSA FFRDCs

The federal agency sponsoring the FFRDC must authorize in writing the use of the FFRDC on the proposed project and this authorization must be submitted with the application. The use of a FFRDC must be consistent with its authority under its award.

b. Authorization for DOE/NNSA FFRDCs

The cognizant Contracting Officer for the FFRDC must authorize in writing the use of the FFRDC on the proposed project and this authorization must be submitted with the application. The following wording is acceptable for this authorization:

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Authorization is granted for the Laboratory to participate in the proposed project. The work proposed for the Laboratory is consistent with or complementary to the missions of the Laboratory and will not adversely impact execution of the DOE assigned programs at the Laboratory.

c. Funding, Cost Share and Subaward with FFRDCs

DOE will NOT fund DOE/NNSA FFRDCs participating as a subrecipient through the DOE field work authorization process. DOE will NOT fund non-DOE/NNSA FFRDCs through an interagency agreement with the sponsoring agency.

Therefore, the prime recipient and FFRDC are responsible for entering into an appropriate subaward that will govern, among other things, the funding of the FFRDC portion of the work from the prime recipient under its DOE award. Such an agreement must be entered into before any project work begins.

The applicant should prepare the budgets utilizing rates appropriate for funding the FFRDCs through subawards. The applicant’s cost share requirement will be based on the total cost of the project, including the applicant’s, the subrecipient’s, and the FFRDC’s portions of the project.

d. Responsibility The prime recipient will be the responsible authority regarding the settlement and satisfaction of all contractual and administrative issues including, but not limited to disputes and claims arising out of any agreement between the prime recipient and the FFRDC.

e. Limit on FFRDC effort.

The scope of work to be performed by the FFRDC may not be more significant than the scope of work to be performed by the applicant.

F. Limitation on Number of Concept Papers and Full Applications Eligible for Review An entity may submit more than one Concept Paper and Full Application to this FOA, provided that each application describes a unique, scientifically distinct project;

provided that each application is only submitted to one topic area; and provided that an eligible Concept Paper was submitted for each Full Application.

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G. Questions Regarding Eligibility DOE will not make eligibility determinations for potential applicants prior to the date on which applications to this FOA must be submitted. The decision whether to submit an application in response to this FOA lies solely with the applicant.

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IV. Application and Submission Information

A. Application Process The application process includes multiple phases: a Concept Paper phase, and a Full Application phase. Only applicants who have submitted an eligible Concept Paper will be eligible to submit a Full Application.

All submissions must conform to the form and content requirements described below, including maximum page lengths.

• Each must be submitted in Adobe PDF format unless stated otherwise;

• Each must be written in English;

• All pages must be formatted to fit on 8.5 x 11 inch paper with margins not less than one inch on every side. Use Calibri typeface, a black font color, and a font size of 12 point or larger (except in figures or tables, which may be 10 point font). A symbol font may be used to insert Greek letters or special characters, but the font size requirement still applies. References must be included as footnotes or endnotes in a font size of 10 or larger. Footnotes and endnotes are counted toward the maximum page requirement;

• A control number will be issued when an applicant begins the Exchange application process. The control number must be included with all application documents. Specifically, the control number must be prominently displayed on the upper right corner of the header of every page and included in the file name (i.e., Control Number_Applicant Name_Full Application);

• Page numbers must be included in the footer of every page; and

• Each submission must not exceed the specified maximum page limit, including cover page, charts, graphs, maps, and photographs when printed using the formatting requirements set forth above and single spaced. If applicants exceed the maximum page lengths indicated below, DOE will review only the authorized number of pages and disregard any additional pages.

i. Additional Information on Exchange Exchange is designed to enforce the deadlines specified in this FOA. The “Apply” and “Submit” buttons will automatically disable at the defined submission deadlines.

Should applicants experience problems with Exchange, the following information may be helpful.

Applicants that experience issues with submission PRIOR to the FOA deadline: In the event that an applicant experiences technical difficulties with a submission, the

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applicant should contact the Exchange helpdesk for assistance (InfrastructureExchangeSupport@hq.doe.gov). The Exchange helpdesk and/or the Exchange system administrators will assist applicants in resolving issues.

B. Application Forms The application forms and instructions are available on Exchange. To access these materials, go to https://infrastructure-exchange.energy.gov/ and select the appropriate funding opportunity number.

Note: The maximum file size that can be uploaded to the Exchange website is 10MB.

Files in excess of 10MB cannot be uploaded, and hence cannot be submitted for review. If a file exceeds 10MB but is still within the maximum page limit specified in the FOA, it must be broken into parts and denoted to that effect. For example:

TechnicalVolume_Part_1 TechnicalVolume_Part_2

DOE will not accept late submissions that resulted from technical difficulties due to uploading files that exceed 10MB.

C. Content and Form of the Concept Paper Each Concept Paper must be limited to a single concept or technology. The Concept Paper must conform to the requirements listed below, including the stated page limits.

Section Page Limit Description

Cover Page 1 page maximum

The cover page should include the project title, the specific announcement Topic Area being addressed, both the technical and business points of contact, names of all team member organizations, the project location(s), and any statements regarding confidentiality.

Project Description 4 pages maximum

Applicants must succinctly describe the following:

• Small Business Status: The applicant must identify whether they are applying as a small business and the planned use of small businesses for the award.

• Scope and Objectives: The overall scope and objectives of the proposed project.

• Project Location: The project location, including the address of the project location mailto:FOA0002987@netl.doe.gov mailto:InfrastructureExchangeSupport@hq.doe.gov mailto:EERE-ExchangeSupport@hq.doe.gov

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• Production Capacity: The product(s) to be produced, the…