Research and Development Challenges or Research Gaps Associated with the Application of Carbon Capture to Industrial Emissions | DE FOA 0002444

Opportunity Information: Apply for DE FOA 0002444

This opportunity, titled "Research and Development Challenges or Research Gaps Associated with the Application of Carbon Capture to Industrial Emissions" (Funding Opportunity Number DE-FOA-0002444), is a U.S. Department of Energy effort led through the National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) under the Fossil Energy Research and Development program area. Despite the presence of an FOA-style identifier, the document is explicitly a Request for Information (RFI), meaning it is meant to collect input from stakeholders rather than fund projects. The central aim is to gather practical, specific information on research challenges and gaps that arise when carbon capture technologies are applied to industrial emission sources, with the idea that the feedback could shape DOE research priorities and potentially inform a future Funding Opportunity Announcement that would actually solicit and fund research and development work.

The focus is industrial emissions, which typically differ from power-sector applications in ways that can create unique technical and economic barriers for carbon capture. Industrial facilities often have highly variable operating profiles, diverse gas compositions, and different constraints on space, heat integration, and process disruptions. By issuing an RFI, DOE is essentially asking industry, researchers, equipment providers, and other stakeholders to identify where current carbon capture approaches struggle most in real-world industrial settings and where targeted R&D could meaningfully reduce cost, energy penalty, operational risk, or integration complexity. The output DOE wants is actionable: clearly defined research challenges, knowledge gaps, and needs that can be translated into future R&D topics or technical requirements for a subsequent competitive funding solicitation.

In administrative terms, this is categorized as discretionary funding and sits in the Energy activity area under CFDA 81.089. Eligible applicants are listed as unrestricted, which reflects that RFIs typically welcome broad participation from any relevant party, including private industry, universities, national laboratories, nonprofits, and individuals with credible expertise. However, it is important to treat the "eligible applicants" field as informational rather than an invitation to apply for money, because DOE emphasizes that it is not accepting applications and that this notice is not itself a Funding Opportunity Announcement. In other words, the only action contemplated here is submitting information in response to DOE questions, not submitting a project proposal seeking an award.

The posting includes an original closing date of December 24, 2020, and a creation date of November 30, 2020, indicating a relatively short response window typical of RFIs that are meant to quickly inform program planning. Award-related fields such as "Award Ceiling: 2" and "Expected Awards:" appear in the metadata, but in the context of an RFI they should not be interpreted the same way they would be for a true grant competition. RFIs do not make awards; they help DOE decide what a later funded program should look like, what problems are most urgent, and what kind of research scope is realistically achievable.

Overall, the notice can be understood as a planning and market-intelligence step by DOE/NETL to map the hardest unresolved issues for carbon capture on industrial sources and to prioritize research directions. Anyone interested in future DOE funding in industrial decarbonization and carbon capture would treat this type of RFI as an early indicator of where federal R&D investments may be headed, since DOE often uses stakeholder responses to shape topic areas, performance targets, and eligibility or teaming expectations for later FOAs.

• The National Energy Technology Laboratory in the energy sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Research and Development Challenges or Research Gaps Associated with the Application of Carbon Capture to Industrial Emissions" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 81.089.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2020-11-30.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2020-12-24. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $2.00 in funding.
• Eligible applicants include: Unrestricted.

Apply for DE FOA 0002444

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