Industrial Decarbonization and Emissions Reduction Demonstration-to-Deployment Funding Opportunity Announcement | DE FOA 0002936

Opportunity Information: Apply for DE FOA 0002936

The Department of Energy (DOE), through its Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations (OCED), opened this funding opportunity to push U.S. heavy industry toward much lower greenhouse gas emissions by moving promising decarbonization technologies from demonstration into real commercial operation. The announcement is grounded in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act) and reinforced by the Inflation Reduction Act, and it is designed to support large, high-impact projects in energy-intensive industrial subsectors where emissions are hardest to eliminate. The basic idea is to help U.S. manufacturers prove that low- and near-zero carbon production can work at scale in the United States, not just in a pilot unit or a lab, and then keep those facilities running long enough to show performance, reliability, and business viability.

In terms of scale, the FOA is positioned as a major federal investment that, when paired with private-sector cost share, adds up to an effort described as more than $12 billion in total project activity. The award structure uses cooperative agreements, meaning DOE expects to stay actively involved during the life of the project rather than simply issuing a grant and stepping back. Individual awards can be very large (the listing shows an award ceiling up to $500,000,000), reflecting that industrial decarbonization at commercial scale often involves expensive equipment, construction, integration into existing plants, and long lead-time procurement. DOE indicates it expects on the order of a few dozen awards (the narrative references up to roughly 55 projects, while the source listing notes 65 expected awards), aimed at high-emitting industries and cross-cutting technologies.

DOE frames the problem clearly: U.S. industry is economically essential, but it is also highly energy- and carbon-intensive and contributes close to one-third of the nation’s primary energy-related CO2 emissions. Because these sectors often compete globally on cost and performance, the FOA also emphasizes competitiveness and a "first-mover" advantage. The goal is not only emissions reductions at the project sites, but also a durable shift in how industrial materials are made and sold, including strengthening markets for products with substantially lower embodied greenhouse gas emissions (for example, lower-carbon cement, steel, chemicals, or other foundational materials).

Project selection is guided by four priority themes that run throughout the FOA. First is deep decarbonization: DOE is looking for approaches that materially change emissions outcomes, not incremental tweaks, and that can produce goods that credibly qualify as much lower-embodied-carbon materials. Second is timeliness: projects need to move quickly enough to cut emissions in the near term, fit within DOE funding horizons, and be replicable by fast followers. Third is market viability: applications should show a believable path to follow-on private investment and broader adoption, including serious buyer-seller relationships and offtake arrangements that help create stable demand for low-carbon products. Fourth is community benefits: applicants are expected to engage local and regional stakeholders, labor unions, and Tribal Nations across the project lifecycle, with attention to environmental justice and local economic opportunity, including good-paying jobs.

DOE is specifically interested in first-of-a-kind or early-of-a-kind commercial-scale projects, meaning efforts that still carry adoption risk but are far enough along technically to be deployed in a real operating facility. That can include technologies proven at pilot scale but not yet commercial, technologies deployed abroad that have not established a U.S. foothold, or other approaches that face market barriers even if the engineering is sound. A key expectation is that projects will not stop at a one-time demonstration; they should include a credible demonstration-to-deployment pathway with sustained operations after completion so DOE and the broader market can see real operational data, performance metrics, and financial results.

The FOA uses a four-phase project structure intended to manage risk while keeping projects moving toward operation. Phase 1 focuses on planning and analysis to confirm technical and financial viability. Phase 2 is where projects lock down execution readiness: detailed engineering and design, business development, site access, labor agreements, NEPA review, permitting, and offtake agreements. Phase 3 covers installation, integration, and construction. Phase 4 is ramp-up and operations, including data collection and analysis of plant performance and economics. Applicants are expected to propose a plan that covers all four phases, and projects that have already completed some early steps can be considered for accelerated reviews. While DOE does not intend to run a competitive down-select among awardees after initial selection, it will conduct regular Go/No-Go reviews tied to milestones to manage risk and ensure projects are delivering what they promised.

On eligibility and team structure, the program allows a broad set of applicants, including state and local governments, public and private universities, Tribal governments and Tribal organizations, nonprofits, for-profit organizations (including large companies), and small businesses. Even with that broad eligibility, DOE signals a strong preference for projects led by a single for-profit organization or the owner/operator of an eligible facility, which reflects the reality that these efforts often hinge on control of the industrial site and the ability to make binding commercial and operational commitments. At the same time, DOE encourages partnerships that strengthen execution and credibility, such as teaming with universities, national laboratories, labor unions, community-based organizations, NGOs, and product off-takers.

Administratively, this opportunity is managed through OCED’s Funding Opportunity Exchange portal, and the submission process has a required gating step: only applicants who submit an eligible concept paper can move on to submit a full application. Both concept papers and full applications must be submitted through the OCED Exchange site by the posted deadlines. The listing identifies the opportunity as DE-FOA-0002936, under CFDA 81.255, categorized under Energy, with DOE Headquarters as the issuing agency. The original closing date shown in the source data is August 4, 2023, so anyone considering this program now would need to verify current status, amendments, or any subsequent rounds through OCED’s portal and DOE announcements.

• The Department of Energy, Headquarters in the energy sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Industrial Decarbonization and Emissions Reduction Demonstration-to-Deployment Funding Opportunity Announcement" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 81.255.
• This funding opportunity was created on Mar 08, 2023.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Aug 04, 2023. (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 $500,000,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 65 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: State governments, County governments, City or township governments, Special district governments, Public and State controlled institutions of higher education, Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized), Native American tribal organizations (other than Federally recognized tribal governments), Nonprofits having a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Nonprofits that do not have a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Private institutions of higher education, For profit organizations other than small businesses, Small businesses.

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