Opportunity Information: Apply for DE FOA 0002968
This notice is an advance heads-up from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) that it planned to release a formal Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) titled "Bipartisan Infrastructure Law State Manufacturing Leadership Program, Section 40534" (anticipated FOA number DE-FOA-0002969). The notice itself is not the actual solicitation and is provided strictly for awareness and planning. DOE also makes clear that it is not asking for feedback on the notice and will not answer questions about it until the FOA is officially posted, at which point a formal question-and-answer process would be made available.
The upcoming FOA was expected to be funded through the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, commonly called the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL). The program focus ties directly to BIL Section 40534, which establishes the State Manufacturing Leadership Program. In practical terms, the funding is intended to help states stand up or expand programs that support small- and medium-sized manufacturers (often referred to as SMMs) as they adopt "smart manufacturing" technologies and operational practices. The emphasis is on helping manufacturers modernize how they produce goods by leveraging data, automation, connected systems, and advanced analysis to improve productivity, efficiency, and competitiveness.
A central feature described in the notice is that DOE anticipated making awards in the form of cooperative agreements. Cooperative agreements are a type of federal financial assistance where the agency typically expects to have substantial involvement during the project period (more interaction than a standard grant). Eligible applicants were states, including entities such as state energy offices or state economic development offices, as referenced under the federal definitions in 2 CFR 200.1. The idea is that states would serve as the primary award recipients and then use that support to deliver assistance or services that directly reach SMMs, rather than having individual manufacturers apply straight to DOE under this particular structure.
Beyond smart manufacturing adoption, the notice highlights another priority: improving access to high-performance computing (HPC) resources for small- and medium-sized manufacturers. HPC access can matter because many advanced manufacturing challenges require significant computing power, such as running complex simulations, optimizing production processes, analyzing large datasets from industrial sensors, or designing and testing components digitally before physical prototyping. The FOA was therefore positioned to help states create pathways for manufacturers to use these kinds of computing capabilities, which are often out of reach for smaller firms due to cost, expertise, or lack of connections to providers.
Timing-wise, DOE indicated the FOA was expected around March 2023, and more broadly anticipated issuance in the third quarter of fiscal year 2023. The posting included basic administrative fields often found in grant listings, such as the sponsoring agency (DOE, with the National Energy Technology Laboratory listed), the eligibility category (state governments), and the assistance listing identifier CFDA 81.253. The notice also repeatedly states that all details are subject to change until the official FOA is released, meaning interested state offices would need to rely on the final FOA for definitive requirements such as program structure, required cost share if any, application elements, selection criteria, and award sizes.
In short, this notice signals DOE's intent to fund state-led efforts that help smaller manufacturers modernize through smart manufacturing practices and gain access to advanced computing resources, using BIL authority under Section 40534. The notice is informational only, with final rules and application instructions to be provided in the later, official FOA.Apply for DE FOA 0002968
- The Department of Energy, National Energy Technology Laboratory in the energy sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "This is a Notice of Intent to issue Funding Opportunity Announcement DE-FOA-0002969" and is now available to receive applicants.
- Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 81.253.
- This funding opportunity was created on Feb 10, 2023.
- Applicants must submit their applications by Mar 31, 2023 DE-FOA-0002969 FOA is anticipated to be issued in the third quarter of Fiscal Year 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 $2.00 in funding.
- Eligible applicants include: State governments.
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| Funding Opportunity |
|---|
| Bipartisan Infrastructure Law Advanced Energy Manufacturing and Recycling Grant Program Section 40209 Apply for DE FOA 0002907 Funding Number: DE FOA 0002907 Agency: Department of Energy, National Energy Technology Laboratory Category: Energy Funding Amount: $100,000,000 |
| Clean Energy Technology Deployment on Tribal Lands - 2023 Apply for DE FOA 0002975 Funding Number: DE FOA 0002975 Agency: Department of Energy, Golden Field Office Category: Energy Funding Amount: $5,000,000 |
| Bipartisan Infrastructure Law Carbon Capture Demonstration Projects Program Funding Opportunity Announcement Apply for DE FOA 0002962 Funding Number: DE FOA 0002962 Agency: Department of Energy, Headquarters Category: Energy Funding Amount: $350,000,000 |
| Bipartisan Infrastructure Law Carbon Capture Large-Scale Pilot Projects Funding Opportunity Announcement Apply for DE FOA 0002963 Funding Number: DE FOA 0002963 Agency: Department of Energy, Headquarters Category: Energy Funding Amount: $136,000,000 |
| Bipartisan Infrastructure Law: Energy Improvement in Rural or Remote Areas Funding Opportunity Announcement Apply for DE FOA 0002970 Funding Number: DE FOA 0002970 Agency: Department of Energy, Headquarters Category: Energy Funding Amount: $100,000,000 |
| Industrial Decarbonization and Emissions Reduction Demonstration-to-Deployment Funding Opportunity Announcement Apply for DE FOA 0002936 Funding Number: DE FOA 0002936 Agency: Department of Energy, Headquarters Category: Energy Funding Amount: $500,000,000 |
| Nuclear Legislative Working Group (NLWG) Apply for DE FOA 0002984 Funding Number: DE FOA 0002984 Agency: Department of Energy, Idaho Field Office Category: Energy Funding Amount: $750,000 |
| Nuclear Energy Tribal Working Group (NETWG) Apply for DE FOA 0002983 Funding Number: DE FOA 0002983 Agency: Department of Energy, Idaho Field Office Category: Energy Funding Amount: $1,500,000 |
| FY23 Conversion Research and Development Funding Opportunity Announcement Apply for DE FOA 0002946 Funding Number: DE FOA 0002946 Agency: Department of Energy, Golden Field Office Category: Energy Funding Amount: $4,000,000 |
| GRID OVERHAUL WITH PROACTIVE, HIGH-SPEED UNDERGROUNDING FOR RELIABILITY, RESILIENCE, AND SECURITY SBIR/STTR (GOPHURRS SBIR/STTR) Apply for DE FOA 0003048 Funding Number: DE FOA 0003048 Agency: Department of Energy, Advanced Research Projects Agency Energy Category: Energy Funding Amount: $4,241,580 |
| GRID OVERHAUL WITH PROACTIVE, HIGH-SPEED UNDERGROUNDING FOR RELIABILITY, RESILIENCE, AND SECURITY (GOPHURRS) Apply for DE FOA 0003047 Funding Number: DE FOA 0003047 Agency: Department of Energy, Advanced Research Projects Agency Energy Category: Energy Funding Amount: $10,000,000 |
| Bipartisan Infrastructure Law - State Manufacturing Leadership Program (Section 40534) Apply for DE FOA 0002969 Funding Number: DE FOA 0002969 Agency: Department of Energy, National Energy Technology Laboratory Category: Energy Funding Amount: $2,000,000 |
| Bipartisan Infrastructure Law - Clean Energy Demonstration Program on Current and Former Mine Land Funding Opportunity Announcement Apply for DE FOA 0003009 Funding Number: DE FOA 0003009 Agency: Department of Energy, Headquarters Category: Energy Funding Amount: $150,000,000 |
| REGION 8 SUSTAINABLE MATERIALS MANAGEMENT GRANT Apply for EPA R8 2023 SMM Funding Number: EPA R8 2023 SMM Agency: Environmental Protection Agency Category: Energy Funding Amount: $25,000 |
| This is a Request for Information only issued as DE-FOA-0003032, for project titled Domestic Manufacturing Conversion Grants for Electrified Vehicles Apply for DE FOA 0003032 Funding Number: DE FOA 0003032 Agency: Department of Energy, National Energy Technology Laboratory Category: Energy Funding Amount: Case Dependent |
| Domestic Near Net Shape Manufacturing to Enable a Clean and Competitive Economy Apply for DE FOA 0003023 Funding Number: DE FOA 0003023 Agency: Department of Energy, Golden Field Office Category: Energy Funding Amount: $15,000,000 |
| Rural Energy for America Program Apply for RDBCP REAP RES EEI 2023 2024 Funding Number: RDBCP REAP RES EEI 2023 2024 Agency: Department of Agriculture, Rural Business-Cooperative Service Category: Energy Funding Amount: $1,000,000 |
| Department of Energy Heat Pump Defense Production Act Program Apply for DE FOA 0002987 Funding Number: DE FOA 0002987 Agency: Department of Energy, National Energy Technology Laboratory Category: Energy Funding Amount: $50,000,000 |
| WIC.OL.OR.23.12345 Apply for WIC OL 23 Funding Number: WIC OL 23 Agency: Department of Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Service Category: Energy Funding Amount: Case Dependent |
| Operation and Planning Tools for Inverter-based Resource Management and Availability for future power systems (OPTIMA), DE-FOA-0003034 Apply for DE FOA 0003034 Funding Number: DE FOA 0003034 Agency: Department of Energy, Golden Field Office Category: Energy Funding Amount: $4,000,000 |
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