Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technologies Office FOA to Advance the National Clean Hydrogen Strategy | DE FOA 0003213

Opportunity Information: Apply for DE FOA 0003213

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), through the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) and its Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technologies Office (HFTO), released Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) DE-FOA-0003213 to move forward the National Clean Hydrogen Strategy and Roadmap and related federal decarbonization efforts. The opportunity is structured as a discretionary funding program using cooperative agreements, meaning DOE expects to be substantially involved in project direction and oversight during execution. In broad terms, the FOA is meant to accelerate research, development, demonstration, and deployment (RDDandD) that makes clean hydrogen cheaper, easier to transport and store, and more practical to use across multiple sectors of the economy, while also addressing safety, permitting, and community engagement so deployments can happen responsibly and with durable local support.

A key theme of the FOA is alignment with major DOE and federal priorities. It explicitly connects funded work to the H2@Scale initiative, which looks at hydrogen production, delivery, storage, and end use as an integrated system, and to the Hydrogen Energy Earthshot (the Hydrogen Shot), which sets a high-profile cost target of producing clean hydrogen at about $1 per kilogram by 2031. The FOA frames hydrogen as a tool to help achieve economy-wide net-zero emissions by 2050 and supports the Administration goals around carbon pollution-free electricity by 2035. At the same time, it emphasizes that technology progress alone is not sufficient; the FOA also prioritizes the real-world conditions needed for deployment, like safety practices, smoother permitting pathways, and better approaches to community benefits and engagement.

Modification 0001 updates and clarifies several important administrative and application requirements. It revises the estimated funding level for Topic Area 4, clarifies how DOE/NNSA and non-DOE/NNSA Federally Funded Research and Development Centers (FFRDCs) must handle participation through a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA), and adds new language to the required content and formatting rules for full applications under Topics 4 and 5. It also introduces a Community Benefits Plan (CBP) template and clarifies CBP expectations for RDDandD activities under Topics 2 and 3. Finally, it adds reporting requirements intended to help DOE track progress toward key departmental goals, signaling that awardees should expect more structured performance reporting tied to outcomes DOE cares about (for example, progress toward cost, deployment readiness, equity, or other program metrics identified in the FOA).

The FOA places heavy emphasis on equity and environmental justice as part of a broader, whole-of-government approach. Applicants are encouraged to include underserved communities and underrepresented groups in meaningful ways, not as an afterthought. This shows up most concretely through the Community Benefits Plan requirements and template, which are meant to push applicants to explain how proposed work will deliver tangible benefits (such as jobs, workforce development, reduced local pollution burdens, community partnerships, and fair access to economic opportunity), and how communities will be engaged throughout the project lifecycle. The FOA messaging also underscores inclusion in both the innovation pipeline and the eventual deployment pathways, reflecting DOE priorities around ensuring that clean energy transitions do not leave historically marginalized communities behind.

Eligibility is broad overall, covering many typical applicant types: state, county, and local governments; special districts; public and private universities; independent school districts; federally recognized tribal governments and other tribal organizations; public housing authorities; nonprofits (including both 501(c)(3) and certain non-501(c)(3) entities); for-profit companies (including small businesses); and even individuals under the eligible applicant listing. However, the FOA also draws firm lines around certain categories. Entities that are debarred, suspended, or otherwise excluded from doing business with the federal government cannot participate. In addition, 501(c)(4) nonprofits that engaged in lobbying activities after December 31, 1995 are not eligible to apply for funding under this opportunity.

FFRDC participation is allowed but limited. DOE/NNSA FFRDCs and non-DOE/NNSA FFRDCs may participate as subrecipients, but they cannot serve as prime recipients. Modification 0001 specifically clarifies CRADA-related requirements for these FFRDCs, which typically matters because FFRDCs have special rules around contracting, intellectual property, and collaborations with non-federal partners. The practical takeaway is that teams wanting FFRDC involvement should plan the project structure accordingly: a non-FFRDC prime recipient leading the application, with the FFRDC brought in as a subrecipient under compliant collaboration arrangements (including CRADA requirements where applicable).

Topic Area 5 is treated differently from the rest in terms of who can lead and who can participate. HFTO indicates it intends to restrict prime recipient eligibility for Topic 5 to a specific set of organizations: Minority-Serving Institutions (MSIs), Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), Tribal Colleges and Universities (TCUs), 501(c)(3) nonprofits, and Minority-Serving Business Enterprises (MBEs). Subrecipient eligibility for Topic 5 is also restricted primarily to those same groups, with labor organizations additionally permitted as subrecipients. This design strongly signals that Topic 5 is intended to channel resources toward institutions and enterprises that directly support equity, capacity building, and broader participation in the hydrogen economy.

From an award structure standpoint, the funding instrument is a cooperative agreement (not a simple grant), with an award ceiling of $10,000,000 per award listed in the source data and an anticipated 32 awards. The program is administered through DOE's Golden Field Office. The original closing date shown is March 15, 2024. As with many DOE FOAs, applicants should expect detailed technical narratives and project management plans, plus compliance-focused attachments and increasingly prominent non-technical components such as the Community Benefits Plan and reporting frameworks.

Overall, DE-FOA-0003213 is set up to fund a mix of hydrogen-focused RDDandD and the practical enablers needed to move hydrogen projects from lab and pilot stages into real deployments. It ties technical progress to national targets like the Hydrogen Shot, but it also explicitly requires applicants to treat safety, permitting, equity, and community benefits as core elements of project planning and execution. Modification 0001 reinforces that direction by tightening application instructions, clarifying collaboration rules for FFRDCs, formalizing the Community Benefits Plan via a template, and increasing reporting expectations so DOE can more clearly measure whether funded projects are advancing departmental and national clean hydrogen goals.

• The Golden Field Office in the energy sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technologies Office FOA to Advance the National Clean Hydrogen Strategy" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 81.087.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2024-01-24.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2024-03-15. (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 $10,000,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 32 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: State governments, County governments, City or township governments, Special district governments, Independent school districts, Public and State controlled institutions of higher education, Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized), Public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities, 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, Individuals, For-profit organizations other than small businesses, Small businesses, Others.

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