Funding Notice: Bipartisan Infrastructure Law Silicon Solar Manufacturing and Dual-use Photovoltaics Incubator

***DOE announced selections for this funding program on May 16, 2024***

Office: Solar Energy Technologies Office
FOA Number: DE-FOA-0003057
Link to Apply: Apply on EERE Exchange
FOA Amount: $45 million

On July 6, 2023, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Solar Energy Technologies Office (SETO) announced the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law Silicon Solar Manufacturing and Dual-use Photovoltaics Incubator funding opportunity, which will award $45 million for projects to enable continued solar cost reductions while developing next-generation solar technologies and boosting American solar manufacturing.

The research and demonstration projects resulting from this funding opportunity will help enable domestic manufacturing of affordable solar hardware, increase the portion of solar hardware value kept in the U.S. economy, and promote domestic manufacturing of taxpayer-funded technology developments. Projects from this funding opportunity will also support an equitable transition to a decarbonized electricity system by 2035 and facilitate secure, robust, and reliable integration of solar electricity into the nation’s energy grid.

SETO expects to make between five to 12 awards ranging from $1 million to $10 million under this funding opportunity announcement (FOA). SETO encourages diverse entrepreneurs, small businesses, and larger for-profit entities to apply.

Topic Areas

Topic Area 1: Pilot Demonstration of Silicon Supply Chain Components – 3-4 projects, $1-10 million each

Projects will conduct pilot-scale testing and demonstration of innovative products or solutions that can substantively increase the domestic manufacturing of silicon photovoltaics (PV) in all segments of the supply chain. These demonstration projects will accelerate manufacturing innovations that are part of the silicon solar module supply chain such as: silicon production, silicon ingot and wafering, solar cells, glass and backsheets and other module components, and associated manufacturing equipment.

Topic Area 2: Dual-use PV Incubator – 2-8 projects, $1-1.6 million each

Projects will develop products that can open new markets for emerging dual-use PV sectors, in particular agricultural PV or agrivoltaics, building-integrated PV, floating PV, and vehicle-integrated PV. These markets require application-specific hardware, including PV cells, modules, mounting, and other dedicated balance-of-system components.

Applicant Education

Do you have questions about putting together your concept paper or the full application? Is this your first time considering a FOA application? SETO, through the American-Made Network, is providing Applicant Education Services available to you free of charge. Learn more about the American-Made Power Connectors events and resources. You can also engage with the following points of contact at ADL Ventures, Entrepreneur Futures Network (EFN), and the University of Arizona Center for Innovation (UACI) for more details:  

• ADL Ventures: Matthew Paul
• EFN: Tom Jensen 
• UACI: Amanda Buchanan

Note: Participation in the Application Education Services is not mandatory and will have no impact on the evaluation of your application by DOE.

Webinar

SETO will host an informational webinar on July 12 at 4 p.m. ET to discuss the funding opportunity and the areas of focus. Register for the webinar.

Key Dates

Additional Information

• Download the full funding opportunity on the EERE Exchange website.
• View the informational webinar recording. Password: hBWkPxP8
• For FOA-specific support, contact [email protected]
• Learn more about SETO’s Manufacturing and Competitiveness research.
• Sign up for the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) email list to get notified of new EERE funding opportunities.
• Sign up for the SETO newsletter to stay current with the latest solar office news.