DOE intends to issue an Energy I-Corps call for proposals from DOE National Laboratories and Federally Funded Research and Development Centers.
Office of Technology Transitions
February 16, 2023
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The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Office of Technology Transitions (OTT) intends to issue an Energy I-Corps (EIC) call for proposals from DOE National Laboratories and Federally Funded Research and Development Centers (FFRDCs) The goal of EIC is to train National Laboratories and FFRDCs on the pursuit of commercialization. OTT anticipates releasing the Fiscal Year (FY) 2023 appropriated EIC solicitation in or around early March 2023.
OTT will post the solicitation to OTT - Exchange and distribute the EIC solicitation announcement to the Technology Transfer Offices at each of the eligible DOE National Labs and FFRDCs. OTT expects to award at least $500,000 across the three topics in this first instance of the updated EIC lab-call structure. However, additional funding may be available based on proposals alignment with OTT and partner office goals.
This solicitation offers an opportunity for DOE’s National Labs and FFRDCs to advance energy-related technologies toward commercialization. DOE expects to select EIC projects from DOE National Labs and FFRDCs in the following three topics:
Topic 1 - EIC Pipeline Development
Previously "Satellite," "Site Lab," or “Asynchronous I-Corps” Funds
This topic will seek proposals for projects and programming that have the potential to directly increase participation in subsequent EIC lab calls, particularly regarding Topic 2 (see below). Proposals for 1b) and 1c) must explicitly explain how unexpended Satellite, Site Lab, or Asynchronous I-Corps funding will be rescoped to directly increase participation in Topic 2. Topic 1 is comprised of three subtopics:
1a) This subtopic is for laboratories that have utilized all prior award funds from OTT Site Lab, Satellite, or Asynchronous I-Corps according to a preestablished plan. No unexpended funds remain at the laboratory.
- A. Labs meeting this criterion may apply for additional funding.
- B. If it is later uncovered that labs do have unexpended funds that may result in the application being considered ineligible for consideration
1b) This subtopic is for laboratories with remaining unexpended award funds from OTT Site Lab, Satellite, or Asynchronous I-Corps who propose to adjust or rescope the project using those funds to address the goals of this topic. These proposals should not include requests for additional funds.
1c) This subtopic is appropriate for laboratories with remaining unexpended award funds from OTT Site Lab, Satellite or Asynchronous I-Corps who propose to adjust or rescope the project to address to goals of this topic using those funds and request additional funds.
OTT will separately email each National Laboratory and FFRDC that is believed to have unexpended EIC funds from previous fiscal years. National Laboratories and FFRDCs must indicate whether 1) the unexpended EIC funds are no longer required or 2) respond to Topic 1. If OTT does not receive an acceptable response regarding this matter, OTT will pursue efforts to de-obligate relevant funds. All projects that do not have the potential to directly increase participation in subsequent EIC training cohorts are not suitable and will not be considered. Individual projects under Topic 1 will be considered up to a total $100,000.
Topic 2 - EIC Cohort 17
This topic seeks team applications to participate in EIC Cohort 17. It will follow a similar application structure and process to previous lab calls. Selected teams of researchers and industry mentors will participate in an intensive approximately two-month, curriculum-based program to understand market awareness and learn about market pathways for their technology.
This Notice of Intent (NOI) is being released in part to help increase the amount of time available to identify and support interested teams. Each selected team will be provided $80,000 to support their participation in the training. Historically DOE program offices have been interested in supporting high potential teams going through the training.
Topic 3 - Post EIC
OTT is interested in providing an opportunity for the most promising EIC graduates to continue their commercialization journey. Specifically, OTT is expecting to only make a few awards and is seeking a unique type of application. Only teams or individuals who have previously participated in the EIC cohort training (Topic 2 for this lab call) are eligible to apply for this topic.
The ideal applicant will have identified a clear discrete next step and a modest amount of resources to achieve an outcome that is needed to get to that next step, and have a credible chance of achieving success if funded. In addition, if successful, this funding should unlock the potential for much larger public or private funding sources to continue the commercialization process. Applications that do not align with the above goals are not suitable for this topic. Projects will be considered up to $100,000 in funding. Applications will also be shared with relevant program offices for their consideration.
This is an NOI only. DOE may issue a solicitation as described here, an NOI that is significantly different than described here, or may not issue a solicitation at all. The anticipated solicitation will include information about how to apply. Questions can be directed to the following email: [email protected]. DOE will not respond to questions about the solicitation except from eligible entities. Eligible entities to EIC are DOE’s National Labs and FFRDCs.