Notice of Intent No. DE-FOA-0003433 to Issue Bipartisan Infrastructure Law: Funding Opportunity Announcement No. DE-FOA-0003434 | DE FOA 0003433

Opportunity Information: Apply for DE FOA 0003433

Notice of Intent No. DE-FOA-0003433 is an informational announcement from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) about a forthcoming funding opportunity, expected to be released as Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) No. DE-FOA-0003434. At this stage, it is not an open solicitation: DOE is not accepting applications yet, is not requesting public comments, and notes that all details in the notice may change once the actual FOA is issued. In other words, this is an early heads-up meant to help potential applicants prepare for a future competitive grant opportunity rather than a call for proposals right now.

The planned FOA is being developed by DOE's Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), specifically on behalf of the Vehicle Technologies Office, and it is tied directly to the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL). The effort supports BIL Section 40208, formally described as the Electric Drive Vehicle Battery Recycling and Second-Life Applications Program. The core objective is to advance research, development, and demonstration (RD&D) that improves the economics and practicality of dealing with electric drive vehicle batteries once they are no longer suitable for vehicle propulsion, and to strengthen the end-of-life pathway from assessment to reuse to final recycling and disposal.

Programmatically, the anticipated FOA is expected to target two main technical areas. First, it will focus on "second-life" applications for used electric drive vehicle batteries, meaning reuse cases where batteries removed from vehicles can still provide value in less demanding settings (often stationary energy storage or other applications where reduced capacity is acceptable). Work in this area typically involves making repurposing cheaper and more reliable by improving processes for battery sorting, screening, reconfiguration, safety assurance, and performance prediction. Second, it will support technologies and processes for final recycling and disposal, aiming to recover valuable materials and manage remaining waste responsibly when batteries can no longer be reused. This can include innovations that improve recovery yields, reduce energy and chemical inputs, handle diverse chemistries and form factors, and make recycling systems more scalable and cost-effective.

The notice frames the forthcoming opportunity within the broader themes of improving economics, recovery and reuse, and battery state of health. In practice, "state of health" generally refers to methods and tools for determining how much usable life remains in a battery and how it is likely to perform in future service, which is a key barrier to second-life markets. Better state-of-health assessment can reduce uncertainty for buyers and integrators, improve safety, and enable more efficient decisions about whether a pack should be refurbished for reuse, sent directly to recycling, or handled through another pathway.

From an administrative standpoint, the opportunity is categorized as a discretionary grant in the Energy and Transportation activity areas, and it is associated with CFDA number 81.086. The eligible applicant field is listed as "Unrestricted," signaling that DOE may allow a broad range of applicants to compete once the FOA is released, though the final FOA will govern eligibility, teaming rules, cost share requirements, and other conditions. The notice lists the National Energy Technology Laboratory as the agency name in the source data, which often reflects DOE's eXCHANGE or administrative posting channel rather than limiting the program office involvement described in the narrative.

Several fields in the posting should be read cautiously because this is only a notice of intent and not the final FOA. For example, an award ceiling of "2" and expected awards of "0" do not provide a clear picture of eventual funding size or number of selections, and they may be placeholders. Likewise, the listed closing date (2024-12-30) should not be treated as an application deadline for this notice, since applications are explicitly not being accepted at this time. The practical takeaway is that interested organizations should monitor for the actual FOA release (DE-FOA-0003434), because that document will contain the real submission deadline, funding levels, topic areas, merit review criteria, and required application components.

• The National Energy Technology Laboratory in the energy, transportation sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Notice of Intent No. DE-FOA-0003433 to Issue Bipartisan Infrastructure Law: Funding Opportunity Announcement No. DE-FOA-0003434" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 81.086.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2024-09-20.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2024-12-30. (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: Unrestricted.

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