Industrial Efficiency and Decarbonization Office (IEDO) FY23 Multi-Topic FOA | DE FOA 0002997

Opportunity Information: Apply for DE FOA 0002997

The Industrial Efficiency and Decarbonization Office (IEDO) FY23 Multi-Topic FOA (DE-FOA-0002997) is a U.S. Department of Energy funding opportunity administered through DOE's Golden Field Office under CFDA 81.086. It provides discretionary funding using cooperative agreements to support research, development, and prototype- or pilot-scale validation and demonstration of technologies that cut greenhouse gas emissions from U.S. industry while improving energy efficiency and competitiveness. The FOA is positioned as part of DOE's broader industrial decarbonization technology strategy, aligned with the 2022 Industrial Decarbonization Roadmap and the Industrial Heat Energy Earthshot, and coordinated across multiple DOE offices (including EERE, FECM, NE, and SC) to create a pipeline from early research through demonstrations. The intent is to accelerate adoption of low- and zero-carbon industrial technologies, strengthen domestic manufacturing, and improve the export competitiveness of U.S. industrial solutions, while contributing to a cleaner and more equitable energy economy. The FOA is also described as distinct from separate demonstration and deployment initiatives led by other DOE organizations such as OCED, MESC, and LPO, and separate from activities funded under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law or the Inflation Reduction Act (including Industrial Demonstration Projects).

The FOA targets both cross-sector decarbonization approaches and several high-emitting industrial subsectors. Cross-sector emphasis includes areas like thermal processing, low-carbon fuel use, and other exploratory concepts that can be applied across many types of industrial facilities. Sector-focused work is aimed at industries with large emissions footprints, specifically chemicals, iron and steel, food and beverage, cement and concrete, and forest products. The funding topics are organized into seven main areas: Topic 1 focuses on decarbonizing industrial heat; Topic 2 supports low-carbon fuels utilization research and development; Topic 3a addresses enabling flexible industrial energy use (for example, improving the ability of plants to shift or modulate energy consumption to match cleaner or more available energy supply); Topic 3b targets enhanced thermal conductivity materials (materials advances that can improve heat transfer and efficiency in industrial processes); Topic 4 aims at decarbonizing chemicals; Topic 5 focuses on iron and steel; Topic 6 addresses food and beverage products manufacturing; and Topic 7 targets cement and concrete. Together, these topics are meant to cover both core process heat challenges and the process- and chemistry-specific pathways needed to materially reduce industrial emissions.

Modification 0001 to the FOA makes two specific administrative and technical corrections. First, it updates the NAICS code reference in Section I.B (page 36) under Topic 4 (Decarbonizing Chemicals): the reference is corrected from "basic organic chemicals (NAICS 325519)" to "all other organic chemicals (NAICS 325199)." This matters for applicants because NAICS references often affect how project scope aligns with industry definitions and how proposers map their work to the FOA's targeted areas. Second, it revises Section III.F (page 64) concerning limits on the number of concept papers (CPs) and full applications eligible for review. The language changes from Base Template Option C to Base Template Option A, Alternative 2, explicitly allowing a single entity to submit multiple concept papers and multiple applications to the FOA. Practically, this expands flexibility for large organizations or institutions with multiple distinct project ideas, letting them propose more than one concept or approach without being constrained to a single submission.

Applications are submitted through DOE's EERE eXCHANGE system, which enforces hard submission deadlines for both concept papers and full applications. The system automatically disables the APPLY and SUBMIT buttons at the deadline time to ensure consistent enforcement across applicants. The FOA explains what to do if technical problems arise: if an applicant encounters submission issues before the deadline, they are expected to contact the eXCHANGE helpdesk (exchangehelp@hq.doe.gov) for assistance, and system administrators can help resolve problems. If technical difficulties cause a late submission, the applicant must still contact the helpdesk, and DOE will only accept a late application when the issue was beyond the applicant's control, the applicant contacted the helpdesk for assistance, and the application is submitted through eXCHANGE within 24 hours of the posted deadline. This effectively creates a narrow, documented exception process tied to verified technical failures rather than applicant delays.

Key administrative details provided in the source include an original closing date of June 23, 2023, an award ceiling of $10,000,000, and eligibility listed as unrestricted (meaning the FOA does not, in the summary data provided, limit applicants to only certain organization types). The overall aim is to fund practical, scalable industrial decarbonization solutions across heat, fuels, flexible energy use, advanced materials, and major emitting manufacturing subsectors, using DOE cooperative agreements to actively support and guide project execution toward measurable emissions and efficiency outcomes.

• The Golden Field Office in the energy sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Industrial Efficiency and Decarbonization Office (IEDO) FY23 Multi-Topic FOA" 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 2023-03-15.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2023-06-23. (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.
• Eligible applicants include: Unrestricted.

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