Request for Information on the Department of Energy’s Critical Materials Research, Development, Demonstration, and Commercialization Program | DE FOA 0002794

Opportunity Information: Apply for DE FOA 0002794

This opportunity is a Department of Energy (DOE) Request for Information (RFI) focused on shaping a Critical Materials Research, Development, Demonstration, and Commercialization (RDDandCA) Program. It is not a grant solicitation and does not accept applications or make awards. Instead, DOE is using the RFI to gather input from the public and stakeholders on what the program should prioritize, how it should be managed, and how DOE should partner with industry, academia, national labs, communities, and other organizations. The effort is tied to the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL), specifically section 41003(c) (Critical Material Innovation, Efficiency, and Alternatives) and section 41003(d) (Critical Material Supply Chain Research Facility), and it is authorized under the Energy Act of 2020 (sections 7002(g) and 7002(h)). In practical terms, DOE is trying to design or refine a coordinated federal program that strengthens U.S. capabilities across critical minerals and materials, from early research through scale-up and commercialization.

A central theme of the RFI is integration: DOE is looking for guidance on how to align and connect critical materials work funded through DOE annual appropriations with BIL-driven activities. The notice explicitly references FY 2022 directed appropriations and FY 2023 requested appropriations, suggesting DOE wants a unified strategy rather than separate, disconnected initiatives. Respondents are essentially being asked to help DOE identify the most important research and development gaps, the right demonstration and commercialization pathways, and the mechanisms that would make federal investments more effective in building resilient domestic supply chains for critical minerals and materials that are important for energy technologies.

The RFI asks for input in several major areas. First, it seeks recommendations on the overall priorities and implementation strategy for the Critical Materials RDDandCA Program, including how DOE should structure the program, manage it over time, and create effective partnering opportunities. Second, it focuses specifically on BIL 41003(c), which covers innovation, efficiency, and alternatives. That includes ideas such as improving how critical materials are produced or processed, reducing material intensity through efficiency, developing substitutes that reduce reliance on constrained materials, and generally advancing technology options that lower supply risk while meeting performance needs for clean energy and other strategic sectors. Third, it asks about BIL 41003(d), which concerns a Critical Material Supply Chain Research Facility. DOE is seeking input on what that facility should do, what capabilities it should have, how it should be used, and how it should fit into the broader innovation ecosystem (for example, how it could support pilot-scale work, testing, validation, process development, recycling R and D, data generation, and collaboration between national labs and industry).

Beyond technical priorities, DOE is also explicitly requesting input on community benefits, job quality, and equity. The RFI highlights community and labor engagement, the creation of quality jobs, and diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility (DEIA). It also references the Justice40 Initiative, signaling that DOE wants to understand how critical materials investments can deliver meaningful benefits to disadvantaged communities and how project planning and program design can incorporate equity and community outcomes from the start. This part of the RFI is important because it indicates DOE is treating workforce and community impacts as core program design elements, not afterthoughts, and it invites recommendations on what strong labor standards, engagement practices, and accountability measures should look like in future DOE-supported activities.

Finally, the RFI emphasizes market adoption, scale-up, and long-term industry or sector sustainability. DOE is looking for feedback on the barriers that prevent critical materials innovations from moving out of the lab and into real supply chains, and what federal actions could help bridge that gap. This can include topics like scaling manufacturing processes, qualifying materials for end users, building reliable demand signals, improving bankability, reducing technical and commercial risk, and supporting demonstrations that prove performance and cost at relevant scale. The inclusion of commercialization and sustainability indicates DOE is thinking beyond discovery research and is looking for an end-to-end approach that results in durable domestic capability and competitive industries.

From an administrative standpoint, the opportunity is listed under DOE (Golden Field Office) with an unrestricted eligibility note, meaning any entity could submit input to the RFI unless the full text set additional limitations. The opportunity number is DE FOA 0002794 and it was posted August 9, 2022 with an original response deadline of September 9, 2022. The listing includes fields like an award ceiling and expected awards, but since this is an RFI and not a Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA), there are no awards associated with it. DOE also notes that it may issue a future FOA informed by the responses, but it may also choose not to do so, and there is no guarantee a funding solicitation will result.

In short, this RFI is DOE asking the public to help design and prioritize a federal critical materials program that spans research through commercialization, aligns multiple funding streams, potentially establishes or leverages a supply chain research facility, and embeds job quality, equity, and Justice40 considerations into program execution while keeping a strong focus on scaling technologies and achieving real market adoption.

• The Department of Energy, Golden Field Office in the energy sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Request for Information on the Department of Energy’s Critical Materials Research, Development, Demonstration, and Commercialization Program" 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 Aug 09, 2022.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Sep 09, 2022. (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 (i.e., open to any type of entity above), subject to any clarification in text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility.

Apply for DE FOA 0002794

[Watch] Creating a grant proposal using the step-by-step wizard inside the applicant portal: