DE-FOA-0002599: RFI:Technology Advancements for Subsurface Exploration for Renewable Energy Resources or Carbon Storage
Closed
This grant is closed. A newer notice from the same program is open now: Unlocking New Levels of Output and Capacity for Key Subsurface Resources (UNLOCK) (DE-FOA-0003630). Status: Closes November 20, 2026 (13 days left). It is in our archive of Advanced Research Projects Agency Energy notices from 2021.
Advanced Research Projects Agency Energy offered grants to any type of organization. Applications closed on December 1, 2021.
From the official notice on Grants.gov, last changed October 21, 2021. Checked November 7, 2026.
- Award amountsNot given on Grants.gov
- Cost sharingNot required
- Funding typeCooperative Agreement
Key dates
| Posted | October 21, 2021 |
|---|---|
| Deadline | December 1, 2021 |
| Archived by Grants.gov | March 1, 2022 |
Who can apply
This opportunity was open to any type of organization.
- Unrestricted (i.e., open to any type of entity above), subject to any clarification in text field entitled "Additional Information on Eligibility"
This is a Request for Information (RFI) only. This RFI is not seeking applications for financial assistance. THIS NOTICE DOES NOT CONSTITTUE A FUNDING OPPORTUNITY ANNOUNCEMENT (FOA). NO FOA EXISTS AT THIS TIME.
Is this a realistic fit?
- Most of the program's money (43% over five years) went to colleges and universities.
- No cost sharing or match is required.
What the grant funds
RFI: Technology Advancements for Subsurface Exploration for Renewable Energy Resources or Carbon Storage This is a Request for Information (RFI) only. This RFI is not soliciting application for financial assistance. The purpose of this RFI is solely to solicit input for ARPA-E consideration to inform the possible formulation of future programs. The purpose of this RFI is to solicit input for a potential future ARPA-E research program focused on technologies that enable high-resolution, wide-area subsurface mapping in order to identify opportunities for renewable energy technologies and the future low-carbon economy. Examples where advances in subsurface imaging will be critical include, but are not limited to, locating reservoirs for carbon capture and storage (CCS), identifying new geothermal sites, mapping natural accumulations of energy-relevant minerals, and assessing potential resources of geologic hydrogen. The goal is to better understand how subsurface imaging technologies today may need to expand, adapt, or improve beyond technologies which have been optimized for oil and gas exploration. ARPA-E is seeking information at this time regarding the state of the art in subsurface imaging technologies and transformative and implementable technologies that could: 1. Reduce frontier exploration costs for renewable energy or carbon storage projects by an order of magnitude or more, leveraging advancements in subsurface imaging, data collection, and data processing. For new renewable technologies or CCS projects, identifying potential geologic sites with the requisite properties requires honing in on sites from a much larger region, often in areas that have not been traditionally explored by oil and gas interests and where there is little prior high-quality imaging data. Isolating regions of interest could mean developing new, cost-effective wide-area subsurface exploration technologies, using a combination of imaging techniques paired with multi-physics models, using data processing or novel geostatistical methods to upgrade or augment existing datasets, and/or developing machine learning algorithms which can fill in data gaps. 2. Advance data processing to accommodate larger amounts of data and reduce processing time by orders of magnitude for wide-area and/or nationwide subsurface imaging surveys. 3. Dramatically improve project success rates.
Who has won Advanced Research Projects Agency - Energy grants before
From fiscal 2021 to 2025, Advanced Research Projects Agency - Energy (81.135) awarded $1.4 billion across 729 grant awards, an average of $1.9 million per award.
| Recipient | State | Awards | Amount |
|---|---|---|---|
| RTX Corporation | Connecticut | 15 | $33.9 million |
| Massachusetts Institute of Technology | Massachusetts | 16 | $31.4 million |
| BWXT Advanced Technologies LLC | Virginia | 1 | $30.9 million |
| Ge Vernova Operations LLC | New York | 8 | $26.4 million |
| University of Maryland, College Park | Maryland | 11 | $23.6 million |
Applying now
This notice no longer takes applications. Apply under the newer notice, DE-FOA-0003630, which is open now.
The notice on Grants.gov keeps its full text and attachments, which is useful for planning a resubmission.
Questions people ask
Is DE-FOA-0002599 still open?
No. It closed on December 1, 2021. A newer notice is open: DE-FOA-0003630, closes November 20, 2026 (13 days left).
Who can apply for RFI:Technology Advancements for Subsurface Exploration for Renewable Energy Resources or Carbon Storage?
Advanced Research Projects Agency Energy accepted applications from any type of organization. The notice adds further conditions, so read its eligibility section.
What is the deadline for RFI:Technology Advancements for Subsurface Exploration for Renewable Energy Resources or Carbon Storage?
Closed December 1, 2021. Applications are no longer accepted; the program's newer notices are on this page when there are any.
Who has won Advanced Research Projects Agency - Energy grants before?
The largest recipients over five fiscal years were RTX Corporation, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, BWXT Advanced Technologies LLC. The program made 729 awards worth $1.4 billion in that time.