Grants / Department of Energy / Office of Science

DE-FOA-0002809: Milestone-Based Fusion Development Program

Closed Closed December 15, 2022 Opportunity DE-FOA-0002809 ☆ Save

This grant is closed. A newer notice from the same program is open now: Genesis Mission Graduate Fellowship Pilot (DE-FOA-0003673). Status: Closes January 12, 2027 (66 days left). It is in our archive of Office of Science notices from 2022.

• Award ceiling$25.0 million
• Award floor$5.0 million
• Total funding$50.0 million
• Expected awards4
• Cost sharingRequired
• Funding typeOther

Key dates

Who can apply

This opportunity was open to small businesses and businesses.

• For profit organizations other than small businesses
• Small businesses

More grants for small businesses, businesses.

Is this a realistic fit?

• Past Office of Science Financial Assistance Program awards averaged $1.2 million; this notice allows up to $25.0 million per award.
• Most of the program's money (69% over five years) went to colleges and universities.
• The notice requires cost sharing or matching funds, so you must contribute part of the project cost.

What the grant funds

Fusion energy is a potentially safe, abundant, zero-carbon-emitting source of reliable primary energy. Major recent worldwide advances in the science[1],[2],[3] and technology[4] of fusion energy, the emergence of a strong and growing private fusion sector in the United States and abroad,[5] and the objective of achieving “net-zero” global carbon emissions by 2050[6] have made the acceleration of fusion energy research, development, and demonstration (RD&D) a national priority. Augmenting the present scientific mission of the Office of Science (SC) Fusion Energy Sciences (FES) program with supporting “the development of a competitive fusion power industry in the U.S.” was both authorized in the Energy Act of 2020 and consistent with the recommendations of recent community-informed expert studies and reports, such as the 2020 Fusion Energy Sciences Advisory Committee (FESAC) Long-Range Plan Powering the Future[7] and the 2021 National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) report Bringing Fusion to the U.S. Grid.[8] The latter helped motivate the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) and DOE to co-host a summit on Developing a Bold Decadal Vision for Commercial Fusion Energy.[9] A common theme among these recent activities was the recognition that public-private partnerships (PPPs) present an opportunity to accelerate fusion energy RD&D. A DOE-sponsored Workshop on Fusion Energy Development via Public-Private Partnerships was held recently (June 1–3, 2022); workshop presentations are posted publicly on the FES website.[10] This FOA invites applications for a new milestone-based fusion development program (as authorized in the Energy Act of 2020), which is a key component of the bold decadal vision to accelerate fusion energy RD&D in partnership with the private sector. Applications may be submitted for applied R&D to resolve scientific and technological issues toward the successful design of a fusion pilot plant (FPP).[11] [1] https://www.llnl.gov/news/national-ignition-facility-experiment-puts-researchers-threshold-fusion-ignition. [2] H. Abu-Shawareb et al., “Lawson Criterion for Ignition Exceeded in an Inertial Fusion Experiment,” Phys. Rev. Lett. 129, 075001 (2022); https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-022-00391-1. [3] https://www.euro-fusion.org/news/2022/european-researchers-achieve-fusion-energy-record.

Category: Science and Technology and other Research and Development.

Applying now

This notice no longer takes applications. Apply under the newer notice, DE-FOA-0003673, which is open now.

The notice on Grants.gov keeps its full text and attachments, which is useful for planning a resubmission.