Fossil Energy Research and Development (81.089)
Fossil Energy Research and Development (Assistance Listing 81.089) is run by the Department of Energy. It awarded $3.2 billion in 648 grants from fiscal 2021 to 2025, about $4.9 million per award on average. 1 funding opportunity is open or forecast now.
The typical award was $1.4 million. Half of the 648 awards fell between $597,296 and $4.0 million, and they ranged from $16,160 to $300 million.
- Awarded, FY 2021 to 2025$3.2 billion
- Grant awards648
- Typical award$1.4 million
- Awarded in FY 2025$966 million
- Size rank121 of 1824
- Type of assistanceCooperative agreements
Key findings
- Annual funding rose from $418 million in fiscal 2021 to $966 million in fiscal 2025.
- It is the 121st largest of 1,824 federal grant programs by five-year awards.
- The 20 largest recipients received 62% of the money.
- Awards went to recipients in 41 states and territories.
What the program funds
The Hydrocarbons and Geothermal Energy Office (HGEO) mission is to unleash the full potential of America’s hydrocarbon and geothermal resources to provide affordable, reliable and secure energy. Through innovation and U.S. energy leadership, HGEO advances breakthrough technologies that lower costs and power American prosperity freedom and human flourishing. The Office works to conduct cutting-edge research, development and demonstration (RD&D) across hydrocarbon and geothermal energy sectors while accelerating the deployment of breakthrough technologies that strengthen U.S. energy security, reliability, and affordability. Priority areas of technology work include research and development (R&D) to ensure the resilience of U.S. oil and natural gas systems in the United States; R&D and stabilize, optimize, and grow the American coal industry, restoring it as a cornerstone of the U.S. energy mix; accelerating the discovery and development of a gigawatt-scale geothermal energy to position geothermal as competitive domestic source for reliable baseload electricity generation; and administer DOE’s regulatory responsibilities for Liquid National Gas (LNG) exports under the Natural Gas Act. The Office works to foster partnerships with industry, academia, and other government agencies to deliver solutions that bolster U.S. energy security. Finally, the Office supports novel, early-stage research at U.S. colleges and universities.
Open opportunities
Rules from the program listing
Who can apply
States, local governments, universities, governmental entities, consortia, nonprofit institutions, commercial corporations, joint Federal/Industry corporations, U.S. Territories, and individuals are eligible to apply.
What the money can and cannot pay for
Emphasis is on fundamental and applied research and technology development. Specific restrictions on funding use will be outlined within the Notice of Funding Opportunity.
Matching requirements
This program has no statutory formula. Matching Requirements: Percent: Other As Specified under Section 988 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 and EISA, with exceptions, a minimum of 20% cost share is required for research and development. A minimum of 50% is required for demonstration. Higher cost share may be requested. For education and outreach projects, the statuatory cost share is 0%.MOE requirements are not applicable to this assistance listing.
Deadlines
Deadlines vary and are subject to change. There are deadlines stated in the notice of funding opportunity (NOFO) posted at http://www.grants.gov. For unsolicited proposals, there are no deadlines.
Award range and average, in the agency's words
Award size varies according to the notice of funding opportunity. The range is typically $200,000 to $250,000,000 with the average being around $5,000,000. In FY25, the maximum award size could reach $350,000,000.
Examples of funded projects
Fiscal Year2025: Advanced Energy Systems, Advanced Production Technologies, Carbon Transport and Storage; Mineral Sustainability; Enhanced Oil Recovery; Carbon Capture; University Training and Research; and Advanced Remediation Technologies.Fiscal Year2026: Advanced Energy Systems; Transport and Storage; Conversion and Value-Added Product; Point-Source Capture; Advanced Production Technologies; Natural Gas Infrastructure and Hydrogen Technologies, Mineral Production and Processing Technologies; and University Training and Research
Funding history and past recipients
From fiscal 2021 to 2025, Fossil Energy Research and Development (81.089) awarded$3.2 billion across 648 grant awards, an average of $4.9 million per award.
Who usually wins
Colleges and universities received 38% of the money, businesses 23% and nonprofits 20%.
| Recipient type | Awards | Amount | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Colleges and universities | 323 | $1.2 billion | 38% |
| Businesses | 151 | $726 million | 23% |
| Nonprofits | 88 | $635 million | 20% |
| State and local governments | 29 | $392 million | 12% |
| Small businesses | 47 | $153 million | 4.8% |
| Other | 8 | $75.1 million | 2.4% |
| Tribal governments and organizations | 2 | $3.0 million | 0.1% |
By state
38 states have a page for this program: those that received at least $1 million or 10 awards.
| State | Awards | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Illinois | 52 | $543 million |
| Texas | 72 | $493 million |
| Colorado | 32 | $456 million |
| California | 83 | $256 million |
| New Mexico | 18 | $157 million |
| Georgia | 16 | $122 million |
| North Dakota | 27 | $120 million |
| Pennsylvania | 27 | $104 million |
| Wyoming | 15 | $89.5 million |
| Florida | 19 | $83.3 million |
| Ohio | 28 | $82.7 million |
| West Virginia | 20 | $81.0 million |
| Alabama | 7 | $73.7 million |
| New York | 24 | $58.6 million |
| Virginia | 16 | $52.3 million |
| Oklahoma | 16 | $50.8 million |
| Kentucky | 17 | $50.5 million |
| Indiana | 7 | $45.0 million |
| Utah | 17 | $35.1 million |
| North Carolina | 24 | $35.0 million |
| Louisiana | 4 | $28.5 million |
| South Carolina | 8 | $20.5 million |
| Alaska | 9 | $18.1 million |
| Michigan | 7 | $17.1 million |
| Massachusetts | 14 | $16.1 million |
| Arizona | 5 | $16.0 million |
| Connecticut | 11 | $14.6 million |
| District of Columbia | 7 | $10.0 million |
| New Jersey | 5 | $9.8 million |
| Minnesota | 5 | $8.9 million |
| Tennessee | 8 | $8.5 million |
| Kansas | 6 | $8.2 million |
| Missouri | 6 | $6.8 million |
| Maryland | 4 | $4.8 million |
| Hawaii | 3 | $4.7 million |
| Oregon | 1 | $4.0 million |
| Delaware | 4 | $2.6 million |
| South Dakota | 1 | $1.1 million |
| Iowa | 1 | $996,340 |
| Nebraska | 1 | $805,138 |
| Washington | 1 | $399,999 |