Opportunity Information: Apply for DE FOA 0003438
The Department of Energy (DOE), through the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) and specifically its Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technologies Office (HFTO), has released a Notice of Intent (NOI) announcing plans to issue a future Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) titled "Advanced Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technologies to Drive National Decarbonization" (DE-FOA-0003439). This is not the actual funding announcement yet. It is an early heads-up meant to give potential applicants time to prepare partners, concepts, and supporting data before the formal NOFO is published. The notice also states clearly that all details may change, the final NOFO could look different than what is described here, or it may not be issued at all. EERE also notes it will not answer questions about the NOI; questions will be handled only after the NOFO is officially released.
The opportunity is centered on advancing clean hydrogen and fuel cell technologies as a practical pathway to cutting emissions in parts of the economy that are difficult to decarbonize. The NOI emphasizes heavy-duty transportation and industrial uses, along with the role hydrogen can play in long-duration energy storage that supports a cleaner electric grid. The rationale ties directly to federal decarbonization targets, including carbon pollution-free electricity by 2035 and net-zero economy-wide emissions by no later than 2050. The program is framed as supporting the U.S. National Clean Hydrogen Strategy and Roadmap, with an emphasis on making hydrogen affordable and widely usable as part of a sustainable and resilient economy.
From a technical and market deployment perspective, the NOI signals that the future NOFO will focus on research, development, and demonstration (RD&D) priorities that help scale hydrogen infrastructure and increase adoption across multiple sectors. A key emphasis is accelerating hydrogen use in heavy-duty (HD) vehicles and other heavy-duty transportation applications, aligning with the U.S. National Blueprint for Transportation Decarbonization. The notice also connects the anticipated projects to major DOE initiatives already underway, especially the Regional Clean Hydrogen Hubs (H2Hubs) program, described as an $8 billion federal investment designed to build regional networks linking hydrogen producers, consumers, and related infrastructure. The idea is that better technology and stronger supply chains will not only enable new deployments, but also improve the long-term viability of the hubs and other commercial-scale hydrogen efforts. In parallel, the NOI aligns the planned funding with DOE's H2@Scale initiative (spanning production, transport, storage, and use cases) and DOE's Hydrogen Shot target of bringing clean hydrogen costs down to $1 per kilogram within about a decade.
A notable feature of this upcoming NOFO is the expectation that projects demonstrate strong public value and measurable community impacts, not only technical merit. DOE highlights potential benefits such as improved air quality, local resilience, and job creation, including good-paying union jobs, with an explicit intent to ensure benefits reach communities that have been historically underserved. The notice encourages applicants to build meaningful partnerships with Minority Serving Institutions (MSIs), including Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), Tribal Colleges and Universities (TCUs), and other minority institutions. It also sets clear expectations that funded projects will advance diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility (DEIA); support Justice40 and broader energy/environmental justice priorities; and invest in the American workforce. To make those goals concrete, applications will be required to include an RD&D Community Benefits Plan (CBP) addressing those three elements.
Administratively, the opportunity is listed as a discretionary grant program with awards anticipated to be made via cooperative agreements, which typically means DOE expects substantial involvement during project execution (for example, through joint planning, milestones, and active federal project management). The agency associated with this listing is DOE's Golden Field Office. The assistance listing is tied to CFDA/Assistance Listing 81.087 (energy-related financial assistance). Eligibility is broad and includes state, county, and local governments; special districts; independent school districts; public and private institutions of higher education; federally recognized Tribal governments and other Tribal organizations; public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities; nonprofits with or without 501(c)(3) status; individuals; for-profit organizations (including those other than small businesses); and small businesses.
The listing provides several planning-level indicators about scale and timing, while acknowledging that final terms will be confirmed only in the actual NOFO. It indicates an award ceiling of up to $10,000,000 per award and an expectation of roughly 20 awards. The NOI states EERE planned to issue the NOFO on or about October 2024 through the EERE Exchange portal (https://eere-exchange.energy.gov/), which is DOE's standard platform for EERE funding solicitations. The record also shows an "OriginalClosingDate" of 2025-01-31, which should be treated as informational at this stage since the NOI stresses that dates and details are subject to change once the formal NOFO is released. Finally, the notice mentions "Modification 0001" and specifies that the purpose of the modification was to update the title for Topic 3, indicating that the NOFO is expected to be organized by topics and that at least one topic title has been revised in the public-facing notice.Apply for DE FOA 0003438
- The Golden Field Office in the energy sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Notice of Intent (NOI) to Issue Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) Advanced Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technologies to Drive National Decarbonization DE-FOA-0003439" and is now available to receive applicants.
- Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 81.087.
- This funding opportunity was created on 2024-09-10.
- Applicants must submit their applications by 2025-01-31. (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.
- The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 20 candidate(s).
- Eligible applicants include: State governments, County governments, City or township governments, Special district governments, Independent school districts, Public and State controlled institutions of higher education, Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized), Public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities, Native American tribal organizations (other than Federally recognized tribal governments), Nonprofits having a 501 (c) (3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Nonprofits that do not have a 501 (c) (3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Private institutions of higher education, Individuals, For-profit organizations other than small businesses, Small businesses.
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| Distributed Energy Resource Interconnection Roadmap Draft Apply for DE FOA 0003463 Funding Number: DE FOA 0003463 Agency: Golden Field Office Category: Energy Funding Amount: Case Dependent |
| DE-FOA-0003371 FY24 Scale-Up of Integrated Biorefineries Apply for DE FOA 0003371 Funding Number: DE FOA 0003371 Agency: Golden Field Office Category: Energy Funding Amount: $3,000,000 |
| Undocumented Orphaned Well Characterization and Remediation Apply for DE FOA 0003343 Funding Number: DE FOA 0003343 Agency: National Energy Technology Laboratory Category: Energy Funding Amount: $3,400,000 |
| Notice of Intent (NOI) related to "HARMONY: Human-Centric Analytics for Resilient & Modernized Power sYstems” Apply for DE FOA 0003445 Funding Number: DE FOA 0003445 Agency: National Energy Technology Laboratory Category: Energy Funding Amount: Case Dependent |
| Request for Information (RFI) Technology and Market Potential of Photovoltaic-Thermal (PVT) Systems in the United States Apply for DE FOA 0003465 Funding Number: DE FOA 0003465 Agency: Golden Field Office Category: Energy Funding Amount: Case Dependent |
| SuperTruck Charge Apply for DE FOA 0003344 Funding Number: DE FOA 0003344 Agency: National Energy Technology Laboratory Category: Energy Funding Amount: $36,000,000 |
| Request for Information on Request for Information on Carbon Transport Research, Development and Demonstration Consortium Apply for DE FOA 0003330 Funding Number: DE FOA 0003330 Agency: National Energy Technology Laboratory Category: Energy Funding Amount: Case Dependent |
| Advancing Technology Development for Securing a Domestic Supply of Critical Minerals and Materials (CMM) Apply for DE FOA 0002956 Funding Number: DE FOA 0002956 Agency: National Energy Technology Laboratory Category: Energy Funding Amount: $3,750,000 |
| Oxygen-conducting SOFC and SOEC Research and Development for Hydrogen Production Apply for DE FOA 0003366 Funding Number: DE FOA 0003366 Agency: National Energy Technology Laboratory Category: Energy Funding Amount: $4,000,000 |
| TRIBAL CLEAN ENERGY PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT - 2025 Apply for DE FOA 0003401 Funding Number: DE FOA 0003401 Agency: Golden Field Office Category: Energy Funding Amount: $2,500,000 |
| U.S.-Danish Floating Offshore Wind Energy Mooring and Anchoring Research and Development Apply for DE FOA 0003362 Funding Number: DE FOA 0003362 Agency: Golden Field Office Category: Energy Funding Amount: $500,000 |
| Nuclear Reactor Safety Training and Workforce Development Program Apply for DE FOA 0003410 Funding Number: DE FOA 0003410 Agency: Idaho Field Office Category: Energy Funding Amount: $40,000,000 |
| Notice of Intent to Issue Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) No. DE-FOA-0003373: "Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL), Provision 41007(b)(2), Wind Turbine Technology Recycling” Apply for DE FOA 0003443 Funding Number: DE FOA 0003443 Agency: Golden Field Office Category: Energy Funding Amount: Case Dependent |
| Energy Improvements in Rural or Remote Areas – Fiscal Year 2025 Release Apply for DE FOA 0003428 Funding Number: DE FOA 0003428 Agency: Headquarters Category: Energy Funding Amount: $50,000,000 |
| Circularity for Secure and Sustainable Products and Materials: A Draft Strategic Framework RFI Apply for DE FOA 0003455 Funding Number: DE FOA 0003455 Agency: Golden Field Office Category: Energy Funding Amount: Case Dependent |
| Generation III+ Small Modular Reactor Pathway to Deployment Apply for DE FOA 0003485 Funding Number: DE FOA 0003485 Agency: Headquarters Category: Energy Funding Amount: $800,000,000 |
| REQUEST FOR INFORMATION (RFI) - Egypt Energy Sector Activity Apply for 72026325RFI00003 Funding Number: 72026325RFI00003 Agency: Egypt USAID-Cairo Category: Energy Funding Amount: $25,000,000 |
| Carbon Storage Assurance Facility Enterprise (CarbonSAFE): A Mid-Course Evaluation Apply for DE FOA 0003471 Funding Number: DE FOA 0003471 Agency: National Energy Technology Laboratory Category: Energy Funding Amount: Case Dependent |
| Advanced Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technologies to Drive National Goals Apply for DE FOA 0003439 Funding Number: DE FOA 0003439 Agency: Golden Field Office Category: Energy Funding Amount: $10,000,000 |
| Quantum Computing for Computational Chemistry (QC3) Apply for DE FOA 0003482 Funding Number: DE FOA 0003482 Agency: Advanced Research Projects Agency Energy Category: Energy Funding Amount: $10,000,000 |
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