RFI on Manufacturing Carbon Negative Materials to Reduce Embodied Emissions in Buildings | DE FOA 0002506

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

1) Is this a funding opportunity or a grant program?

No. This notice is a Request for Information (RFI) issued by the Department of Energy's Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E). It is not a Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA), and it is not a solicitation for grant applications.

2) Can I apply for funding or financial assistance under this notice?

No. ARPA-E is not accepting applications for financial assistance under this RFI. The listed award ceiling is 0 because no funding is being offered through this notice.

3) What is ARPA-E asking for through this RFI?

ARPA-E is gathering ideas, technical input, and perspectives that could help shape a potential future research and development program. The goal is to understand what is technically plausible, what the biggest barriers are, and what R&D efforts could have the highest impact if ARPA-E later launches a program in this area.

4) What is the title of this RFI?

The opportunity is titled "RFI on Manufacturing Carbon Negative Materials to Reduce Embodied Emissions in Buildings."

5) What is the Funding Opportunity Number listed for this RFI?

The Funding Opportunity Number is DE FOA 0002506. Even though it resembles a funding identifier, this specific notice is an RFI and not a funding solicitation.

6) Which agency is issuing the RFI?

The RFI is associated with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) through ARPA-E.

7) What is the activity category for this notice?

The activity category is research and development (R&D), focused on materials and manufacturing pathways that could reduce or reverse embodied emissions in buildings.

8) What is the CFDA number associated with this notice?

The CFDA number listed is 81.135.

9) Who is eligible to respond to the RFI?

Eligible respondents are listed as unrestricted, consistent with an RFI intended to gather broad input from many types of organizations and individuals.

10) What is the deadline that was listed for RFI responses?

The original closing date for responses was April 21, 2021.

11) Where can I find the full RFI document?

ARPA-E directs readers to the full RFI at https://arpa-e-foa.energy.gov.

12) What does ARPA-E mean by "embodied emissions" in buildings?

"Embodied emissions" refers to greenhouse gas emissions released during extraction of raw materials, processing, manufacturing, and transport of building products, as well as construction and end-of-life impacts.

13) What is the main technical concept ARPA-E is exploring?

The RFI explores technologies that could turn buildings into long-term carbon sinks by reducing and potentially reversing the embodied emissions of construction materials. ARPA-E is specifically interested in "carbon negative" approaches where the net result is storage or utilization of carbon in building materials, ideally at scale and with durable sequestration over the life of the building.

14) What does "carbon negative" mean in the context of this RFI?

In this context, "carbon negative" refers to approaches where building materials store or utilize carbon such that, on a net basis, carbon is sequestered (or durably retained) rather than emitted, when evaluated with rigorous carbon accounting and life-cycle analysis.

15) What kinds of feedstocks or inputs does ARPA-E highlight for novel construction materials?

The RFI highlights development of novel construction materials derived from forestry products and other purpose-grown biomass, agricultural residues, and the direct use of greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide and methane as inputs.

16) Is ARPA-E only looking for "drop-in" replacement materials?

No. ARPA-E is interested both in drop-in replacements (materials that can directly replace existing products) and in innovations that change how buildings are designed and constructed to reduce the total amount of high-emissions material needed in the first place.

17) Which conventional building materials are mentioned as major drivers of embodied emissions?

The notice points to dominant construction materials such as steel, concrete, stone, brick, and other masonry products, noting that their manufacturing can be energy intensive and often difficult to decarbonize due to high-temperature processing and chemical process emissions (for example, in cement production).

18) How does the RFI treat wood and mass timber solutions?

ARPA-E acknowledges that wood and engineered wood products (including mass timber) can store biogenic carbon and have gained renewed interest. At the same time, the RFI notes that large-scale adoption requires careful accounting of land use impacts, transportation emissions, and the environmental and emissions impacts of adhesives used in engineered wood and mass timber.

19) Is ARPA-E looking for pathways beyond conventional timber-based approaches?

Yes. The RFI suggests additional pathways may be needed to expand carbon storage in the building stock beyond conventional timber solutions, including approaches that incorporate greenhouse gas-based feedstocks into durable building products.

20) What real-world constraints must candidate materials and systems address?

ARPA-E emphasizes that future work would need to meet practical building constraints, not just carbon performance. Candidate materials and systems must preserve (or improve) building operational performance, meet structural requirements, and meet fire safety and fireproofing code requirements.

21) Why does the RFI mention that the construction industry is conservative and risk-averse?

The RFI highlights that industry risk aversion and the immaturity of alternative materials can be major barriers to deployment. This implies a need for convincing performance data, clear compliance pathways, manufacturability at scale, and credible demonstrations that address concerns from regulators, architects, engineers, builders, insurers, and owners.

22) How important are life-cycle analysis (LCA) and carbon accounting in this RFI?

They are central themes. ARPA-E signals that carbon-negative claims should be backed by comprehensive, robust assessments that consider upstream emissions, manufacturing energy, transportation, installation, and end-of-life scenarios.

23) What does ARPA-E mean by "permanency" of carbon storage?

Permanency refers to the carbon stored in materials remaining stored for long periods and not being easily released through degradation, demolition, disposal, or incineration. The RFI also implies the importance of end-of-life design and circularity, such as reuse, recyclability, or stable long-term storage.

24) Is ARPA-E only interested in input from the buildings sector?

No. ARPA-E explicitly seeks perspectives from both within and outside the buildings sector, reflecting that breakthroughs may come from adjacent fields such as carbon utilization, chemical engineering, polymer science, advanced manufacturing, biotechnology, agricultural systems, forestry, and industrial decarbonization.

25) What might ARPA-E do with the information submitted in response to the RFI?

ARPA-E states that submitted information may be used to support program planning for potential future initiatives.