Website: https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/view-opportunity.html?oppId=323144
Funding: Total funding: $60,000,000. Maximum awards: $20M.
Dates: Expected Date for virtual Workshop Series: August 3-5 2020. Deadline for Questions: September 15, 2020. Application Submission Deadline: September 25, 2020.
Summary:
In response to the COVID-19 public health emergency, ARPA-E has modified the SCALEUP FOA. The Preliminary Application submission phase has been reopened to allow all prospective Applicants the opportunity to apply. Preliminary Applications previously received may be revised under the modified SCALEUP requirements described herein.
The Seeding Critical Advances for Leading Energy technologies with Untapped Potential (SCALEUP) solicitation provides a vital mechanism for the support of innovative energy R&D that complements ARPA-E’s primary R&D focus on early-stage transformational energy technologies that still require proof-of-concept.
ARPA-E funds research on the development of high-potential, high-impact energy technologies that are too early for private-sector investment. The agency focuses on technologies that can be meaningfully advanced with a modest investment over a defined period of time in order to catalyze the translation from scientific discovery to early-stage technology. In addition, the agency is launching new funding opportunities for public-private collaborations supporting the further refinement, scaling, and pre-piloting of successful ARPA-E technologies. Success of these scale-up projects will establish the path forward to continued private sector development and deployment of these transformational technologies.
Because of the breadth of energy technologies solicited under the SCALEUP FOA, technical and project targets are not specified. Therefore, ARPA-E asks Applicants to address how the proposed scale-up or pre-pilot project will sufficiently advance the technology to enable a path to market and ultimately lead to realized commercial impact. The proposed potential impacts must fall within the agency’s mission areas: reducing imported energy, reducing energy related emissions, improving energy efficiency, and ensuring the U.S. maintains a technological lead in developing and deploying advanced energy technologies – including substantial U.S. manufacturing of resulting technologies. ARPA-E desires to fund projects for which the proof-of-concept R&D challenges have been addressed in a successful ARPA-E award, and which can establish a path to real-world impact through scaling R&D. For the SCALEUP FOA, Applicants must demonstrate the path to market, making the strongest case for how the proposed technology will scale and ultimately enable the technology to thrive in the open market.
Project Topic Areas:
The ARPA-E SCALEUP FOA seeks Applicants with an existing early-stage developmental prototype that demonstrates functionality in a controlled environment, and that have progressed beyond proof-of-concept and need to demonstrate scalability, reliability, and domestic manufacturability. Finalists selected for the SCALEUP Award will demonstrate a path to market and be well positioned for investment from the private sector (venture, strategic, philanthropic, internal, etc.). For example, those selected would then work to advance the existing developmental prototype to a manufacturable and commercially relevant product, meaning the research will seek to prove all functionality using pre-commercial manufacturing techniques. This includes building a Project Team with the skillset and capabilities necessary for scaling high-risk energy technologies during and beyond the completion of the SCALEUP project. The project should be structured to answer critical questions required to reduce the associated technical and business risks.
Cost Sharing:
For the Full Application submissions, ARPA-E expects to make approximately $50-60 million available for new awards under this FOA, with individual awards up to $20 million (including awardee’s cost share), subject to the availability of appropriated funds. ARPA-E anticipates making approximately 5-8 awards under this FOA. ARPA-E may issue one, multiple, or no awards. The period of performance for funding agreements is anticipated to be approximately 36 months.
For the initial portion of the award – approximately the first year of the award – no cost share payment will be required. Instead, the cost-share requirements/reduction in this section will be required for Total Projects Costs after this initial portion of the award. For a Cooperative Agreement awarded under this FOA, the Prime Recipient must provide at least 33 1/3% of the Total Project Cost as cost share.
Project teams may qualify for a reduced cost share of 20% if they qualify under one of the following specified applicant categories:
- Small businesses – or consortia of small businesses – will provide at least 20% of the Total Project Cost as cost share.
- Project Teams where a small business is the lead organization and small businesses perform greater than or equal to 80%, but less than 100%, of the total work under the funding agreement (as measured by the Total Project Cost) are entitled to the same cost share reduction provided to Standalone small businesses or consortia of small businesses.
Topic Area Requirements:
Under the SCALEUP FOA, ARPA-E will select Semi-Finalists based on a Preliminary Application. Selection as a Semi-Finalist for SCALEUP is designed to encourage a Full Application submission. Applicants not selected as a Semi-Finalist are not invited to submit a Full Application. Semi-Finalists will be invited to attend a virtual Workshop Series designed to facilitate discussion with industry, investors, and potential Commercialization and Financial Partners. ARPA-E will select Finalists based on a Full Application and Awardees will be selected following Finalists’ Oral Presentations.
Criteria for Applications:
- Project Feasibility and Technical Merit (33.33%)
- Commercial Viability, Strategy, and Impact (33.33%)
- Project Team Qualifications, Experience, and Capabilities (33.33%)
Eligible Applicants:
This FOA is open to the following Applicants that propose to scale subject inventions or software that have resulted from ARPA-E awards:
- Current and former ARPA-E awardees (except Institutions of Higher Education and FFRDCs/DOE Laboratories) that own/control subject invention(s) or software arising from their ARPA-E award(s);
- Entities that are licensees of subject invention(s) or software arising from any ARPA-E award(s); or
- Consortia – specified below – that have title to or are licensees of subject invention(s) or software arising from an ARPA-E award.