The Genesis Mission: Transforming Science and Energy with AI
DOE will fund interdisciplinary AI-for-science and energy R&D teams, including phase I small teams and phase II larger teams, in specified mission areas such as advanced manufacturing, biotechnology, critical materials, nuclear, quantum, semiconductors, discovery science, and energy.
⚑ FY26 Phase I small team and Phase II large team competition; existing FY26 Phase I awardees may apply for Phase II later · LOI and Phase II application guidance to be amended; current notice says Phase II details will be clarified in a later amendment · Uses interdisciplinary teams and may leverage DOE/NNSA, national laboratory, industry, and academic resources · Award ceiling is $16,000,000
Unit fits — one characterization, each unit's own rules
| Physical Sciences & Engineering (demo) | 90 strong | technical depth: central; funds applied research |
| IPPRA | 58 good | peripheral portfolio topic: energy; social/behavioral work is minor; funds applied research |
| Tom Love Innovation Hub | 45 partial | funds applied research; prototyping/demonstration stage; deep-tech content |
Description
The DOE Office of Science (SC), Office of Critical Minerals and Energy Innovation (CMEI), Office of Environmental Management (EM), Office of Nuclear Energy (NE), Office of Electricity (OE), and Hydrocarbons and Geothermal Office (HGEO) hereby announce interest in receiving applications from interdisciplinary teams addressing the Genesis Mission National Science and Technology Challenges to accelerate scientific discovery and research and development (R&D) workflows using novel artificial intelligence (AI) models and frameworks. By achieving AI advantage, these teams will advance the DOE's mission and ensure America’s security and prosperity by addressing energy, environmental, and nuclear challenges through science and technology. Teams are encouraged to leverage the extensive scientific and data resources of the DOE/National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), the National Laboratories, U.S. industry, and academia. The resulting AI models and workflows, if successful, may be integrated into the American Science Cloud.
DOE is soliciting new FY26 Phase I small team and Phase II large team applications in the following topic areas: advanced manufacturing, biotechnology, critical materials, nuclear fission, nuclear fusion, quantum information science, semiconductors and microelectronics, discovery science, and energy (see specific focus areas in Section III Program Descriptions).
In addition, this RFA will remain available to allow the recipients of FY26 Phase I awards to apply for larger team Phase II awards. In a few weeks, DOE plans to amend the RFA to clarify the LOI and application guidelines for FY26 Phase II awards. In FY27, DOE plans to amend the RFA or to issue an alternative funding opportunity to update the topic and focus areas to allow a second competition of Phase I small team applications and Phase II large team applications.
Apply
View on Grants.gov → CONTACT: Michael S Zarkin Grants Management Specialist <GenesisMissionNOFO@science.doe.gov>
Proposal brief SEE AN EXAMPLE →
A one-page internal memo: fit assessment, submission requirements, document scaffold, and next steps dated back from the deadline — tailored to your project idea if you add one.
Proposal shell · Federal (generic) conventions SEE A FEDERAL EXAMPLE →
Funder-faithful document skeletons — Federal (generic)'s document set with section headings, page limits, reviewer guidance, and writing prompts; add a project idea to get [DRAFT] starter bullets. Download as .md for Word or Overleaf.
Legacy IPPRA LLM assessment (v2.0, for comparison)
15/100 · gpt-5.4-mini · 2026-07-06
This is primarily a technical AI-for-science and energy R&D opportunity in DOE mission areas, with focus on nuclear, fusion, critical materials, and grid/energy topics. While the outcomes may matter for public policy and security, the solicitation does not name a substantial social science, behavioral, survey, or evaluation research component that IPPRA would lead. Public universities appear likely eligible as academia partners, but the fit remains tangential for IPPRA’s human-side research portfolio.
Legacy scoring history
| 2026-07-06 | 15 | gpt-5.4-mini | This is primarily a technical AI-for-science and energy R&D opportunity in DOE mission areas, with focus on nuclear, fusion, critical materials, and grid/energy topics. While the outcomes may matter for public policy and security, the solicitation does not name a substantial social science, behavioral, survey, or evaluation research component that IPPRA would lead. Public universities appear likely eligible as academia partners, but the fit remains tangential for IPPRA’s human-side research portfolio. |
| 2026-07-06 | 18 | gpt-5.4-mini | This is primarily an AI-for-science and technical R&D opportunity focused on DOE mission areas like nuclear fission/fusion, critical materials, and energy systems. IPPRA’s social/behavioral strengths are not central here, and the notice appears aimed at interdisciplinary technical teams rather than policy, communication, or community research. Public universities may participate, but only as technical research partners, so the fit remains low. |