DE-FOA-0003646 Notice of Intent to Issue DE-FOA-0003647 Accelerating Scale-up and Pre-piloting of Emerging Chemical Technologies (ASPECT)
DOE intends to issue a future funding opportunity for research, development, and scale-up of emerging chemical technologies using alternative or waste feedstocks to produce chemicals and chemical intermediates/end-products with supply-chain, cost, environmental, or national-security benefits.
⚑ Notice of Intent only; no application is being accepted yet. · Future NOFO may differ materially or may not be issued. · Focus is chemical R&D and scale-up; not a commercialization-only or service program.
This is an applied chemical technology scale-up and manufacturing R&D opportunity, not a social-behavioral, risk-perception, warning, or policy-evaluation line. The team might be adjacent to energy-siting or public acceptance issues around such technologies, but the core work is pure technology development rather than this team’s program.
JUDGED AGAINST THE ROSTER'S PUBLICATION DOSSIER · GPT-5.4-MINI · 2026-07-15
Unit fits — one characterization, each unit's own rules
| Physical Sciences & Engineering (demo) | 90 strong | technical depth: central; funds applied research |
| IPPRA | 45 partial | portfolio topics: energy, national_security_defense (primary); social/behavioral work is none; funds applied research; capped at 45 (limited social-science role) |
| Tom Love Innovation Hub | 45 partial | funds applied research; prototyping/demonstration stage; deep-tech content |
Description
CMEI intends to issue, on behalf of AFFO, a NOFO titled, “Accelerating Scale-up and Pre-piloting of Emerging Chemical Technologies (ASPECT).” This NOFO will seek applications for financial assistance from entities that wish to conduct work in support of AFFO's focus on emerging chemical technologies. AFFO supports expanding the supply and use of domestic alternative feedstocks to improve supply chain resiliency of U.S. chemical production and to expand domestic manufacturing through technology innovation to lower costs and improve environmental safety of chemical production.[1]
Through this NOFO, AFFO seeks to support research, development, and scale-up of novel technologies for producing chemicals from alternative and waste feedstocks. Chemicals of interest include foundational molecules that can be further transformed into high-value end-products, chemical compounds or derivatives generated either from these foundational molecules or directly from alternative feedstocks through process intensification, as well as final end-products. This NOFO will aim to support work involving chemicals that offer advantages in terms of performance or cost, or that offer benefits to America’s foreign trade or national security. The proposed chemicals can be either conventional or bio-advantaged chemicals. Conventional chemicals must possess added benefits like improved domestic supply chain resiliency, reduced U.S. imports, reduced cost, or large market growth potential. Bio-advantaged chemicals must possess favorable properties—such as enhanced durability, production efficiency, or decreased toxicity—that create new value propositions.
This Notice of Intent (NOI) is for informational purposes only; DOE is not requesting comments or applications at this time. All information provided here is subject to change. This notice serves to inform interested parties that the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) may issue a Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO). Please be aware that any future NOFO could differ significantly from what is described here, or one may not be issued at all. DOE will provide a designated channel for questions once a NOFO is officially released.
This Notice of Intent can be viewed by visiting eere-exchange.energy.gov.
[1]Energy Policy Act (EPAct) 2005, Pub. L. 109-58, § 931 as codified at 42 U.S.C. § 16231; EPAct 2005 § 932, as codified at 42 U.S.C § 16232.
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