Government Requirement for Advanced Power and Energy (GRAPE)
This Open ARA announcement funds white papers and potential follow-on work for innovative energy, water, and related resource technologies that improve Department of the Air Force mission effectiveness and national defense capabilities.
⚑ Federal contract/Open ARA under 10 U.S.C. §4023; eligibility is governed by the solicitation and may be limited to entities able to contract with DoD. · Topic areas may be combined; the government may add, delete, or modify topic areas. · White paper-based process; award ceiling not stated.
This is primarily an applied defense/engineering solicitation for energy technology, water systems, materials, and supply-chain resilience, which is outside this team’s core social-science program. The team could only be tangentially relevant on risk/acceptance or decision-making around energy and resource vulnerabilities, but not as a natural PI-led fit.
JUDGED AGAINST THE ROSTER'S PUBLICATION DOSSIER · GPT-5.4-MINI · 2026-07-07
Unit fits — one characterization, each unit's own rules
| Physical Sciences & Engineering (demo) | 75 strong | technical depth: central; funds applied research |
| IPPRA | 45 partial | portfolio topics: energy, water_resources, national_security_defense (primary); social/behavioral work is none; funds applied research; eligibility unclear — verify in the NOFO; capped at 45 (limited social-science role) |
| Tom Love Innovation Hub | 45 partial | funds applied research; prototyping/demonstration stage; deep-tech content |
Description
This is an Open ARA announcement pursuant to the authority of 10 U.S.C. §4023 Procurement for Experimental Purposes. AFRL is interested in receiving white papers related to the AFRL Energy Office’s mission to lead the discovery, development, delivery, and integration of energy science, technology, and innovation. The AFRL Energy Office’s intent is to decouple mission effectiveness from energy, water, and other resource and supply chain vulnerabilities through the identification, development, and demonstration of critical technologies for the Department of Air Force (DAF). Proposed solutions should be innovative and substantially improve national defense capabilities. While the Government describes discrete topic areas below, it also anticipates that certain comprehensive technology solutions, processes, methodologies, and prototypes may require multidisciplinary approaches that address two or more topic areas. The topic areas covered under this announcement may be used in any combination. The Government reserves the right to add, delete or modify the topic areas as necessary.
Eligibility
Applicant restrictions (federal contract). Set-aside: . Notice type: Presolicitation. Organization: DEPT OF DEFENSE / DEPT OF THE AIR FORCE / FA8650 USAF AFMC AFRL PZL AFRL/PZL.
Apply
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 · Department of Defense (BAA-style) conventions SEE A DOD EXAMPLE →
Funder-faithful document skeletons — Department of Defense (BAA-style)'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.