NOI to Issue Notice of Funding Opportunity DE-FOA-0003495 titled Accelerating CO2 Conversion Technology Development and Deployment – Biological, Catalytic, and Mineralization Pathways. | DE FOA 0003496

Opportunity Information: Apply for DE FOA 0003496

This announcement is a Notice of Intent (NOI) from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), administered through the National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL), signaling that DOE plans to release a future Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) related to carbon dioxide (CO2) conversion. The planned NOFO is titled "Accelerating CO2 Conversion Technology Development and Deployment - Biological, Catalytic, and Mineralization Pathways" and is expected to be issued under DE-FOA-0003495 (the listing also shows an associated opportunity number DE-FOA-0003496 for the NOI record). The NOI itself is strictly informational and DOE is not requesting feedback or public comments on the contents of this notice.

The main purpose of the anticipated NOFO is to fund competitively selected, cost-shared research and development projects that can push CO2 conversion technologies into pilot-scale demonstration. The emphasis is on relatively mature solutions, specifically technologies at high technology readiness levels (generally above TRL 5), meaning the work is expected to go beyond early laboratory proof-of-concept and focus on integrated validation, scaling, and piloting steps that bring a technology closer to deployment. The overall goal is "significant carbon mitigation," so proposed efforts are expected to show credible potential to reduce net CO2 emissions at meaningful scale by converting captured or otherwise sourced CO2 into useful products or stable forms.

DOE highlights three technical pathways as the core focus areas. First, biological pathways generally refer to using microbes, enzymes, or other biological systems to convert CO2 into fuels, chemicals, or materials, often leveraging bioreactors and process conditions that support efficient conversion. Second, catalytic pathways involve chemical or electrochemical processes where catalysts help transform CO2 into value-added products such as carbon monoxide, methanol, hydrocarbons, or other intermediates and end products, typically targeting higher conversion rates, selectivity, energy efficiency, and durability. Third, mineralization pathways focus on converting CO2 into stable carbonate minerals or incorporating CO2 into cementitious materials and aggregates, aiming for long-lived storage and potentially lower-carbon building products. Across all three pathways, the anticipated funding is intended to accelerate technology development specifically at the piloting stage, where engineering integration, operability, robustness, and real-world performance become central.

The funding instrument type identified is a cooperative agreement, which usually indicates substantial involvement by DOE during the project period compared with a standard grant. The activity category is listed under energy, environment, science and technology, and other research and development, and the CFDA/assistance listing number provided is 81.089. The opportunity category is discretionary, and the eligible applicants field is listed as "unrestricted," signaling broad eligibility at the NOI stage; however, the notice clearly states that actual eligibility requirements will be defined in the final NOFO once released.

Several administrative fields in the record are worth interpreting carefully. The "award ceiling" is shown as 2 (without a stated unit in the provided excerpt), and "expected awards" is listed as 0, which is common in early notices where DOE is not yet committing to a final funding amount or number of selections until the formal NOFO is published. The record includes an original closing date of 2025-01-17, which may correspond to the NOI posting timeline or a placeholder in the listing system rather than the final NOFO due date; the binding submission deadlines, application requirements, and review criteria will be in the official NOFO when it is issued. The creation date for this NOI record is 2024-11-14.

In practical terms, this NOI is an early heads-up for organizations working on higher-TRL CO2 conversion approaches that are ready to demonstrate at pilot scale with cost share. If you are tracking this opportunity, the key next step is to watch for publication of DE-FOA-0003495, where DOE will specify topics, required technical and economic performance expectations, cost-share percentages, allowable project structures, deliverables and milestones, and the exact eligibility and submission instructions.

• The National Energy Technology Laboratory in the energy, environment, science and technology and other research and development sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "NOI to Issue Notice of Funding Opportunity DE-FOA-0003495 titled Accelerating CO2 Conversion Technology Development and Deployment – Biological, Catalytic, and Mineralization Pathways." and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 81.089.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2024-11-14.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2025-01-17. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $2.00 in funding.
• Eligible applicants include: Unrestricted.

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