DOE Solicitation to Provide $22.5 Million for Alternative Fuel Projects

This week, the U.S. Department of Energy unveiled the details on a new funding opportunity for alternative fuel vehicles (AFV). The Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) is divided into the following three areas:  1) $7.8 million for development and demonstration of Class 3 – 7 plug-in electric vehicles; 2) $4.5 million development and demonstration of direct-injection engine technology utilizing propane; and 3) $10.0 million for community based projects that accelerate the use of commercially available AFVs of all sizes, and their supporting infrastructure.

DOE’s FOA is somewhat light on details. However, DOE has scheduled a webinar for June 15 where additional details should be available. The FOA indicates that the third area is expected to encourage projects involving state and local governments and private sector participants, and should demonstrate the ability to catalyze the adoption of clean transportation technologies and serve as an example for what other communities can do. The FOA states that partners should include fuel suppliers, auto dealerships, fuel retailers, fleets, equipment manufacturers, energy marketers, and energy companies.  The focus is on on-road vehicles, including light, medium, or heavy duty vehicles.

For each of these opportunities, DOE has indicated it intends to potentially award multiple projects. The solicitation for community based advancement of AFVs indicates that awardees can expect to receive $3 million to $5 million in funding, so it is likely DOE will fund two to three different projects. Given that the funding announcement is sponsored by the Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Office (EERE), it is expected that Clean Cities Coalitions will be the primary recipients of these funds, but this is not guaranteed and the funding announcement is open to all types of organizations including governmental entities and private companies.

Timing of this opportunity:

• Information Webinar – June 15, 2016
• Concept Papers – July 6, 2016
• Full Concept Paper – August 29, 2016
• Selection Announcements – January 27

More details are available here (FOA DE-FOA-000-1535) and here.