Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) - Clean Fuels & Products Shot: Supporting Carbon Utilization Products via Electrochemical Conversion and Refinery and Petrochemical Facilities Retrofitting

Background
The Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management (FECM) in collaboration with the National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) is issuing this Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA). Awards made under this FOA will be funded, in whole or in part, with funds appropriated by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, more commonly known as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL).

The BIL is a once-in-a-generation investment in modernizing and upgrading American infrastructure to enhance United States competitiveness, drive the creation of good-paying union jobs, tackle the climate crisis, and ensure stronger access to economic, environmental, and other benefits for disadvantaged communities. The BIL appropriates more than $62 billion to the Department of Energy (DOE) to invest in American manufacturing and workers; expand access to energy efficiency and clean energy; deliver reliable, clean, and affordable power to more Americans; and demonstrate and deploy the technologies of tomorrow through clean energy demonstrations. DOE’s BIL investments will support efforts to build a clean and equitable energy economy that achieves a carbon pollution-free electricity sector by 2035, and to put the United States on a path to achieve net-zero emissions economy-wide by no later than 2050 to benefit all Americans.

BIL will invest appropriations up to $16 million for the two (2) year period encompassing fiscal years (FYs) 2024 through 2026 for research and development (R&D) of carbon conversion technologies in two areas: 1) engineering-scale electrochemical conversion systems that demonstrate durability sufficient to warrant further scale up and 2) feasibility studies to investigate retrofitting refineries for carbon conversion to value-added products.

Grant Details
This FOA seeks applications to address carbon conversion challenges across two areas: engineering-scale electrochemical conversion with a focus on system durability and feasibility studies for refinery and petrochemical facility retrofits. The program aims to develop technologies for converting Carbon Dioxide (CO2) into environmentally friendly products. The FOA supports BIL Section 40302 'Carbon Utilization Program' which amended Section 969A of the Energy Policy Act of 2005. It also aligns with government-wide efforts to strengthen critical adoption, domestic manufacturing, and supply chains for carbon conversion products.

Eligibility Requirements
Domestic Entities (Institutions of higher education; for-profit entities; non-profit entities; state and local governmental entities and Indian Tribes), Foreign Entities (with an approved waiver)

Period of Performance
Two-year period encompassing fiscal years (FYs) 2024 through 2026

Grant Value
It is anticipated that this FOA will provide Federal funding of $16,000,000. Topic Area 1: approximately $12,000,000 Federal funding; 20% cost share requirement. Topic Area 2: approximately $4,000,000 Federal funding; 20% cost share