Commercial Domestic Production of Moly-99 without the Use of Highly Enriched Uranium

The U.S. Department of Energy National Nuclear Security Administration's (DOE/NNSA) Office of Material Management and Minimization (NA-23) is soliciting applications from commercial entities that will result in the award of one or more Cooperative Agreements to achieve commercial-scale production of the medical isotope, molybdenum-99, hereafter referred to as Mo-99, without the use of highly enriched uranium (HEU) in the United States. This FOA closes and applications are due September 30, 2020 by 11:59 p.m. EST. Please be aware that technical difficulties are always possible when submitting applications electronically, therefore, ensure enough time is allotted for submission to DOE/NNSA. DOE/NNSA will not consider any applications that are received after the application deadline. This includes applications which are received by DOE/NNSA late as a result of technical difficulties. Therefore, applicants are strongly encouraged to submit their applications well in advance of the application deadline.

The applicant's proposal will be evaluated, in accordance with Section V of this FOA, to measure the degree to which the applicant's approach will enable their project to produce and sell at least 1,500 6-day Ci/week of Mo-99 without the use of HEU to the U.S. market on or before December 31, 2023.The applicant must also possess the ability and plans to increase the production of Mo-99 to 3,000 6-day Ci/week. This FOA is not intended to support Research and Development (R&D) projects, and the applicant must clearly demonstrate their ability to commercially produce Mo-99 on or before December 31, 2023.

Awards under this FOA are subject to the availability of funds. Acceptance of an application for evaluation does not obligate DOE/NNSA to make an award. DOE/NNSA reserves the right to fund, in whole or in part, any, all, or none of the applications submitted in response to this FOA. DOE/NNSA also reserves the right to award with or without discussions with applicants.

Cooperative Agreements (CA) will be awarded on a 50%/50% Federal/non-Federal cost-sharing basis whereby the U.S. Government can provide up to $35 million for one or more awards. The recipient will be required to match the U.S. Government contribution and must demonstrate funds are available by providing investor letters of commitment with each application. DOE/NNSA reserves the right to establish the maximum ceiling amount pre and post award. The funding will begin at or near the time of award and continue over the life of the stated project period of the CA, which will be for a period of three years from the date of award.

Interested parties should carefully read the instructions for preparation of the application. If material or forms are omitted, the application is received after the closing date, or for any other reason an applicant does not provide a complete application by the closing date, the application will be rejected and will not be evaluated. DOE/NNSA does not intend to reissue this FOA. Therefore, any qualified candidates are encouraged to submit applications at this time.

In the event that a Cooperative Agreement is terminated for any reason, following the award date, DOE/NNSA reserves the right to consider other qualified candidates from this FOA for evaluation and consideration.

Cost Sharing:

A 50%/50% cost-sharing arrangement between the U.S. Government and each recipient of federal funding in support of commercial projects, such as the Cooperative Agreements contemplated under this FOA, is required by the Energy Policy Act of 2005, Section 988, codified at 42 U.S.C. 16352. This statute also prohibits DOE/NNSA from counting proceeds from the prospective sale of an asset of an activity, such as the commercial sale of Mo-99 products, towards a recipient's required cost-sharing contribution. Therefore, applications that propose less than a 50 percent cost-share contribution from non-federal sponsors, or that propose the use of proceeds from the sale of assets generated under the activities of a Cooperative Agreement, shall not be considered for award. Repayment of the Federal share of the cost-shared activity shall not be required as a condition of the award. Investor Letters of Commitment will be required as part of the application.