Low Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Vehicle Technologies Research, Development, Demonstration and Deployment | DE FOA 0002475

Opportunity Information: Apply for DE FOA 0002475

The Department of Energy (DOE), through the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) and its Vehicle Technologies Office (VTO), released a competitive funding opportunity called "Low Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Vehicle Technologies Research, Development, Demonstration and Deployment" (Funding Opportunity Number DE-FOA-0002475). The main goal of this opportunity is to accelerate innovation in transportation technologies that reduce greenhouse gas emissions, moving solutions from the lab into real-world demonstrations and ultimately toward broader deployment. The work supported under this announcement is framed as part of a government-wide response to the climate crisis, with an emphasis on advancing clean energy technologies that materially cut emissions from the transportation sector.

The FOA is designed to fund a range of activities across the full innovation pipeline, specifically research, development, demonstration, and deployment (often abbreviated as RDD&D). In practical terms, that means DOE is looking not only for early-stage R&D ideas, but also for projects that validate performance at scale, prove real-world operability, and help remove barriers to adoption. The broader intent is to "push the frontiers of science and engineering" while also catalyzing clean energy jobs, meaning proposals that strengthen domestic capabilities, manufacturing readiness, workforce development, and supply-chain resilience may align well with the spirit of the program, depending on the topic areas specified in the full FOA.

A notable policy element in the announcement is its explicit alignment with environmental justice and the inclusion of disadvantaged communities. While the summary text does not list specific set-asides or scoring rules, it clearly signals that DOE expects applicants to think seriously about who benefits from these investments and how proposed projects can support equitable outcomes. Depending on the project type, that could include steps like community engagement, ensuring that demonstrations occur in or meaningfully benefit underserved areas, reducing exposure to transportation-related pollution, creating accessible job pathways, or designing deployment strategies that do not leave behind rural, low-income, or historically overburdened communities.

From an administrative standpoint, this opportunity is a discretionary grant program using cooperative agreements as the funding instrument. Cooperative agreements typically imply substantial DOE involvement during the project, such as participation in technical reviews, milestone approvals, and ongoing collaboration to ensure the project meets federal objectives. The funding activity categories connected to the opportunity include Energy, Environment, Science and Technology/Research and Development, Transportation, and Opportunity Zone Benefits, indicating DOE views the program as both a climate and economic development lever.

Eligibility is listed as "unrestricted," meaning it is broadly open to many entity types (for example, private companies, universities, national laboratories, nonprofits, and state or local governments), subject to any specific limitations or clarifications contained in the full FOA text. That kind of eligibility structure commonly encourages cross-sector teams and partnerships that combine fundamental research strength with deployment capability, such as university-industry consortia, manufacturer-fleet demonstrations, or public-private collaborations that can validate technology performance in operational settings.

In terms of scale and timing, the opportunity information indicates an expected number of awards of around 30, with an award ceiling of $4,000,000 per award. The FOA record shows a creation date of April 15, 2021 and an original closing date of July 12, 2021. These dates reflect the specific application window for this particular solicitation cycle, and applicants would need to confirm whether the FOA is still open, has been amended, or has been superseded by later rounds.

For applicants looking for the official materials and submission process, DOE directs readers to https://epicweb.ee.doe.gov for additional information and notes that EERE is transitioning applications for this announcement to the EERE Exchange portal at https://eere-exchange.energy.gov/Default.aspx. In other words, while EPIC may provide supporting documentation and context, EERE Exchange is the system where the official FOA package, amendments, required forms, and electronic submission steps are typically hosted and managed.

• The Department of Energy, National Energy Technology Laboratory in the energy, environment, opportunity zone benefits, science and technology and other research and development, transportation sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Low Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Vehicle Technologies Research, Development, Demonstration and Deployment" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 81.086.
• This funding opportunity was created on Apr 15, 2021.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Jul 12, 2021. (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 $4,000,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 30 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Unrestricted (i.e., open to any type of entity above), subject to any clarification in text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility.

Apply for DE FOA 0002475

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