Carbon Storage Assurance Facility Enterprise (CarbonSAFE): A Mid-Course Evaluation | DE FOA 0003471

Opportunity Information: Apply for DE FOA 0003471

The Department of Energy, through the National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL), released a government grant opportunity notice titled "Carbon Storage Assurance Facility Enterprise (CarbonSAFE): A Mid-Course Evaluation" (Funding Opportunity Number DE-FOA-0003471). Even though it sits in the same systems where funding opportunities often appear and references cooperative agreements, this specific posting is not a Notice of Funding Opportunity and it is not soliciting project applications or proposals. Instead, it is a Request for Information (RFI) intended to gather feedback from stakeholders and the broader community.

The purpose of the RFI is to collect perspectives on what has worked well so far within the CarbonSAFE initiative and, just as importantly, what could be adjusted to improve outcomes going forward. DOE is asking for input on three closely related areas: the overall CarbonSAFE initiative, its objectives, and the design of a prior funding announcement, DE-FOA-0002711. In practical terms, DOE is trying to run a mid-course evaluation to understand which program elements have been most effective at advancing the Carbon, Transport and Storage Program vision of supporting the rapid deployment of carbon storage at a scale needed to help decarbonize the US economy. The RFI also seeks recommendations for modifying or refining the initiative and the earlier FOA design so future efforts better align with that deployment-focused vision.

From an eligibility standpoint, the listing indicates "Unrestricted" eligible applicants, which is typical for an RFI because DOE generally wants broad feedback from industry, academia, state and local entities, nonprofits, developers, operators, researchers, community groups, and other interested parties. The activity category is Energy and the CFDA number shown is 81.089, aligning it with DOE assistance programming. The notice is categorized as discretionary and references a cooperative agreement instrument type, but because this is an information-gathering request rather than a funding competition, those fields should be read as administrative context rather than an invitation to apply for funding.

Key administrative details include an original closing date of 2024-12-20 and a creation date of 2024-10-21. The fields for award ceiling and expected awards are effectively not applicable in the way they would be for a true funding solicitation; the listing shows an award ceiling of 2 and expected awards of 0, reinforcing that DOE is not planning to make awards under this announcement. The core takeaway is that this is a program feedback and improvement effort: DOE wants concrete input on successes, gaps, and potential changes to better accelerate the development and deployment of carbon storage projects consistent with national decarbonization goals.

• The National Energy Technology Laboratory in the energy sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Carbon Storage Assurance Facility Enterprise (CarbonSAFE): A Mid-Course Evaluation" 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 2024-10-21.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2024-12-20. (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.

Apply for DE FOA 0003471

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