Fiscal Year 2016 Vehicle Technologies Program Wide Funding Opportunity Announcement | DE FOA 0001384

Opportunity Information: Apply for DE FOA 0001384

The Fiscal Year 2016 Vehicle Technologies Program Wide Funding Opportunity Announcement (DE-FOA-0001384) is a U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) solicitation issued on behalf of the Vehicle Technologies Office and administered through the National Energy Technology Laboratory. It provides discretionary federal funding in the form of cooperative agreements, meaning selected projects are expected to involve substantial DOE involvement during execution rather than operating as hands-off grants. The overall intent is to advance highway transportation technologies that cut petroleum use and reduce greenhouse gas emissions without sacrificing the performance, safety, consumer value, or cost expectations associated with modern vehicles.

This opportunity is designed as a broad, program-wide funding announcement that spans multiple technical areas rather than focusing on a single narrow research topic. The central theme is to reduce the cost and improve the performance of a mix of near-term and long-term vehicle technologies. In practice, that means supporting work that can yield improvements sooner (for example, incremental but meaningful gains in efficiency or manufacturability) alongside longer-range research and development that could reshape future vehicle platforms and supply chains. The portfolio approach reflects DOE's interest in accelerating progress across the full set of technologies that influence vehicle efficiency and emissions, from propulsion and energy storage to materials and fueling pathways.

A major strategic anchor for the FOA is alignment with the EV Everywhere Grand Challenge. Within that context, the announcement emphasizes accelerating development of advanced batteries, power electronics, and lightweight materials. These areas are foundational for electric-drive vehicles because battery cost, energy density, durability, and charging performance strongly shape vehicle affordability and range; power electronics affect efficiency, packaging, thermal management, and reliability; and lightweighting improves energy consumption regardless of powertrain while also enabling smaller battery packs for a given range target. The FOA also recognizes that petroleum reduction is not limited to electrification alone, so it supports additional technology development aimed at improving combustion engines, advancing alternative fuels, and pursuing other enabling technologies that can reduce fuel consumption and emissions across the existing and evolving vehicle fleet.

In addition to technology R and D, the FOA explicitly supports Clean Cities initiatives intended to overcome market barriers. That signals an interest not only in laboratory or prototype-level advancements, but also in efforts that help adoption, deployment, and stakeholder coordination where non-technical barriers can slow real-world impact. Clean Cities activities typically focus on helping local and regional partners, fleets, and communities implement strategies that reduce petroleum use through alternative fuels, vehicle efficiency, and broader transportation solutions, so the inclusion of Clean Cities indicates a parallel track focused on market transformation and implementation challenges.

Amendment 000006 applies specifically to the "reply to reviewer comments" section of the FOA. In other words, the amendment does not change the overall program purpose described in the announcement summary, but it does affect how applicants should address or submit responses to reviewer feedback under the FOA's process. The details of those changes are hosted on the EERE eXCHANGE website and are important for any applicant navigating revisions, clarifications, or follow-on communication related to review.

From a funding and logistics standpoint, the opportunity lists an award ceiling of $3,750,000 per award and an expectation of 27 awards, indicating DOE anticipated making multiple selections across the different topic areas and project types covered by the FOA. The original closing date is March 31, 2016, and the opportunity was created January 21, 2016. Eligibility is described as "unrestricted" in the provided source data, but applicants are directed to consult Section III.A of the full FOA for the definitive eligibility rules and any conditions, requirements, or limitations that apply to particular topic areas, applicant types, teaming arrangements, or cost-sharing.

All applications had to be submitted electronically through EERE eXCHANGE (https://eere-exchange.energy.gov) to be considered for award, and the FOA directs applicants to the full posting for instructions on where to send questions about the announcement content as well as where to seek help with submission mechanics. The takeaway is that this was a wide-ranging vehicle technology funding call aimed at driving down petroleum use and emissions through a balanced mix of electrification-focused innovation, improvements to conventional and alternative fuel pathways, and targeted efforts to remove real-world adoption barriers, with DOE maintaining an active partnership role through cooperative agreements.

• The National Energy Technology Laboratory in the energy sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Fiscal Year 2016 Vehicle Technologies Program Wide Funding Opportunity Announcement" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 81.087.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2016-01-21.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2016-03-31. (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 $3,750,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 27 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Unrestricted.

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