How to Partner With Us
Applicants will have two opportunities to apply to this Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) Call. Dates for each phase are shown below. Note that the notice of intent and proposals must be submitted by 11:59 pm Pacific Time on the date shown.
CRADA Call Phase 1: Fiscal Year 2023
Timeline:
Week of May 29: CRADA Call Phase 1 announcement
June 16: CRADA call webinar with open Q&A
July 14: National Lab capabilities webinar with open Q&A
August 11: Concept paper submission deadline
September 1: Anticipated notification for proposal development
November 3: Proposal submission deadline
Week of January 15: Anticipated notification of proposal acceptance
Eligibility
The following organizations are eligible to apply for this CRADA call:
- All U.S. companies and universities, and foreign companies and universities with commercial partners based in the U.S., subject to DOE headquarters approval of the project.
- Individual U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents.
- All applicants are required to register in sam.gov and have a Unique Entity Identifier for doing business with federal agencies.
- Domestic for-profit entities, educational institutions, and nonprofits that are incorporated (or otherwise formed) under the laws of a particular state or territory of the United States and have a physical location for business operations in the United States. (Nonprofit organizations described in Section 501(c)(4) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 that engaged in lobbying activities after December 31, 1995, are not eligible to apply.)
- Foreign entities, whether for-profit or otherwise. Other than as provided in the section above, recipients must be incorporated (or otherwise formed) under the laws of a state or territory of the United States and have a physical location for business operations in the United States. If a foreign entity applies, it must designate in the full application a subsidiary or affiliate incorporated (or otherwise formed) under the laws of a state or territory of the United States to be a recipient. The full application must state the nature of the corporate relationship between the foreign entity and domestic subsidiary or affiliate.
Foreign entities may request a waiver of the requirement to designate a subsidiary in the United States as the prime recipient in the full application (i.e., a foreign entity may request that it remains the prime recipient on an award). To do so, the applicant must submit an explicit written waiver request in the full application. To obtain necessary information to submit a waiver, contactwoodheat@lbl.gov a minimum of 30 days prior to the application due date.
The applicant does not have the right to appeal DOE’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy’s (EERE’s) decision concerning a waiver request. In the waiver request, the applicant must demonstrate to the satisfaction of EERE that it would further the purposes of this CRADA call and is otherwise in the economic interests of the United States to have a foreign entity serve as the prime recipient. EERE may require additional information before considering the waiver request.
Proposed projects may include, but are not limited to, the following:
- Advancing automation systems
- Sensor development for remote data collection
- Analyzing and synthesizing field and laboratory data
- Investigating feasibility of novel pre and post combustion technologies to reduce emissions or improve efficiency
- Developing computational models to inform engineering design improvements
- Investigating feasibility of integrating wood heaters with other technologies (e.g., heat pumps) to reduce emissions and increase efficiency
- Identifying and implementing advanced combustion methods or technologies to reduce emissions during various phases of operation (e.g., startup, high power steady-state, low power steady-state, shutdown)
- Developing alternative test methods for certifying wood heaters that cannot be tested using EPA certification methods (e.g., automated heaters or dual-fuel heaters to reduce start-up emissions)
Activities not included:
- Certification testing of wood heaters
- Testing and advancing technologies not related to wood heaters
- Dual-fuel technologies that integrate wood heaters with pipeline natural gas or propane resources or appliances
Follow the below steps to apply for this CRADA call.
Key Deadlines:
Follow the below steps to apply for this CRADA call. The phase 1 concept paper is due August 11, 2023 by 11:59 pm Pacific Time.
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Step 1: Concept Paper
Prior to submitting a concept paper, please read the terms of the CRADA. The WHIC Common CRADA template has been reviewed and approved by all participating DOE labs. This template will be used for all selected WHIC projects and is non-negotiable. The CRADA is applicable only to WHIC projects where there is at least one non-DOE lab party, although there may be any number of DOE labs.
Using the WHIC concept paper template and guideline, create your concept paper and then submit it to WoodHeat@ee.doe.gov by the stated phase deadline. Late proposals will not be accepted. You will receive a confirmation of receipt email within 1 working day. No late submissions will be accepted.
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Step 2: Concept Paper Review and Partner with Selected National Lab
To ensure favorable alignment of projects, BETO staff will review concept papers to ensure proposed projects meet eligibility requirements, align with CRADA goals, and align with WHIC partnering lab capabilities.
Based on this preliminary review, applicants will be encouraged or discouraged to provide a full proposal submission. Notifications will be provided via email by the date specified. Encouraged applicants will be partnered with a national laboratory and corresponding principal investigator to assist with developing the full proposal and budget. Discouraged applicants may not apply. All decisions are final.
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Step 3: Develop Proposal with National Lab Partner
Working with your partnering National Lab(s), use the WHIC CRADA call proposal template and guidelines to develop the proposal. NOTE: Applicants discouraged applicants are not eligible to submit a proposal. Coordinate with your partnering National Lab(s) to develop deliverables, tasks, and budgets. Carefully read the proposal template to ensure you all instructions are followed.
Proposals should be no more than 10 pages in length.
Applicants are required to commit resources to the partnership in the form of 20%+ cost share (e.g., for a project with a total budget of $360,000, available federal funds would total $300,000 and the industry partner would be expected to contribute a minimum of $60,000).
The minimum DOE funding for a proposed project is $150,000 and the maximum is $300,000. These amounts do not reflect cost share or project totals.
The project duration should be a minimum of 12 months and a maximum of 18 months.
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Step 4: Submit Proposal
Submit completed proposal to WoodHeat@ee.doe.gov by the stated phase deadline. Late proposals will not be accepted. See Proposal Review Process for information on the review process.
Note: Information provided in the proposal for the review process will not be shared for any other purpose beyond the CRADA Call, and it will be retained indefinitely. See DOE’s security and privacy policy.
Note: WHIC and BETO will use the information provided in the proposal for the review process. They will not share this information for any other purpose, and it will be retained indefinitely. See DOE’s security and privacy policy.
Step 1: Proposal Review
BETO and a panel of non-conflicted external reviewers selected by BETO will perform proposal reviews based on review criteria outlined in the proposal template and guidelines .
Reviewers will score the proposals based on the associated weighting of each criteria. Final funding decisions will be made by BETO based on funding availability and portfolio requirements.
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Step 2: Notify Organizations of Awards
BETO will email decisions to applicants. Anticipated that notification of funding awards will be sent to proposal applicants by the date specified. Note: All decisions by BETO are final.
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Step 3: Sign CRADA
Prior to starting a project, a CRADA must be signed by the company or university and partnering national laboratory. The terms of the CRADA are non-negotiable. Applicants will work with their national lab partners to develop a corresponding CRADA scope of work and budget based on the submitted proposal.
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Step 4: Launch Projects
Awarded projects are expected to begin between in early 2024, but are dependent on completion of agreement paperwork.
Once a project begins, the project will be subject to normal review and monitoring by BETO. It is encouraged to provide notice of significant outcomes from the project to BETO in a timely manner. Outcomes may include publications in peer-reviewed journals, technical highlights citing impact to the industry partner or the bioenergy field in general, realized cost savings, or risk mitigation for the industry partner.