Opportunity Information: Apply for DE FOA 0003384
The Critical Facility Energy Resilience (CiFER) funding opportunity (Funding Opportunity Number DE-FOA-0003384) is a discretionary federal grant program administered by the National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) focused on strengthening the energy resilience of critical facilities through advanced energy storage. The core purpose is twofold: first, to push innovative energy storage technologies forward along the development pipeline, moving from earlier-stage research and development toward readiness for broad commercial adoption; and second, to support a real-world deployment of an innovative storage solution at an actual host site that has clearly identified resilience needs. In practical terms, the opportunity is designed to bridge the gap between promising storage concepts and bankable, repeatable implementations by funding both maturation work and a deployment that proves performance at a meaningful scale.
The program is structured as a Cooperative Agreement, which typically indicates a more collaborative relationship between the awardee and the federal government than a standard grant. Under this instrument type, the agency often remains more substantively involved in project execution, oversight, and milestones, which can help ensure that technical progress, validation activities, and deployment outcomes align with the FOA objectives. The activity area is categorized under Energy, and the relevant Assistance Listing (CFDA) number is 81.122, signaling the Department of Energy assistance program context in which the opportunity sits.
CiFER is open to an unrestricted pool of eligible applicants, meaning the FOA does not limit eligibility to only certain organization types in the summary provided. This can make the competition broadly accessible to entities such as private companies, startups, universities, nonprofit organizations, and other institutions that can credibly execute technology development and field deployment work, often in partnership with a host facility. The emphasis on deploying at a host site with defined resiliency needs suggests that strong proposals will likely include a well-justified site selection, documented resilience requirements (such as backup duration, critical load profiles, or outage tolerance), and a clear plan to integrate the storage technology into the facility energy system in a way that demonstrably improves continuity of operations.
In terms of funding scale and competitiveness, the FOA lists an award ceiling of $5,000,000 per award and anticipates making about three awards. That combination usually indicates a selective competition aimed at substantial, technically complex projects rather than small feasibility studies. The solicitation was created on 2024-08-05, and the original application closing date is 2024-10-04, giving applicants a defined window to assemble a project team, identify a host site, and present a plan that can credibly advance the technology to a higher maturity level while also producing real operational evidence of resilience benefits.
Overall, CiFER is best understood as a commercialization-focused energy storage resilience program: it is intended to move storage innovations beyond the lab by pairing technology advancement activities with a scaled, performance-relevant demonstration at a critical facility. The end goal is not just a prototype, but a technology that is closer to market readiness, proven in the field, and positioned for broader replication and commercial deployment in settings where uninterrupted power is essential.Apply for DE FOA 0003384
- The National Energy Technology Laboratory in the energy sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Critical Facility Energy Resilience (CiFER)" and is now available to receive applicants.
- Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 81.122.
- This funding opportunity was created on 2024-08-05.
- Applicants must submit their applications by 2024-10-04. (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 $5,000,000.00 in funding.
- The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 3 candidate(s).
- Eligible applicants include: Unrestricted.
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| Funding Opportunity |
|---|
| Notice of Intent (NOI) related to Aligning Manufacturability & Pre-production Design (AMPD) for Storage Technologies Apply for DE FOA 0003424 Funding Number: DE FOA 0003424 Agency: National Energy Technology Laboratory Category: Energy Funding Amount: Case Dependent |
| DE-FOA-0003426: RFI Microelectronics Energy Efficiency Scaling for 2 Decades (EES2) R&D Roadmap — Public Feedback Apply for DE FOA 0003426 Funding Number: DE FOA 0003426 Agency: Golden Field Office Category: Energy Funding Amount: Case Dependent |
| Harnessing Solar Energy to Develop Irrigation Techniques Apply for DOS BAGHDAD PD 2024 006 Funding Number: DOS BAGHDAD PD 2024 006 Agency: U.S. Mission to Iraq Category: Energy Funding Amount: $100,000 |
| Fiscal Year 2025 University Reactor Sharing and Outreach Apply for DE FOA 0003313 Funding Number: DE FOA 0003313 Agency: Idaho Field Office Category: Energy Funding Amount: $200,000 |
| Notice of Intent DE-FOA-0003423: Energy Improvements in Rural or Remote Areas FY24 Funding Opportunity Announcement DE-FOA-0003428 Apply for DE FOA 0003423 Funding Number: DE FOA 0003423 Agency: Headquarters Category: Energy Funding Amount: $50,000,000 |
| Energy Storage Pilot Demonstrations Apply for DE FOA 0003399 Funding Number: DE FOA 0003399 Agency: Headquarters Category: Energy Funding Amount: $20,000,000 |
| Notice of Intent to Issue Fiscal Year 2025 Solar Module and Solar Hardware (SMASH) Incubator Notice of Funding Opportunity Apply for DE FOA 0003459 Funding Number: DE FOA 0003459 Agency: Golden Field Office Category: Energy Funding Amount: Case Dependent |
| Notice of Intent (NOI) to Issue Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) Advanced Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technologies to Drive National Decarbonization DE-FOA-0003439 Apply for DE FOA 0003438 Funding Number: DE FOA 0003438 Agency: Golden Field Office Category: Energy Funding Amount: $10,000,000 |
| Distributed Energy Resource Interconnection Roadmap Draft Apply for DE FOA 0003463 Funding Number: DE FOA 0003463 Agency: Golden Field Office Category: Energy Funding Amount: Case Dependent |
| DE-FOA-0003371 FY24 Scale-Up of Integrated Biorefineries Apply for DE FOA 0003371 Funding Number: DE FOA 0003371 Agency: Golden Field Office Category: Energy Funding Amount: $3,000,000 |
| Undocumented Orphaned Well Characterization and Remediation Apply for DE FOA 0003343 Funding Number: DE FOA 0003343 Agency: National Energy Technology Laboratory Category: Energy Funding Amount: $3,400,000 |
| Notice of Intent (NOI) related to "HARMONY: Human-Centric Analytics for Resilient & Modernized Power sYstems” Apply for DE FOA 0003445 Funding Number: DE FOA 0003445 Agency: National Energy Technology Laboratory Category: Energy Funding Amount: Case Dependent |
| Request for Information (RFI) Technology and Market Potential of Photovoltaic-Thermal (PVT) Systems in the United States Apply for DE FOA 0003465 Funding Number: DE FOA 0003465 Agency: Golden Field Office Category: Energy Funding Amount: Case Dependent |
| SuperTruck Charge Apply for DE FOA 0003344 Funding Number: DE FOA 0003344 Agency: National Energy Technology Laboratory Category: Energy Funding Amount: $36,000,000 |
| Request for Information on Request for Information on Carbon Transport Research, Development and Demonstration Consortium Apply for DE FOA 0003330 Funding Number: DE FOA 0003330 Agency: National Energy Technology Laboratory Category: Energy Funding Amount: Case Dependent |
| Advancing Technology Development for Securing a Domestic Supply of Critical Minerals and Materials (CMM) Apply for DE FOA 0002956 Funding Number: DE FOA 0002956 Agency: National Energy Technology Laboratory Category: Energy Funding Amount: $3,750,000 |
| Oxygen-conducting SOFC and SOEC Research and Development for Hydrogen Production Apply for DE FOA 0003366 Funding Number: DE FOA 0003366 Agency: National Energy Technology Laboratory Category: Energy Funding Amount: $4,000,000 |
| TRIBAL CLEAN ENERGY PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT - 2025 Apply for DE FOA 0003401 Funding Number: DE FOA 0003401 Agency: Golden Field Office Category: Energy Funding Amount: $2,500,000 |
| U.S.-Danish Floating Offshore Wind Energy Mooring and Anchoring Research and Development Apply for DE FOA 0003362 Funding Number: DE FOA 0003362 Agency: Golden Field Office Category: Energy Funding Amount: $500,000 |
| Nuclear Reactor Safety Training and Workforce Development Program Apply for DE FOA 0003410 Funding Number: DE FOA 0003410 Agency: Idaho Field Office Category: Energy Funding Amount: $40,000,000 |
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