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Funding Opportunity
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High Performance Computing for Energy Innovation Initiative Spring 2022 Solicitation
Organization Name
Department of Energy
Funding Opportunity Brief *
HPC4EI programs are designed to improve manufacturing processes, address products’ lifecycle energy consumption, and increase the efficiency of energy conversion and storage technologies by providing access to national lab supercomputing resources.
Description

The U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) High Performance Computing for Energy Innovation Initiative will issue a Spring 2022 solicitation in May 2022. HPC4EI programs are designed to improve manufacturing processes, address products’ lifecycle energy consumption, and increase the efficiency of energy conversion and storage technologies by providing access to national lab supercomputing resources and expertise for high performance computing projects. The spring solicitation will cover the High Performance Computing for Manufacturing (HPC4Mfg) program, which is supported by the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy’s Advanced Manufacturing Office. These programs harness the raw processing power of national lab supercomputers to decarbonize U.S. industry and move us closer to an equitable clean energy future that benefits all Americans.

HPC4EI conducts two regular solicitations annually, one in the fall and one in the spring. The spring solicitation will target qualified industry partners to participate in short-term, collaborative projects with DOE National Laboratories that address key manufacturing challenges and accelerate the development and deployment of clean energy technologies to move us closer to the Biden-Harris Administration’s goal of net-zero carbon emissions by 2050.

Eligibility for the program is limited to entities that manufacture products or operate systems in the United States for commercial applications and to organizations that support these entities. The solicitation will encourage applicants to partner with a diverse range of universities, community colleges, and non-profit organizations, especially those located in disadvantaged communities. This focus ensures the equitable use and benefits of HPC national laboratory resources and technologies.

Selected projects will be awarded up to $300,000 to support computing cycles and work performed by DOE National Laboratories, universities, and non-profit partners. All DOE National Laboratories are eligible to participate. The industry partner must provide a participant contribution of at least 20% of the total project funding.

DOE’s Advanced Manufacturing Office (AMO), within the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, is the primary sponsor of the High Performance Computing for Manufacturing program. AMO partners with private and public stakeholders to decarbonize industry and increase the competitiveness of the U.S. manufacturing and clean energy sectors through process innovations, collaborations, research and development, and technical assistance and workforce training.

Before the official call is open, applicants can reach out DOE National Laboratory Point of Contacts to ask questions regarding their facility’s HPC system capabilities and subject matter experts. Companies and national laboratory personnel must refrain from discussing specific project ideas once the solicitation call is officially open.

Topics of interest specific to the office supporting this solicitation are below.

HPC4Manufacturing (HPC4Mfg)

DOE’s Advanced Manufacturing Office within the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy is the primary sponsor of the HPC4Mfg Program. Other Technology Offices within EERE and DOE’s Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management may also sponsor select projects in this portfolio. AMO partners with private and public stakeholders to decarbonize industry and increase the competitiveness of the U.S. manufacturing and clean energy sectors through process innovations, research and development, and technical assistance and workforce training. AMO supports cost-shared research, development, and activities in support of crosscutting next-generation technologies and processes that hold high potential to significantly improve energy efficiency and reduce energy-related emissions, industrial waste, and the life‐ cycle energy consumption of manufactured products.

The primary goal of the HPC4Mfg Program is to reduce carbon emissions across the industrial sector and improve the efficiency and productivity of U.S. manufacturing. The program solicits proposals that require HPC modeling and simulation to overcome impactful manufacturing process challenges resulting in reduced energy consumption, greenhouse gas emissions, and/or increased productivity. Proposals should provide a realistic assessment of the energy impact, emission reduction, the improvement in U.S. manufacturing competitiveness, and the increase in U.S. manufacturing jobs that a successful outcome of the project could have across the industrial sector.

Of particular interest to AMO are:
Improvements in manufacturing processes which result in significant national energy savings and carbon emissions reduction. Examples include:

  1. Process improvements in industries with high decarbonization potential such as paper and pulp, primary metal manufacturing, water and wastewater, glass, cement and chemical industries;
  2. Improvements in material performance in harsh service environments such as very high temperature or highly corrosive processes;
  3. Improvements in modeling prediction and closed-loop control for smart manufacturing systems (e.g. advanced sensors and process controls);
  4. Improvements in separation and processing for critical materials (e.g. rare earth elements); and
  5. Electrification of processes.

Efficiency improvements and carbon emissions reduction in energy conversion and storage technologies. Examples include:

  1. Improvements in waste heat recovery for thermal energy storage systems;
  2. Improvements in design and process optimization for battery or fuel cell component manufacturing and system assembly that improve capacity, operational lifetime, or reduce embodied energy/carbon; and
  3. Conversion of combined heat and power units to low carbon fuels.

Reductions in CO2 or CO2-equivalent emissions. Examples include:

  1. Improvement in the performance of carbon-capturing processes.
  2. Modification of fossil-fueled systems to accept low-to-zero carbon fuels.
  3. Electrification of processes to replace combustion-driven processes.
Available Funding
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Maximum Award Amount
$300,000.00
Tags
GHG Emission Reduction
Advanced Manufacturing
Materials & Recycling