Electrification of the transportation sector offers the opportunity for the U.S. to lead the development of how vehicles are manufactured and used, the infrastructure needed to maintain them, and the jobs associated with their assembly and maintenance. As industry continues to invest in electrification across this supply chain, many “upstream” and “downstream” effects are likely, including shifts in supply chain processes and industries (e.g. electrical components), as well as induced changes in interconnected industries (e.g., battery manufacturing – although this is beyond the scope of this solicitation).

This solicitation seeks applications for teams to identify small and medium-sized manufacturers (SMMs) within the current automotive supply chain that are poised to expand or transition towards manufacturing components for electric vehicles or other clean energy technologies and provide technical assistance to guide these SMMs in that transition. These teams will participate in an exercise to draw on and inform a practical set of technical, financial, and strategic guidance – a playbook – specifically targeted at these SMMs to help identify opportunities to expand or transition their operations, to pressure-test the business case for doing so, and to understand workforce and financing considerations and how to address them.

Objective

The objective of this solicitation is to establish teams of technical assistance providers that will identify interested SMMs and work directly with those SMMs to test and deploy the initial version of the playbook. The technical assistance providers will assist SMMs implement playbook guidance in transitioning or converting all or a portion of their existing manufacturing processes within the ICE vehicle supply chain to the EV supply chain, or to entirely new product lines that are complementary to their existing expertise and/or production facilities. Feedback from the technical assistance teams will inform revisions to the playbook, that will ultimately be made publicly available to benefit all interested SMMs. The Objective Strategic/Session that will be held roughly a week after this solicitation’s release (see below for dates) will include an update from ANL on the playbook’s work in progress, as context for application teams.

General Eligibility Requirements

Every prime recipient and sub-recipient(s) must meet the following eligibility requirements:

• Must be domestic entities. To qualify as a domestic entity, the entity must be organized, chartered, or incorporated (or otherwise formed) under the laws of a particular state or territory of the United States; have majority domestic ownership and control; and have a physical place of business in the United States.
• In good standing for Federal program participation. Entities banned from doing business with the United States government such as entities debarred, suspended, or otherwise excluded from or ineligible for participating in Federal programs are not eligible. Additionally, 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 for funding.
• Must certify it is not owned by, controlled by, or subject to the jurisdiction or direction of government of Country of Risk. (DOE defines Country of Risk to include China, Russia, North Korea and Iran.T his list is subject to change.)‍

Additionally, each prime recipient needs to meet the eligibility requirements for a Bipartisan Infrastructure Law-funded IAC, including:

• Institutions of higher education must be a U.S. college or school of engineering that is an integral part of its institutional structure and that has at least one of its four-year undergraduate programs accredited by the Engineering Accreditation Commission or the Technology Accreditation Commission of the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET) or equivalent.
• Community colleges, which are open-access, primarily associate degree-granting educational institutions, must be accredited by a regional accreditation agency recognized by the U.S. Secretary of Education under the Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended. These institutions also may offer other credentials (e.g., shorter-term and longer-term certificate programs) in addition to associate degrees.
• Community college systems, which are defined as County-wide or State-wide collections of these entities, can apply on behalf of constituent colleges but must include a letter of commitment from each participating college that will be a sub-recipient.
• Trade schools, which are defined as educational institutions other than community colleges and union training programs, must be approved by a State agency or subdivision of the State or accredited by a State-recognized or nationally recognized accrediting body to provide technical, trade or vocational training. Trade schools may include entities that are nested within larger institutions that grant bachelor’s or graduate degrees (e.g., extension schools); however, the proposed project scope from that entity must focus on students who are seeking non-bachelor’s or non-graduate degree credentials.
• Union Training Programs, which are defined as credential-granting training programs (including affiliated registered apprenticeships, pre-apprenticeships, and labor-management training programs) administered by (a) a union or group of unions certified by the National Labor Relations Board or (b) a Joint Apprenticeship and Training Committee composed of an equal number of representatives of relevant employer(s) and employees represented by a collective bargaining agreement.
• Other entities supported by other public sector entities (e.g., the U.S. Department of Commerce-supported Manufacturing Extension Partnership Centers).