This funding opportunity announcement (FOA) advances the Biden Administration’s goals to achieve carbon pollution-free electricity by 2035 and to “deliver an equitable, clean energy future, and put the United States on a path to achieve net-zero emissions, economy-wide, by no later than 2050 to the benefit of all Americans.” The Department of Energy is committed to pushing the frontiers of science and engineering, catalyzing clean energy jobs through research, development, demonstration, and deployment (RDD&D), and ensuring environmental justice and inclusion of underserved communities.

The RDD&D activities to be funded under this FOA support the government-wide approach to the climate crisis by driving the innovation that can lead to the deployment of clean energy technologies, which are critical for climate protection. Specifically, this FOA advances RDD&D in several areas critical to achieving net-zero greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 2050, including: development of innovative battery chemistries and component materials, reduction of cascading battery fires, and battery electrode, cell, and pack manufacturing cost reduction.

There are five topic areas in this FOA:

• Topic Area 1: Improved 12 Volt Lead Acid Batteries for Safety-Critical Electric Vehicle Applications
• Topic Area 2: Develop Vehicle or Structural Level Strategies to Reduce the Likelihood of the Cascading Effects of Electric Vehicle Fires
• Topic Area 3: Battery Electrode, Cell, and Pack Manufacturing Cost Reduction
• Topic Area 4: Silicon-Based Anodes for Lithium-Ion Batteries
• Topic Area 5: High Energy Density Conversion Cathodes