The Office of Manufacturing and Energy Supply Chains (MESC) is issuing this Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA). Awards made under this FOA will be funded, in whole or in part, with funds appropriated by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, more commonly known as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL).
The rapid development, deployment, and adoption of smart manufacturing technologies is a high priority for increasing economic competitiveness, efficiency, and productivity – and reducing greenhouse gas emissions – in manufacturing. This FOA will support States in accelerating the deployment of smart manufacturing and high-performance computing technologies across the small- and medium-sized manufacturing firm (SMM) base.
The activities to be funded under this FOA support BIL section 40534 and the broader government-wide approach to reinvigorating and reinvesting in the American industrial base; catalyzing American leadership and global competitiveness in the clean energy economy; and investing in the American manufacturing workforce.
DOE anticipates making awards to States in the form of cooperative agreements. Awardees must complete their projects not later than three years after the date of receipt of federal funds. The period of performance will be comprised of one or more budget periods. Project continuation will be contingent upon several elements, including satisfactory performance and DOE’s Go/No-Go decision.
DOE expects to make a total of approximately $46 million of federal funding available for new awards under this FOA, subject to the availability of appropriated funds. Individual awards may vary between $1,000,000 and $2,000,000. DOE anticipates making approximately 20-25 awards under this FOA. DOE may issue one, multiple, or no awards.
Amendment 000001 - The purpose of Amendment 000001 is to add a requirement for a Head of Government Letter and to add a merit review procedure reference.
For further information, please see the "Full Funding Opportunity Announcement" document in the Announcement Documents section below.
Cost Match Requirement: Consistent with Section III.B, or all applications, the cost match must be at least 30% of the total Federal Funds allocated.
Per 2 CFR § 200.29, there are two approaches to calculating the portion of project costs not paid by Federal funds, “Cost Sharing” or “Matching”.
Since “Cost Sharing” is usually required with “Matching” required far less frequently, DOE FOA tools and processes implement “Cost Sharing” versus “Matching” calculation methodologies.
Specifically, the Clean Energy Infrastructure Exchange System used for collecting applications to this FOA and the Budget Justification Workbook(s) required with application submissions implement “Cost Sharing”, not “Matching”.
The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) Section 40534 (c) (3) and this FOA require “Matching”, specifically a minimum 30% match.
Given the anomalies noted above, DOE is providing a “Cost Sharing” equivalency to “Matching” for use in the Budget Justification Workbook(s) to be submitted with the application. The applicant will need to submit a minimum requirement of 23.08% cost share in the Exchange system and the Budget Justification Workbook.
Attention: The Clean Energy Infrastructure Exchange system is currently designed to enforce hard deadlines for Full Application submissions. The APPLY and SUBMIT buttons automatically disable at the defined submission deadlines. The intention of this design is to consistently enforce a standard deadline for all applicants. Applicants that experience issues with submissions PRIOR to the FOA Deadline: In the event that an Applicant experiences technical difficulties with a submission, the Applicant should contact the Clean Energy Infrastructure Exchange helpdesk for assistance (InfrastructureExchangeSupport@hq.doe.gov).
Teaming Partner List: DOE is compiling a “Teaming Partner List” to facilitate the formation of new project teams for this FOA. The Teaming Partner List allows organizations who may wish to participate on an application to express their interest to other applicants and to explore potential partnerships. The Teaming Partner List will be regularly updated to reflect new teaming partners who provide their organization’s information. Updates to the Teaming Partner List will be provided in the document below named Published Teaming Partner List.
SUBMISSION INSTRUCTIONS: Any organization that would like to be included on this list should complete the Teaming List spreadsheet (named Teaming Partner List Submission Template) in the documents below and email the completed spreadsheet to FOA2969@netl.doe.gov with the subject line “Teaming Partner Information.”
DISCLAIMER: By submitting a request to be included on the Teaming Partner List, the requesting organization consents to the publication of the above-referenced information. By facilitating the Teaming Partner List, DOE is not endorsing, sponsoring, or otherwise evaluating the qualifications of the individuals and organizations that are self-identifying themselves for placement on this Teaming Partner List. DOE will not pay for the provision of any information, nor will it compensate any applicants or requesting organizations for the development of such information.