Fiscal Year 2021 Scientific Infrastructure Support for Consolidated Innovative Nuclear Research | DE FOA 0002362

Opportunity Information: Apply for DE FOA 0002362

The Fiscal Year 2021 Scientific Infrastructure Support for Consolidated Innovative Nuclear Research (DE-FOA-0002362) is a discretionary grant opportunity from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), Office of Nuclear Energy (NE), administered through the Idaho Field Office. Its central purpose is to strengthen U.S. university and college capabilities in nuclear energy by funding targeted scientific infrastructure that enables high-impact research and development (R and D) and improves education and training pipelines. DOE-NE is aiming to accelerate innovative technologies that could significantly improve the performance, safety, and economics of advanced reactor and fuel cycle concepts, while also making efficient use of federal resources by investing in shared or high-leverage institutional capabilities.

A major theme of the opportunity is that modern nuclear R and D depends on having the right tools, facilities, and foundational capabilities in place at universities. DOE frames this as a national need: building and maintaining nuclear-energy-related infrastructure across the research community supports nuclear science and engineering, advances DOE-NE mission goals, and helps address broader U.S. nuclear energy challenges. In parallel, the program is explicitly tied to workforce development. The funding is meant to help institutions attract, teach, and train the next generation of nuclear scientists, engineers, and policy professionals across undergraduate programs, graduate programs, and two-year educational pathways. In practice, this means the infrastructure being funded is not just for near-term experiments, but also for sustained instructional and research capacity that will keep producing talent and results over time.

This funding is offered through the Nuclear Energy University Program (NEUP), which can allocate up to 20 percent of the funds appropriated to DOE-NE R and D for university-based infrastructure support and related R and D in priority areas. The solicitation highlights three key DOE-NE program areas that proposals should align with: Fuel Cycle Research and Development (FC R and D), Reactor Concepts Research, Development and Demonstration (RC RD and D), and Nuclear Energy Advanced Modeling and Simulation (NEAMS). While the FOA is focused on infrastructure support, the intent is clearly mission-driven: the infrastructure should directly enable work that contributes to these programmatic areas and supports the broader DOE-NE portfolio.

The FOA is also very specific about what qualifies as appropriate infrastructure. DOE is looking for individual, discrete, and clearly definable items or capabilities rather than broad wish lists. The proposed infrastructure must support at least one of the following outcomes: maintaining or enhancing the institution’s ability to attract and educate high-quality students in nuclear-energy-related fields; building the institution’s research and/or education capabilities; or strengthening the institution’s ability to carry out R and D that is relevant to DOE-NE’s mission. A key requirement is focus and coherence: proposals should be organized around a single, synergistic goal or capability. DOE explicitly discourages submissions that bundle together multiple unrelated equipment purchases, because that kind of package does not meet the FOA’s intent to create a meaningful, integrated capability that advances nuclear R and D and education in a strategic way.

Another important constraint is that the requested capability should not duplicate existing infrastructure. Applicants are expected to consider what is already available nationally and justify why the proposed infrastructure fills a gap or provides a distinct, non-redundant capability. To support this, DOE points applicants to the Nuclear Energy Infrastructure Database (NEID) hosted by Idaho National Laboratory, which serves as a reference for existing nuclear energy R and D capabilities across the United States. In effect, DOE is signaling that awards should increase national capability rather than replicate what already exists elsewhere, and that applicants should demonstrate awareness of the broader infrastructure landscape.

Eligibility is limited to U.S. universities and colleges, consistent with the eligibility restriction cited in 2 CFR 910.126(b). The FOA states that both public/state-controlled and private institutions of higher education are eligible, and it also notes that underrepresented groups and Minority-Serving Institutions (including Historically Black Colleges and Universities, Hispanic-Serving Institutions, and Tribal-Serving Institutions) are encouraged to apply. This emphasis reflects DOE’s interest in broadening participation in nuclear science and engineering and strengthening workforce pathways across a wider range of institutions and communities.

From an administrative standpoint, this is a grant (not a contract), categorized under the Energy funding activity area with CFDA number 81.121. The original closing date listed is November 12, 2020, and the opportunity was created on September 3, 2020. The award ceiling is listed as $5,000,000, indicating that DOE is willing to fund substantial infrastructure efforts when they are well-justified, focused, and aligned with DOE-NE priorities. The FOA also includes a policy note that DOE-NE may adjust timing, scale, or specific priorities during FY 2021 in response to changing circumstances such as policy developments or Congressional and budget direction. In practical terms, applicants are being told that even strong proposals exist within a broader federal decision environment, and that DOE retains flexibility in how and when it makes award announcements.

Overall, the opportunity is best understood as an investment in durable university nuclear energy capabilities that can serve multiple purposes at once: enabling research that supports advanced reactors, fuel cycle innovation, and modeling and simulation; strengthening education and training environments; and growing a workforce aligned with national nuclear energy needs. Competitive proposals under this FOA would typically present a tightly integrated infrastructure concept, explain how it unlocks specific R and D and educational outcomes tied to DOE-NE mission areas, show that it is not redundant with existing national capabilities, and articulate the longer-term value of the capability for students, faculty, and the broader nuclear energy community.

• The Idaho Field Office in the energy sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Fiscal Year 2021 Scientific Infrastructure Support for Consolidated Innovative Nuclear Research" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 81.121.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2020-09-03.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2020-11-12. (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.
• Eligible applicants include: Public and State controlled institutions of higher education, Private institutions of higher education, Others.

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