Opportunity Information: Apply for DE FOA 0001821
The Department of Energy's Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), working through the Solar Energy Technologies Office, published a Notice of Intent (NOI) indicating it may release a future Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) focused on "Solar Desalination." The basic idea behind the planned program is to fund research, development, and possibly early demonstrations of new approaches that can make desalination cheaper when it is powered by solar thermal energy (heat) instead of relying on electricity. The NOI frames this as a pathway to reduce the cost of producing fresh water by improving both the way solar thermal energy is collected and stored and the way thermal desalination processes convert that heat into clean water.
A central motivation in the NOI is cost and energy-value matching. Traditional reverse osmosis desalination largely depends on electricity, which is described as a high-value energy input. By contrast, solar thermal desalination aims to use solar-generated heat more directly. The opportunity emphasizes that costs could be reduced if innovators can lower the cost of collecting, transporting, and storing solar thermal energy and simultaneously raise the efficiency of thermal desalination systems. The notice also points out a technical advantage of thermal desalination: it can be applied across a wide range of salinity levels, which makes it particularly appealing for difficult use cases such as very high-salinity feedwaters and zero-liquid discharge concepts where brine disposal is heavily constrained.
The NOI outlines four anticipated Areas of Interest that signal what a future FOA could fund. The first area focuses on low-cost solar thermal heat, meaning concepts that could drive down the cost of solar thermal collection, heat transport, and thermal storage below conventional heat-generation methods. The second area targets innovative thermal desalination techniques, specifically novel and early-stage thermal desalination technologies that pair well with solar heat. The third area moves toward system-level thinking, encouraging integrated solar thermal desalination systems that can demonstrate credible potential for delivering low-cost desalinated water when the solar thermal and desalination subsystems are designed together. The fourth area is analytical and modeling focused, calling for tools such as system models that can evaluate economics, optimize resources, and help compare configurations for solar thermal desalination in realistic settings.
In terms of administrative details, this posting is explicitly not a live solicitation and it does not accept applications. It is only an NOI, meaning DOE is signaling interest and potential direction, but it may ultimately issue a FOA as described, issue a substantially different FOA, or decide not to issue a FOA at all. The opportunity is listed under the Department of Energy (Golden Field Office) with a discretionary funding category, and the anticipated award instrument type is a cooperative agreement. Eligibility is described as unrestricted (open to any type of entity), subject to any additional eligibility language that would appear in the eventual FOA. The notice is identified as DE-FOA-0001821, associated with CFDA 81.087, and was created on September 11, 2017. No award timeline, closing date, or expected number of awards is provided in the NOI itself (it lists expected awards as 0), reinforcing that this is purely advance notice rather than an open competition. The notice also instructs the public not to submit questions or respond to the NOI.Apply for DE FOA 0001821
- The Department of Energy, Golden Field Office in the energy sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Notice of Intent (NOI) - Solar Desalination" and is now available to receive applicants.
- Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 81.087.
- This funding opportunity was created on Sep 11, 2017.
- Applicants must submit their applications by N/A as this is a Notice of Intent. (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 $1.00 in funding.
- Eligible applicants include: Unrestricted (i.e., open to any type of entity above), subject to any clarification in text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility.
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| STEWARDSHIP SCIENCE ACADEMIC ALLIANCES (SSAA) Apply for DE FOA 0001831 Funding Number: DE FOA 0001831 Agency: Department of Energy, NNSA Category: Energy Funding Amount: $900,000 |
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| Innovative Technology Development to Enhance Fossil Power System Operability, Reliability, and Economic Performance Apply for DE FOA 0001854 Funding Number: DE FOA 0001854 Agency: Department of Energy, National Energy Technology Laboratory Category: Energy Funding Amount: $1,000,000 |
| ENERGY INFRASTRUCTURE DEPLOYMENT ON TRIBAL LANDS - 2018 Apply for DE FOA 0001847 Funding Number: DE FOA 0001847 Agency: Department of Energy, Golden Field Office Category: Energy Funding Amount: $1,000,000 |
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