Notice of Intent to Issue Annual Technology Commercialization Fund (TCF)
The U.S. Department of Energy' (DOE's) Office of Technology Transitions (OTT) intends to issue its annual Technology Commercialization Fund (TCF) Solicitation—or call for proposals from DOE National Laboratories, Plants, and Sites (DOE Facilities). OTT anticipates releasing the Fiscal Year (FY) 2021 TCF Solicitation on or about September 10, 2020. OTT will distribute the TCF Solicitation to the Technology Transfer Offices at each of the eligible DOE Facilities.
This Solicitation offers an opportunity for private industry to partner with DOE'S Facilities to advance Facility-developed energy technologies and Intellectual Property (IP) toward commercialization. TCF projects, in both topic areas below, require that half of all project costs come from non-federal sources. These sources may include industry, state and local governments, or entities they have created. In FY21, DOE expects to select TCF projects from DOE Facilities in the following two topics:
Eligible projects for Topic 1 must involve currently existing DOE Facility technology or IP that demonstrates evidence of commercial potential—with or without a private partner. Evidence of commercial potential includes technology having demonstrated analytical and experimental proof of concept in a laboratory environment. For example, have experiments or modeling and simulation validated performance prediction of the technology's capability? Have design techniques been identified or developed? Have scaling studies been initiated? Projects funded under Topic 1 have a performance period of 6-18 months. The target Topic 1 award amount is $100,000-$250,000.
Eligible projects for Topic 2 must involve currently existing laboratory technology or IP, and the laboratory must have a non-Federal partner with a defined commercial application for the technology. The partner(s) must be identified in the full proposal. A CRADA or other approved partnership agreement does not have to already be in place for the proposed scope of work to be eligible for a TCF award. However, if a Topic 2 proposal is awarded and DOE funds are allocated before a CRADA or other approved agreement or is in place, work may not begin until one is executed. If a CRADA or other approved agreement is not executed within 6 months of DOE's obligating the funds to the DOE Facility, the Department may cancel the award. A project or work scope already associated with an ongoing CRADA or other partnership agreement is not eligible for an award under the TCF. However, in instances where a facility has an umbrella CRADA agreement in place, that umbrella CRADA may be an acceptable mechanism for a TCF awarded project. Projects funded under Topic 2 have a performance period of 12-36 months. The target Topic 2 award amount is $250,000-$1,500,000.
OTT expects that eligible technology areas will cover the range of generation sources across DOE's applied energy offices:
- Cybersecurity, Energy Security, and Emergency Response (CESER)
- Electricity (OE)
- Energy Efficiency And Renewable Energy (EERE)
- Fossil Energy (FE)
- Nuclear Energy (NE)
Eligible Applicants to the TCF are DOE's Facilities:
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This is a Notice of Intent (NOI) only. DOE may issue a Solicitation as described here, one later than expected, one that is significantly different than described here, or may not issue a Solicitation at all.
The anticipated Solicitation will include information about how to apply to the TCF. Eligible applicants should contact their DOE Facility's Technology Transfer Office for a copy of the Solicitation. DOE will not distribute the Solicitation to other entities, nor will it respond to questions about the Solicitation except from eligible entities. Other interested parties should contact DOE Facilities for information about partnering with them on a TCF proposal to advance Facility-developed energy technologies or IP.