Accident Tolerant Fuel Program | Apply Online

Opportunity Summary:

The Accident Tolerant Fuel (ATF) Program funding opportunity (FOA reference DE-FOA-0000712) is a U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Nuclear Energy solicitation aimed at speeding up the early development and first-round testing of new light water reactor (LWR) fuel concepts that are designed to perform better under accident conditions. The core purpose is to support work that helps determine, through upfront analysis and targeted experiments, how proposed accident-tolerant fuel designs and materials might behave compared with conventional LWR fuel, and what impacts those novel concepts could have on safety, performance, and overall reactor operation.

The funding instrument is a cooperative agreement, which typically means DOE expects to be substantively involved during the project (for example, through technical direction, project oversight, or coordination). The activity category is research and development in science and technology. DOE anticipated making about three awards, with total federal funding of roughly $10 million spread over a two-year period, contingent on the availability of appropriated funds. Individual awards could be as large as $6 million, and the listed award floor is $0, indicating DOE did not specify a minimum award size and may size awards based on proposed scope and merit.

A major structural feature of this opportunity is the cost-share requirement. Projects must include at least a 20% industry (non-federal) cost share, with DOE covering up to 80% of project costs. The intent is to ensure applicants have meaningful private or non-federal commitment while DOE funds the majority of early-phase work. The funded scope emphasizes early-stage technical activities such as preliminary analyses, modeling, and empirical data collection that can establish feasibility and provide a defensible technical basis for later development stages.

Eligibility is broadly open to most entity types (the FOA is listed as “unrestricted”), but with several important exclusions and conditions. Other federal agencies cannot apply as the prime applicant. Federally Funded Research and Development Center (FFRDC) contractors may participate as part of a team, partnership, or consortium but cannot serve as the prime applicant. Nonprofit organizations described in section 501(c)(4) of the Internal Revenue Code that engaged in lobbying activities after December 31, 1995 are not eligible to participate. Federally owned independent corporations may apply either as the prime or as a teaming partner, but DOE recommends they contact the agency for an eligibility determination.

Administratively, the FOA was posted May 1, 2012, with an application deadline of June 15, 2012, and DOE intended to allow approximately 45 days for responses. The announcement was made available through FedConnect (www.fedconnect.net) under the same reference number, and DOE planned to publish a Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) document at that location to address applicant questions. The issuing agency office is listed as the Idaho Field Office, and applicants needing help accessing the full announcement were directed to contact Heather J. Merrill, Contract Specialist, at 208-526-1650 or merrilhj@id.doe.gov.

In practical terms, this FOA is best understood as a near-term, cost-shared R&D push to move accident-tolerant LWR fuel ideas from concept toward credible initial validation by combining analysis with carefully chosen experimental data. It is structured to select a small number of projects, fund them substantially (with a required industry stake), and produce early evidence that can guide future down-selection, scale-up, and more advanced qualification work.

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