Opportunity Information: Apply for DE FOA 0001566
Apply for DE FOA 0001566
- The DOE-ARPAE in the science and technology and other research and development sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "ENERGY-EFFICIENT LIGHT-WAVE INTEGRATED TECHNOLOGY ENABLING NETWORKS THAT ENHANCE DATACENTERS (ENLITENED)" and is now available to receive applicants.
- Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 81.135.
- This funding opportunity was created on Jun 10, 2016 and posted on Jun 10, 2016.
- Applicants must submit their applications by Jul 25, 2016. (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 $10,000,000.00 in funding.
- The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 15 candidate(s).
- 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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Opportunity Summary:
The ENLITENED program is a Department of Energy ARPA-E funding opportunity (FOA number DE-FOA-0001566) focused on cutting the energy cost of moving data inside and between datacenters by accelerating integrated photonics based networking hardware and architectures. ARPA-E, created under the America COMPETES Act, typically funds high-risk, high-reward research and development that is unlikely to be pursued quickly by the private sector but could produce major national benefits. In this case, ENLITENED is positioned squarely within ARPA-E's mission to improve economy-wide energy efficiency, reduce energy-related emissions, and keep the United States at the front of advanced technology development.
At a program level, ENLITENED is aiming for a transformative outcome: an overall doubling of datacenter energy efficiency over roughly a 10-year horizon, enabled by new network topologies that rely on light-wave (photonic) interconnects rather than traditional electrical (metal) connections. ARPA-E highlights that if the core technical hurdles are solved, these advances could translate into a meaningful national impact, on the order of about a 1 percent reduction in projected U.S. energy use after 10 years, while also allowing at least twice as many datacenter transactions to be completed with the same energy budget. The program's premise is that datacenter growth is being constrained by the limits of metal interconnects, and that photonics can deliver better bandwidth and performance-per-watt, but real-world deployment has been slowed by cost, supply constraints, and perceived reliability and integration risks. ENLITENED is essentially trying to push the field past those adoption barriers by targeting the practical engineering challenges that must be solved for photonic networking to become a mainstream, energy-driven choice rather than a niche, cost-driven exception.
The technical emphasis is on packaging and integration, meaning the program is less about isolated photonic components in a lab and more about making photonics work in dense, manufacturable, chip-scale systems that datacenters could realistically deploy. ARPA-E calls out the need to exploit the inherent advantages of dense photonic interconnects and photonic switching technologies, but recognizes that the hard part is often how to assemble, connect, cool, power, and operate these systems reliably at scale. Projects are expected to produce novel and efficient photonics-enabled hardware systems that can demonstrate at least a two-fold improvement in energy efficiency at the datacenter level, not merely at a single device or link level. That requirement implicitly pushes teams to think end-to-end about where energy is being spent (links, switches, transceivers, control, and overhead) and how photonics-enabled designs change the overall network energy profile.
In parallel with hardware, ENLITENED also includes a strong modeling and simulation component to validate proposed designs under realistic conditions. The program anticipates that credible assessment will require modeling new datacenter architectures, network behaviors, and data traffic protocols using realistic workloads. This is meant to produce quantifiable metrics that can confirm whether a given architecture or hardware approach truly delivers transformative gains when subjected to real traffic patterns and operational constraints, and whether those gains are relevant both to next-generation datacenters and to retrofit scenarios. In other words, ENLITENED is not just funding better photonic links; it is funding the co-design of hardware, network topology, and operational protocols, along with evidence that the combined system improves datacenter-level energy efficiency in a measurable way.
Administratively, this opportunity was offered by DOE-ARPA-E as a discretionary funding program using cooperative agreements, which typically involve substantial government involvement during the project period compared to a standard grant. The opportunity was open to a broad range of applicants (listed as unrestricted, subject to any additional eligibility language in the FOA). The posted timeline indicates it was created and posted on June 10, 2016, with a closing date of July 25, 2016. ARPA-E anticipated making around 15 awards, with an award ceiling of $10,000,000 per award. The CFDA number associated with the opportunity is 81.135, and the activity category is science and technology and other research and development. Submissions were required through ARPA-E's online portal (ARPA-E eXCHANGE), and ARPA-E explicitly stated it would not review concept papers submitted by other means, directing applicants to the FOA website and the eXCHANGE user guide for submission instructions.
ENLITENED (ARPA-E) Grant Opportunity FAQs
What is the ENLITENED program?
ENLITENED is a Department of Energy (DOE) ARPA-E funding opportunity focused on reducing the energy cost of moving data inside and between datacenters by accelerating integrated photonics-based networking hardware and architectures.
Which agency is offering this funding opportunity?
The opportunity is offered by DOE-ARPA-E (the Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy).
What is the FOA number for this opportunity?
The Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) number is DE-FOA-0001566.
What is ARPA-E and what kinds of projects does it typically fund?
ARPA-E was created under the America COMPETES Act and typically funds high-risk, high-reward research and development that is unlikely to be pursued quickly by the private sector but could produce major national benefits.
How does ENLITENED fit within ARPA-E's mission?
ENLITENED is positioned within ARPA-E's mission to improve economy-wide energy efficiency, reduce energy-related emissions, and keep the United States at the front of advanced technology development.
What is the core goal of ENLITENED at a program level?
The program aims for a transformative outcome: an overall doubling of datacenter energy efficiency over roughly a 10-year horizon, enabled by new network topologies that rely on light-wave (photonic) interconnects rather than traditional electrical (metal) connections.
What national-scale impact does ARPA-E suggest could be possible if the technical hurdles are solved?
ARPA-E highlights that successful advances could translate into a meaningful national impact on the order of about a 1 percent reduction in projected U.S. energy use after 10 years, and enable at least twice as many datacenter transactions to be completed with the same energy budget.
Why is the program focused on photonics instead of traditional electrical interconnects?
The program premise is that datacenter growth is being constrained by the limits of metal interconnects, and that photonics can deliver better bandwidth and performance-per-watt.
What barriers to photonic networking adoption is ENLITENED trying to address?
ENLITENED is intended to push the field past adoption barriers that have slowed real-world deployment, including cost, supply constraints, and perceived reliability and integration risks.
What is the main technical emphasis of the ENLITENED program?
The technical emphasis is on packaging and integration. The focus is less on isolated photonic components in a lab and more on making photonics work in dense, manufacturable, chip-scale systems that datacenters could realistically deploy.
What kinds of technologies does ARPA-E call out as important within ENLITENED?
ARPA-E calls out the need to exploit the inherent advantages of dense photonic interconnects and photonic switching technologies, while also recognizing that practical assembly, connection, cooling, powering, and reliable operation at scale are often the hardest challenges.
What level of energy-efficiency improvement are projects expected to demonstrate?
Projects are expected to produce photonics-enabled hardware systems that can demonstrate at least a two-fold improvement in energy efficiency at the datacenter level, not merely at a single device or link level.
Is the program looking for improvements at the device level or system/datacenter level?
The program expectation is improvement at the datacenter level. The emphasis is on end-to-end outcomes rather than improvements only at a single device or link.
What does the datacenter-level requirement imply for proposed projects?
It implicitly pushes teams to consider the full network energy profile, including where energy is spent across links, switches, transceivers, control, and overhead, and how photonics-enabled designs change overall network energy use.
Does ENLITENED include modeling and simulation, or is it strictly hardware?
ENLITENED includes a strong modeling and simulation component alongside hardware development to validate proposed designs under realistic conditions.
What is the purpose of modeling and simulation in ENLITENED?
Modeling and simulation are intended to provide credible, quantifiable assessment of proposed architectures by modeling datacenter designs, network behaviors, and data traffic protocols using realistic workloads.
What types of evidence is the program seeking to confirm performance claims?
The program seeks quantifiable metrics that confirm whether an architecture or hardware approach delivers transformative gains when subjected to real traffic patterns and operational constraints.
Is the program interested in next-generation datacenters only, or also retrofits?
The program notes relevance to both next-generation datacenters and retrofit scenarios, with validation under realistic workloads and operational constraints.
What kind of funding instrument is used for this ARPA-E opportunity?
This opportunity was offered as a discretionary funding program using cooperative agreements, which typically involve substantial government involvement during the project period compared to a standard grant.
Who was eligible to apply?
The opportunity was open to a broad range of applicants and is listed as unrestricted, subject to any additional eligibility language in the FOA.
When was the opportunity posted and when did it close?
The posted timeline indicates the opportunity was created and posted on June 10, 2016, and had a closing date of July 25, 2016.
How many awards did ARPA-E anticipate making?
ARPA-E anticipated making around 15 awards.
What was the maximum award amount (award ceiling)?
The award ceiling was $10,000,000 per award.
What is the CFDA number associated with this opportunity?
The CFDA number associated with the opportunity is 81.135.
What is the activity category for this funding opportunity?
The activity category is science and technology and other research and development.
How were submissions required to be made?
Submissions were required through ARPA-E's online portal, ARPA-E eXCHANGE.
Will ARPA-E review concept papers submitted by email or other methods?
No. ARPA-E explicitly stated it would not review concept papers submitted by other means and directed applicants to the FOA website and the eXCHANGE user guide for submission instructions.
Where were applicants directed for submission instructions?
Applicants were directed to the FOA website and the ARPA-E eXCHANGE user guide for submission instructions.
What makes ENLITENED different from funding "better photonic links"?
ENLITENED is described as funding co-design of hardware, network topology, and operational protocols, along with evidence that the combined system improves datacenter-level energy efficiency in a measurable way.
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