Opportunity Information: Apply for DE FOA 0000709
Apply for DE FOA 0000709
- The Golden Field Office in the energy science and technology and other research and development sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "FOA Technology Research, Development, and Tools for Clean Biomass Cookstoves" and is now available to receive applicants.
- Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 81.087 Renewable Energy Research and Development.
- This funding opportunity was created on Apr 13, 2012 and posted on Apr 13, 2012.
- Applicants must submit their applications by May 23, 2012. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
- 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 funding opportunity titled "FOA Technology Research, Development, and Tools for Clean Biomass Cookstoves" (Funding Opportunity Number DE-FOA-0000709) is a discretionary grant solicitation issued through the U.S. Department of Energy’s Golden Field Office. It focuses on energy science, technology, and applied research and development, and it sits under CFDA 81.087, Renewable Energy Research and Development. In practical terms, the opportunity is aimed at advancing renewable energy solutions for households that still depend heavily on biomass fuels (such as wood, charcoal, agricultural residues, or similar locally available solid fuels) for everyday cooking and heating tasks.
The central purpose of the solicitation is to increase the viability and real-world deployment of clean, efficient biomass cookstoves by funding research, development, and supportive tools that improve stove technology and performance. Rather than treating cookstoves as a purely laboratory engineering problem, the FOA emphasizes solutions that can actually be adopted at scale in the communities where biomass cooking is common. The underlying idea is that cleaner cookstoves can deliver multiple benefits at once: better health outcomes through reduced smoke exposure, less time and labor spent gathering fuel, lower household fuel costs, and reduced pressure on soils and forests due to improved fuel efficiency and reduced biomass demand.
The FOA highlights several priority characteristics that proposed cookstove technologies should achieve. First, affordability is a core requirement: the stoves should be low-cost and realistically purchasable or financeable in regions where biomass is the dominant household fuel. Second, durability and safety are treated as essential, not optional. The solicitation calls for designs that can handle the on-the-ground conditions where they will be used, including local cooking practices, environmental conditions, and the types and variability of locally available biomass fuels. This also implies attention to usability and user needs, since adoption often fails when stoves do not fit cultural cooking methods, pot sizes, heating control expectations, or maintenance realities.
Third, the FOA places strong emphasis on high performance across emissions, efficiency, and safety. Specifically, it encourages applicants to aim to meet or exceed the highest levels of stove performance for total emissions and indoor emissions, overall efficiency, and safe operation. This points to outcomes like reduced particulate matter and carbon monoxide exposure in the household, improved combustion and heat transfer efficiency, and safer stove structures that reduce burn risk or accidental fires. Finally, it stresses the importance of closing the gap between lab results and real-world results: applicants are expected to target field performance that is comparable to laboratory testing. This is a significant requirement because many stove models perform well in controlled tests but lose performance in actual homes due to fuel differences, user behavior, maintenance issues, or environmental factors. The FOA is essentially pushing for technology and validation approaches that hold up outside the lab.
From an administrative standpoint, the opportunity was posted on April 13, 2012, with an original and current closing date of May 23, 2012, and it was later archived on April 12, 2013. The listing shows no cost sharing or matching requirement, meaning applicants were not required by the FOA listing to contribute a non-federal cost share. The published funding fields in the summary show zeros for estimated total funding and award floor/ceiling, which typically indicates that the amounts were either not specified in the public summary record or were provided in the full announcement documentation rather than in the database summary. Eligibility is described as unrestricted, meaning it was broadly open to many types of entities, subject to any additional eligibility clarifications contained in the full FOA text.
For access and submission logistics, the announcement directs applicants to the EERE Exchange platform (https://eere-exchange.energy.gov), which is the Department of Energy’s system for posting and managing funding opportunity announcements and submissions. A contact is provided for access issues with the full announcement: Diana Heyder, Grants Management Specialist, indicating that administrative support was available for applicants who had trouble retrieving the documents electronically.
Overall, this FOA is best understood as a targeted applied R&D grant opportunity designed to move biomass cookstove innovation toward practical, scalable, and verifiably clean solutions. It prioritizes technologies and supporting tools that can survive real-life use, stay affordable, and deliver consistently high emissions and efficiency performance in the field, with the broader policy goal of improving public health and reducing environmental impacts in biomass-dependent communities.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
What is the official title of this funding opportunity?
The funding opportunity is titled "FOA Technology Research, Development, and Tools for Clean Biomass Cookstoves."
What is the Funding Opportunity Number (FOA number)?
The Funding Opportunity Number is DE-FOA-0000709.
Which federal agency is offering this grant?
This is a discretionary grant solicitation issued through the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), Golden Field Office.
What CFDA program does this opportunity fall under?
It is listed under CFDA 81.087, Renewable Energy Research and Development.
What is the main purpose of the FOA?
The central purpose is to increase the viability and real-world deployment of clean, efficient biomass cookstoves by funding research, development, and supportive tools that improve stove technology and performance, with an emphasis on solutions that can be adopted at scale in communities where biomass cooking is common.
What kinds of fuels are considered "biomass fuels" in the context of this FOA?
The FOA context includes households that depend heavily on biomass fuels such as wood, charcoal, agricultural residues, or similar locally available solid fuels used for everyday cooking and heating.
Is this opportunity focused on basic research or applied work?
It is positioned as energy science, technology, and applied research and development, with a practical focus on advancing cookstove solutions that perform well in real-world conditions, not just in the lab.
What outcomes or public benefits is the FOA trying to achieve?
The FOA frames clean biomass cookstoves as a pathway to multiple benefits, including improved health outcomes from reduced smoke exposure, reduced time and labor for gathering fuel, lower household fuel costs, and reduced pressure on soils and forests due to improved fuel efficiency and reduced biomass demand.
What does the FOA mean by "clean" cookstoves?
Within the information provided, "clean" aligns with stoves that significantly reduce total emissions and indoor emissions (including pollutants like particulate matter and carbon monoxide), while also improving overall efficiency and safety.
What stove characteristics are prioritized by the FOA?
The FOA highlights affordability, durability, safety, and high performance across emissions, efficiency, and safe operation, with a strong emphasis on achieving field performance comparable to laboratory testing.
How important is affordability in this FOA?
Affordability is described as a core requirement. The stoves should be low-cost and realistically purchasable or financeable in regions where biomass is the dominant household fuel.
What does the FOA say about durability and safety?
Durability and safety are treated as essential. The solicitation calls for stove designs that can withstand real use conditions, including local cooking practices, environmental conditions, and the variability of locally available biomass fuels, while also supporting safe operation.
Does the FOA address usability and cultural fit?
Yes. The FOA implies that usability and user needs matter for adoption, noting that adoption often fails when stoves do not fit cultural cooking methods, pot sizes, heating control expectations, or maintenance realities.
What performance targets does the FOA encourage?
The FOA encourages applicants to aim to meet or exceed the highest levels of stove performance for total emissions and indoor emissions, overall efficiency, and safe operation.
Why does the FOA emphasize field performance versus lab performance?
The FOA stresses closing the gap between lab results and real-world results, recognizing that some stove models perform well in controlled tests but lose performance in actual homes due to factors like fuel differences, user behavior, maintenance issues, or environmental conditions. Applicants are expected to target field performance comparable to laboratory testing.
What types of projects does the FOA appear to support?
Based on the description provided, it supports technology research, development, and supportive tools related to clean biomass cookstoves, with the goal of improving real-world performance and enabling scalable adoption.
Is cost sharing or matching required?
The listing shows no cost sharing or matching requirement, meaning applicants were not required by the FOA listing to contribute a non-federal cost share.
What was the posting date for this FOA?
The opportunity was posted on April 13, 2012.
What was the closing date for applications?
The original and current closing date shown is May 23, 2012.
Is this FOA still open?
No. It was later archived on April 12, 2013, and the listed closing date was May 23, 2012.
Who was eligible to apply?
Eligibility is described as unrestricted, meaning it was broadly open to many types of entities, subject to any additional eligibility clarifications contained in the full FOA text.
Where were applicants directed to access and submit materials?
Applicants were directed to the EERE Exchange platform at https://eere-exchange.energy.gov for posting, managing the announcement, and submissions.
What should someone do if they have trouble accessing the full announcement documents?
A contact was provided for access issues: Diana Heyder, Grants Management Specialist, for administrative support related to retrieving the documents electronically.
How much funding was available and what were the award sizes?
The public summary fields shown list zeros for estimated total funding and award floor/ceiling. This typically indicates the amounts were not specified in the summary record or were provided in the full announcement documentation rather than in the database summary.
What is the overall focus of this FOA in plain terms?
It is best understood as a targeted applied R&D opportunity to push biomass cookstove innovation toward practical, scalable, and verifiably clean solutions that stay affordable, hold up in real-life use, and deliver consistently high emissions and efficiency performance in the field.
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| Support of Advanced Fossil Resource Utilization Research by Historically Black Colleges and Universities and Other Minority Institutions (HBCU/OMI) Apply for DE FOA 0001242 Funding Number: DE FOA 0001242 Agency: National Energy Technology Laboratory Category: Energy Science and Technology and other Research and Development Funding Amount: $250,000 |
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