Accelerating Scale-up and Pre-piloting of Emerging Chemical Technologies (ASPECT)

Key facts

Funder

Golden Field Office

Application deadline

December 1, 2026

Award range

$2M – $20M

Eligibility

private institutions of higher education, other, federally recognized native american tribal governments, public and indian housing authorities, nonprofits non higher education with 501c3, state governments, special district governments, city or township governments, public and state institutions of higher education, other native american tribal organizations, individuals, independent school districts, small businesses, nonprofits non higher education without 501c3, county governments, for profit organizations other than small businesses

Geography

United States

Focus areas

Energy

Opportunity number

DE-FOA-0003647

Program overview

Modification 000002: Updated Appendix A and the definition of “Construction and demolition waste”, also denoted as “C&D Waste”, to align with the programmatic authorizing statute for the Alternative Fuels and Feedstocks Office listed in NOFO Part 1, Section III.G. Statutory Authority. • “Construction and demolition waste,” for the purposes of this NOFO and consistent with the statutory authorities1, refers to waste organic materials from buildings, roads and bridges, and other sectors, but not included in municipal solid waste. It includes wood waste materials, including waste pallets, crates, dunnage, manufacturing and construction wood wastes (other than pressure-treated, chemically-treated, or painted wood wastes), and landscape or right-of-way tree trimmings. Updated Section III.D. Key Requirements and Section III.F. Applications Specifically Not of Interest to specify that target chemicals should have global annual markets or potential markets of at least 1 million metric tons. • Previously this metric was given as U.S. production of at least 1 million metric tons. Modification 000001: Moved the application content requirement for Letter(s) of Commitment (LOCs) from Stage 2 to Stage 1. • Added a clause in Section III.D indicating that LOCs are to be submitted with Stage 1 applications. • Updated the summary table in Section IV.D.2 to reflect the above (added Stage 1 LOC requirement) • Updated the summary table in Section IV.E.1 to reflect the above (added “(as needed, in addition to Stage 1 submittals)”). DOE CMEI is dedicated to securing America’s energy future by reinforcing domestic critical mineral supply chains, driving next-generation energy technology and manufacturing research, and promoting affordable, consumer-friendly solutions. CMEI’s AFFO is issuing this ASPECT NOFO, DE-FOA-0003647, to support research, development, and pre-pilot testing of innovative technologies that produce chemicals from alternative and waste feedstocks, mobilizing America’s abundant alternative feedstocks resources. The goal of this Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) is to advance promising chemical technologies that utilize alternative feedstocks through multiple levels of maturity and, in some cases, to pre-pilot scale. To accomplish this, the NOFO is divided into two topic areas, each divided into two subtopic areas designed to provide different on-ramps for technologies at different stages of development. Topic Area 1 supports the progression of technologies in the R&D phase. Subtopic Area 1a supports advancing early-stage research to bench scale. Subtopic Area 1b is intended to move projects closer to pre-pilot scale, to a point where critical unit operations must be further developed and demonstrated. Topic Area 2 provides an on-ramp for technologies ready to move from R&D to full pre-pilot scale and operations. Projects applying to Topic Area 2 should aim to advance their technology to design, construct, and operate pre-pilot scale facilities. Both subtopic areas have the same goal—to move technologies into integrated pre-pilot systems and operate them—but allow for two different points of entry. Subtopic Area 2a targets preliminary pre-pilot scale testing of critical unit operations before engineering and design can commence for the entire system while Subtopic Area 2b projects will involve technologies that are ready for design and construction of an integrated pre-pilot facility. Please see the full NOFO document at eere-exchange.energy.gov. Questions regarding the NOFO must be submitted to ASPECT@doe.gov. The required Concept Paper due date for this NOFO is 10/09/2026 at 5PM ET. The Full Application due date for this NOFO is 12/01/2026 at 5PM ET. As stated in the Notice of Intent (search DE-FOA-0003646 in eXCHANGE), a Teaming Partner List has been compiled to encourage collaboration and facilitate the formation of new project teams. Visit: TPL-0000073 Teaming Partner List for DE-FOA-0003646 NOI to Publish

How to apply

1. Confirm your organization meets the eligibility criteria above.
2. Read the full funding opportunity announcement from Golden Field Office.
3. Draft your narrative against the funder's stated priorities and review criteria.
4. Submit before December 1, 2026, allowing time for registration and validation.

View the official funding announcement

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