Voucher Opportunity 9 - Planning and Validation of Industrial Decarbonization Projects (OCED)

Are you a manufacturer or industrial facility owner interested in decarbonizing operations of your facility, or a company developing technologies to decarbonize the industrial sector? This opportunity is designed to provide support to accelerate demonstration and deployment of promising industrial decarbonization technologies. See below for additional info about eligibility and timeline.

As part of the Inflation Reduction Act Technology Commercialization Fund, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Technology Transitions (OTT) and Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations (OCED), in collaboration with ENERGYWERX, are offering the Planning and Validation of Industrial Decarbonization Projects Voucher Opportunity (VO-9) to eligible companies to increase adoption readiness (with a focus on resource maturity) of clean energy technologies for industrial decarbonization.

The DOE Voucher Program builds bridges between U.S. entrepreneurs, businesses, technology developers or other relevant partners and third-party voucher providers to advance commercialization of innovative energy technologies. Voucher Opportunity 9 (VO-9)addresses key adoption risk areas faced by industrial facilities interested in decarbonizing their operations. Examples of activities of interest under this opportunity include:

• Assessment and validation of current emissions and opportunities for decarbonization;
• Planning (including technical feasibility, engineering, business case, financing, etc.) for implementation and execution of decarbonization projects;
• Independent validation of decarbonization opportunities based on new technologies;
• Third-party assessment and validation of industrial decarbonization technologies, practices, and claims; and
• Performance validation support for industrial decarbonization technology developers.

Please note that this opportunity is focused on promising technologies for process, application, and equipment decarbonization that are not yet currently deployed at scale. General facility or plant related support such as assessment of facilities emissions intensity, plant power decarbonization, or plant energy efficiency improvements are not in scope for this opportunity and will not be considered.

For this voucher opportunity, industrial decarbonization includes technologies and processes that:

• Achieve significant and quantifiable emissions reduction in high emissions industrial materials production processes, including production processes for iron, steel, steel mill products, aluminum, cement, concrete, glass, pulp, paper, food and beverage, chemicals and refining, and industrial ceramics;
• Achieve significant emissions reduction in heat generation;
• Achieve significant and quantifiable emissions reductions though energy and material efficiency, electrification, carbon capture and sequestration or utilization, implementation of low carbon fuels, or implementation of low carbon feedstocks.
• Achieve significant and quantifiable emissions reduction in chemical production processes, including by incorporating, if appropriate and practicable, principles, practices, and methodologies of sustainable chemistry and engineering;
• Leverage smart manufacturing technologies and principles, digital manufacturing technologies, and advanced data analytics to develop advanced technologies and practices in information, automation, monitoring, computation, sensing, modeling, and networking, which result in quantifiable and emissions reductions;
• Leverage the principles of sustainable manufacturing to minimize the potential negative environmental impacts of manufacturing while conserving energy and resources;

The first submission window solicits capability statements from potential voucher providers. A second submission window will be opened soon to solicit requests from potential voucher recipients. Pending availability of funds, additional submission windows may open in the future.

Voucher Projects: Expected max voucher value up to $250,000 of work (actual values vary depending on the details of the provider’s capability statement). As part of the application form, potential providers will submit the details of their capability statement, including the technical scope, deliverables, price, and throughput of the capability. Each voucher provider may submit up to three unique capabilities per voucher opportunity. To do so, please submit the application form once per capability, no more than three separate times. Any additional submissions beyond the three newest capabilities will not be reviewed. Vouchers will be distributed as in-kind support, meaning that ENERGYWERX will directly reimburse the voucher provider for the work they have completed on behalf of the voucher recipients. Only work related to specific technology areas will be eligible to receive a voucher under this opportunity. List of eligible technology areas:

• Industrial decarbonization in the following industries:‍
  • Iron, steel, and steel mill products
  • Aluminum
  • Cement and concrete
  • Glass
  • Pulp and paper
  • Food and beverage
  • Chemicals and refining
  • Industrial ceramics

DOE anticipates issuing up to 40 vouchers.

Voucher Providers: Including but not limited to independent engineering firms, consultancies, and national labs. Entities involved in related DOE programs, including the Industrial Assessment Centers, are eligible to apply to this opportunity as well.

Voucher Recipients: Limited to manufacturers, with an emphasis on small- and medium-sized manufacturing firms, industrial facility owners interested in decarbonizing operations of their facility, or technology developers with an industrial decarbonization technology that is ready for demonstration. For purposes of this Program, a small- or medium-sized manufacturing firm (SMM) must have (1) gross annual sales of less than $100,000,000; (2) fewer than 500 employees at the plant site of the manufacturing firm; and (3) annual energy bills that total more than$100,000 but less than $2,500,000. BIL § 40209(a)(3).

Voucher Providers: How to Participate in VO-9

• Watch the Informational Webinar/Objective Strategic Session recording: Click Here to Watch
• Submit questions into Slido to be answered during the live Office Hours session
• Review the resources from the Informational Office Session on June 20 2024 from 3:00-3:45 PM ET‍
• Complete the Provider Submission Form: Click Here to Submit for VO-9 (Submissions are due NLT July 9, 2024 at 3:00 PM ET)

This is not the only voucher opportunity currently available through ENERGYWERX. See here for additional information related to other voucher opportunities.

Informational Webinar/Objective Strategic Session (IW/OSS): DOE will provide further details about Voucher Opportunities. Potential voucher providers can better understand the scope, scale, and intent of the Voucher Program. The virtual IW/OSS will be pre-recorded and can viewed here.

Information Office Hours [June 20, 2024 at 3:00PM ET]: U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) will host Office Hours on Voucher Opportunity 9 on June 20, 2024 to answer any remaining questions from potential applicants before the submission deadline.

Voucher Provider: Submissions are due NLT July 9, 2024 at 3:00 PM ET

Voucher Provider Timeline

Phase 1 – Voucher Provider Capability Statement Submissions Open [June 3, 2024 – July 9, 2024]: Interested potential voucher providers should complete the application  includ background information on the provider as well as technical scope, deliverables, price, and through of the capability.

• Informational Webinar/Objective Strategic Session (IW/OSS) [Posted June 4, 2024]: DOE has provided further details about the Voucher Opportunities Program in this pre-recorded webinar. Potential voucher providers can better understand the scope, scale, and intent of the Voucher Program.
• Informational Office Hours Sessions: U.S.Department of Energy (DOE) will host the following Office Hours to answer any remaining questions from potential applicants relating to the topic Voucher Opportunities, before the submission deadline:
  • Voucher Opportunities 1, 2, 4, and 5 on June 18, 2024
  • Voucher Opportunity 3 on June 20, 2024
  • Voucher Opportunities 9 and 10 on June 20, 2024

Phase 2 – DOE Selection [July 2024]: DOE will review submissions based on relevance to the program objectives and will notify selected entities for next steps.

NOTE:  DOE may choose to meet with submitters or ask additional clarifying questions prior to selection.

Phase 3 – Negotiations [August – September 2023]: Subsequently, selected organizations will meet with ENERGYWERX to negotiate the scope of work, budget, timing, and impact.

Complete Provider Submission Form: Click Here to Submit for VO-9 (NLT July 9, 2024 at 3:00 PM ET)

Can multiple voucher providers from different parts of the same company/institution submit up to three capabilities each?

Yes, each individual voucher provider can submit up to three capabilities.

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Questions?
If you have any questions, please contact ENERGYWERX:  info@energywerx.org