Once the Office of Critical Minerals and Energy Innovation (CMEI) issues a funding award, recipients are responsible for meeting financial, reporting, and performance requirements throughout the award period.
This page provides guidance on requesting cost reimbursement, fulfilling required reports, managing invention utilization reporting, and understanding CMEI's award stewardship and performance review processes.
Requesting Cost Reimbursement
CMEI's award recipients are required to ensure that the costs they claim are allowable, allocable, and reasonable per the applicable federal cost principles.
Payment terms and procedures vary by award. CMEI may require detailed supporting documentation for each invoice. Recipients must consult with the Special Terms and Conditions section of their cooperative agreement to determine which procedures to follow when requesting payment.
Submitting Invoices
Find the "Payment Procedures" term in your award's Special Terms and Conditions. If the term references:
- "ASAP," submit reimbursement requests to ASAP.gov.
- "ACH," submit reimbursement requests to the Vendor Invoicing Payments Electronic Reporting System.
Timing of Payments
CMEI will release payment no later than 30 days after receiving your invoice, unless the billing is improper. Generally, you should receive payment approximately 2 weeks after CMEI approves an acceptable invoice.
For an invoice to be acceptable, all forms must be filled out correctly and you must have provided all supporting documentation (which is referenced in the Special Terms and Conditions and the award kick-off presentation) with the invoice.
Please contact the DOE Project Officer or the DOE Award Administrator listed on page 2 of your award's assistance agreement for more information.
Reporting Requirements for CMEI Funding Awards
All recipients of CMEI funding will be required to do periodic reporting on their projects. The Federal Assistance Reporting Checklist and Instructions is part of the award that all recipients receive. It lists all of the required deliverables for a specific agreement, including the reporting requirements and submission locations.
Where To Submit Reports
Competitive Awards: The Project Management Center (PMC) allows recipients to upload reports for competitive awards.
Formula Grants: The Performance and Accountability for Grants in Energy (PAGE) system allows recipients to upload reports for formula grants.
Required Reports
Some of the reports you may be asked to complete include:
- Progress Report
- Federal Financial Report (SF-425)
- Incurred Cost Submission
- Audit (For-Profit Recipients)
- Annual Tangible Personal Property Report
- SF-428 (cover page)
- SF-428-A
- Final Scientific/Technical Report
- Invention Certification Form
- Final Tangible Personal Property Report
- SF-428 (cover page)
- SF-428-B
- SF-428-S
- Federal Financial Report (SF-425)
For more information on these less common reports, refer to your copy of the Federal Assistance Reporting Checklist and Instructions or contact your DOE project lead:
- Accepted Manuscripts FAQs
- Project Management Plan
- Special Status Report
- Intellectual Property Report
- Invention Utilization Report
If the recipient does not complete the required reports, CMEI may take appropriate action consistent with 2 CFR 200.338, 2 CFR 200.339, 10 CFR §§ 600.24 and 600.25, including—but not limited to—redirecting, suspending, or terminating the award. Further, CMEI may deny reimbursement for costs incurred that relate to the failure to comply, and such costs may not be recognized as allowable cost share.
Invention Utilization Reports
Unless otherwise instructed by DOE, utilization reports are due annually for at least 10 years from the date the subject invention was first disclosed to DOE in iEdison.
Every year, iEdison will generate a message for each elected subject invention reported in iEdison to remind the awardee to submit a Utilization Report. iEdison users will be emailed notification of messages pending in iEdison.
No. DOE awards require certain obligation of the awardee with respect to inventions. Failure to timely adhere to these requirements, such as utilization reports, could adversely impact rights in subject inventions, including forfeiture of rights.
Yes, the Utilization Report requirement is tied to the date of the invention report, not the performance period.
Utilization Reports are not required for inventions waived to the government. iEdison will not generate messages for Invention Report having a status of “Waive to the Government.”
Both 2 CFR 910.364 and the Intellectual Property Provisions of the applicable award (see FedConnect) describe the Utilization Report requirements.
- For CMEI recipients, contact GOIPCloseouts@ee.doe.gov.
- For ARPA-E recipients, contact ARPA-E-T2M@hq.doe.gov.
- For NNSA recipients, contact Jim.Durkis@nnsa.doe.gov.
- For all other recipients, contact Chicago-IP@science.doe.gov.
If you need account help with the iEdison system, contact edison@od.nih.gov or 1-866-504-9552 (option 3). For assistance with reporting through iEdison, please contact Maritza Rodriguez at (630) 252-2165.
Featured Resource
Visit the CMEI Project Management Center to access forms, review regulations, and manage CMEI-funded projects.
Funding Award Performance Reviews and Stewardship
CMEI will exercise normal federal stewardship in overseeing the project activities under the award. Stewardship activities include—but are not limited to—conducting site visits; reviewing performance and financial reports; providing technical assistance and/or temporarily intervening in unusual circumstances to address deficiencies that develop during the project; assuring compliance with terms and conditions; and reviewing technical performance after project completion to ensure that the project objectives have been accomplished.
Managing Changes
As the project progresses, scope, budget, and/or subcontractor changes may be necessary. Before making changes to your project, recipients should refer to the Special Terms and Conditions in their cooperative agreement to understand the requirements associated with these types of changes. Revisions to the award may require the DOE Contracting Officer's prior approval.
Continuation Application
A continuation application is a non-competitive application for an additional budget period within a previously approved project period. The Continuation Application and Funding term in the Special Terms and Conditions of the award specifies when a recipient must submit a continuation application to the CMEI Technology/Program Manager and DOE Award Administrator.
Continuation funding is contingent on:
- The availability of funds appropriated by Congress for this program and the availability of future-year budget authority
- The recipient's technical progress compared to the Statement of Project Objectives
- The recipient's submittal of required reports
- The recipient's compliance with the terms and conditions of the award
- CMEI's "Go/No-Go" decision
Go/No-Go Decision Points
As part of the award, the Statement of Project Objectives establishes annual "go/no-go" decision points for each project. For each "go/no-go" decision point, CMEI must determine whether the recipient has fully and satisfactorily completed the work described in the Statement of Project Objectives. As a result of a "go/no-go" review, CMEI may take one of the following actions:
- Authorize federal funding for the project's next budget period
- Recommend redirection of work under the project
- Place a hold on the federal funding for the project, pending further supporting data
- Discontinue providing federal funding for the project beyond the current budget period as the result of insufficient progress, change in strategic direction, or lack of available funding
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