Office: Resource Sustainability
FOA number: DE-FOA-0002796
Download the full funding opportunity: FedConnect
Funding Amount: $18,050,000
Background Information
On April 18, 2024 the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management (FECM) announced the selection of five research and development (R&D) projects to receive nearly $8 million for the treatment and management of produced water—or wastewater associated with oil and natural gas development and production—and the management of legacy wastewater associated with coal-based thermal electric power generation facilities. These projects are in addition to $10 million for four projects previously announced on December 11, 2023 to help lower the cost of developing and demonstrating technologies to manage wastewater safely and effectively for beneficial end-uses, while supporting DOE’s goals to provide environmental and economic benefits to communities that have been affected by stressed water resources and legacy pollution. These same energy production waste streams also contain recoverable critical minerals and materials, including rare earth elements, that are essential to our national security and to manufacturing clean energy technologies such as solar panels, wind turbines, and hydrogen fuel cells.
Clean water is crucial to the health and economic prosperity of our nation, but while demand from the energy sector for this essential resource has grown, aquifers in arid and semi-arid regions of the country have become depleted by drought conditions made worse by a warming climate. By treating and reusing the large volumes of wastewater generated through fossil fuel production and use, the projects announced today will help to make wastewater safe for the environment and a valuable resource for the American public, especially for water-stressed communities.
Selectees
Selectees announced on December 11, 2023 include:
- Aris Water Solutions
- Ohio University
- PVT Clean Energy
- University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Selectees announced on April 18, 2024 include:
- Lehigh University
- New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology
- Texas Tech University
- University of Oklahoma
- Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
A detailed list of the first round of selected projects can be found here and a list of the second round of selected projects can be found here.
Key Dates
| RFI Issue Date: | 08/25/2022 |
| FOA Issue Date: | 02/10/2023 |
| Submission Deadline for Full Applications: | 04/12/2023 11:59 PM |
| Expected Date for Selection Notifications: | July 2023 |
| Expected Date for Award: | September 2023 |
Additional Information
- Download the full funding opportunity on FedConnect.
- All applicants must register and apply on Grants.gov and submit questions through FedConnect
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Last Updated: April 18, 2024