Expeditionary Power- and Energy-Dense Implementations (ExPEDitions) program

Expeditionary Power- and Energy-Dense Implementations (ExPEDitions) program is sponsored by Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). This program focuses on developing transformative electrically rechargeable batteries and fuel cells capable of achieving both high energy density and high-power density for defense and expeditionary applications.

It seeks new cell chemistries, materials, and architectures to extend endurance and operational range of electrically powered systems and reduce reliance on fuel logistics.

Funding Track | Center for Materials Innovation Jun 2026 | DARPA | ExPEDitions DARPA has launched the Expeditionary Power- and Energy-Dense Implementations (ExPEDitions) program, a new effort focused on developing transformative electrically rechargeable batteries and fuel cells capable of achieving both high energy density and high-power density for defense and expeditionary applications.

The program seeks to overcome longstanding limitations in electrochemical energy storage by advancing new cell chemistries, materials, and architectures that could dramatically extend the endurance and operational range of electrically powered systems while reducing reliance on fuel logistics. Applications of interest include weight-sensitive and long-duration platforms where conventional lithium-ion technologies are insufficient.

• Electrically rechargeable batteries and fuel cells with substantially higher energy and power density than current technologies • Novel electrochemical chemistries, materials systems, and cell architectures • Technologies capable of supporting long-range, expeditionary, and weight-sensitive missions • Prototype-scale demonstrations and integration into operationally relevant platforms • Partnerships between technology developers and end users to accelerate transition pathways DARPA’s vision is to leapfrog existing energy storage limitations by enabling systems that combine the endurance traditionally associated with fuels and the operational flexibility of rechargeable batteries.

The program is intended to create foundational advances that can support future defense capabilities while also impacting broader energy storage applications.

For researchers and organizations working in advanced batteries, fuel cells, electrochemistry, materials science, and energy storage systems, ExPEDitions represents a significant opportunity to contribute to next-generation energy technologies with transformative performance targets. More info: https://www. darpa.

mil/research/programs/expeditions Apr 2026 | DARPA | ExPEDitions DARPA has announced a Proposers Day for the upcoming Expeditionary Power- and Energy-Dense Implementations (ExPEDitions) program (DARPA-SN-26-70), providing early insight into a potential future funding opportunity in advanced battery technologies.

This notice is not a formal solicitation, but rather a pre-announcement outlining DARPA’s program vision and technical direction ahead of an anticipated Program Solicitation (PS) expected in May 2026. The ExPEDitions program is focused on enabling electrically rechargeable batteries with significantly higher energy and power density than current systems, targeting applications where weight and endurance are critical.

• Advanced rechargeable batteries with improved energy and power density • Overcoming limitations in reaction kinetics and mass transport • Enabling long-range, weight-sensitive applications (e.g., electric aviation) DARPA is aiming to support the development of advanced battery prototypes and their integration into system-level demonstrators to extend mission endurance and reduce reliance on fuel logistics.

• Proposers Day: May 14, 2026 (Arlington, VA + webcast) • Purpose: program overview, DARPA process guidance, and team formation • Strong emphasis on teaming across academia, industry, and government While attendance is not required to propose, Proposers Days are often the first signal of high-impact DARPA programs.

For groups working in electrochemical systems, materials innovation, or high-performance energy storage, this represents an opportunity to engage early, form collaborations, and prepare for the formal call. More info: https://sam.

gov/workspace/contract/opp/5e8918ca14db440d9ff6a6edccf080ff… Apr 2026 | DOE | AMMTO/OG CMM Accelerator NOFO The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has released a new funding opportunity under the Critical Minerals and Materials (CMM) Accelerator program (DE-FOA-0003589), supporting the development and scale-up of technologies critical to domestic energy supply chains.

This NOFO provides up to $69M in total funding to advance innovations from bench-scale (TRL 3–4) to prototype-scale (TRL ~6), with a clear pathway toward pilot-scale demonstration and commercialization.

• Recovery and production of critical materials (including rare earths) from scrap and secondary sources • Refining and alloying of semiconductor materials (Ga, GaN, Ge, SiC) • Direct lithium extraction and processing technologies • Phase 1 awards: up to ~$2M (≥20% cost share) • Phase 2 (down-select): up to ~$8M (≥50% cost share) • Strong emphasis on industry partnerships, TEA/LCA validation, and commercialization pathways • Target: technologies deployable within 3–7 years • Letter of Intent: April 21, 2026 • Full Applications: May–July 2026 (varies by topic area) This program is designed to bridge the “valley of death” for promising materials and processing technologies, with a focus on de-risking and enabling domestic manufacturing scale-up.

For groups working in critical materials processing, recycling, or energy-relevant supply chains, this represents a significant opportunity to transition lab-scale innovations toward real-world deployment. More info: https://www. energy.

gov/cmei/ammto/critical-minerals-and-materials-accel… Mar 2026 | DOE | CMEI NOFO Funding opportunity from the Department of Energy’s Office of Critical Minerals and Energy Innovation providing up to $500 million to expand domestic critical minerals processing, battery materials manufacturing, and recycling capacity in the United States.

The program supports demonstration or commercial-scale facilities that process raw critical mineral feedstocks, recover battery materials through recycling of manufacturing scrap or end-of-life batteries, and manufacture strategic battery materials and components for defense, grid resilience, transportation, and industrial applications.

Target materials include lithium, graphite, nickel, copper, aluminum, and other minerals used in commercial battery technologies, with the goal of strengthening U.S. supply chain resilience and reducing dependence on foreign processing. Letter of Intent: March 27, 2026 Application Due Date: April 24, 2026 More Info : https://www. energy.

gov/cmei/articles/energy-department-announces-500-mi… Mar 2026 | Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation | Emergent Phenomena in Quantum Systems (EPiQS) Investigator Awards The Moore Foundation’s Emergent Phenomena in Quantum Systems (EPiQS) Initiative is launching a new phase through its 2026 Investigator competition, providing fully unconstrained six-year research grants to support ambitious and high-risk research in quantum materials.

The program seeks outstanding scientists working in experimental research, theory, materials synthesis, or combinations of these approaches to advance fundamental understanding of emergent phenomena in quantum systems. Approximately 17–18 investigators will be selected, with award sizes ranging from about $800,000 for theory investigators to roughly $1. 8 million for experimental or materials synthesis investigators.

The competition will proceed through staggered calls in 2026 (materials synthesis in February, experimental in May, and theory in August), each beginning with a short pre-application followed by invitations for full proposals.

Eligible applicants include tenured, tenure-track, or research faculty at U.S. academic institutions, and selection will emphasize candidates whose work demonstrates the potential to reshape the field through novel concepts, tools, and cross-disciplinary insights.

Areas of interest include quantum materials systems such as: Strongly correlated materials Frustrated magnets and solids exhibiting exotic magnetic behavior Materials exhibiting topological order Two-dimensional crystals, van der Waals structures, and other low-dimensional systems Hybrid quantum materials created by integrating dissimilar components or via external stimuli (e.g., light or strain) Deadline: Pre-applications due approximately five weeks after each call announcement (Feb / May / Aug 2026 cycles) More Info: https://www.

moore. org/initiative-additional-info? initiativeId=emergent-… The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) funds high-risk, high-impact research through Broad Agency Announcements (BAAs), program solicitations, and special notices that invite proposals from universities, industry, and government laboratories.

These opportunities target transformational technologies that could significantly advance national security capabilities, spanning fields such as advanced materials, energy systems, artificial intelligence, biotechnology, quantum technologies, photonics, and cyber-physical systems.

DARPA solicitations typically emphasize novel, non-incremental approaches capable of producing breakthrough capabilities, and they often support early-stage research that can transition into prototype demonstrations or new defense programs.

R&D areas include: Advanced materials and manufacturing Energy technologies and energy storage Biotechnology and bioengineering Human health, performance, and resilience technologies Artificial intelligence and autonomous systems Advanced computing and microsystems Quantum technologies and quantum computing Photonics and optical technologies Cyber-physical systems and secure digital infrastructure Aerospace systems and advanced vehicle technologies Space technologies and mission architectures Chemical and catalytic processes National security science and disruptive emerging technologies Deadline : Deadlines vary according to the specific BAA.

More Info : https://www. darpa. mil/work-with-us/opportunitieshttps://www.

nsf. gov/fun… Mar 2026 | NSF | TRAILBLAZER The NSF Trailblazer Engineering Impact Award (TRAILBLAZER) supports individual investigators in their pursuit of research which specifically addresses national needs, strengthens U.S. leadership and fosters advances in areas related to AI, quantum engineering, bioengineering, robotics, and nuclear engineering.

All awarded TRAILBLAZER projects will form a cohort under NSF where PI’s involved will be expected to participates in an annual meeting with the opportunity for additional activities. Proposals may only be submitted by certain types of PIs detailed in the solicitation: Tenured or tenure-eligible Associate or Full Professors at eligible U.S. institutions (or equivalent positions).

Faculty with appointments in an Engineering School or College, or individuals who hold an Engineering doctorate. Researchers with a strong track record of innovation and impactful engineering research capable of pursuing bold new research directions. Investigators at U.S. Institutions of Higher Education submitting proposals through their institution.

Researchers at eligible U.S. nonprofit research organizations with continuing research appointments. Single-PI applicants only; collaborative proposals and co-PIs are not permitted. This first set of challenges will demonstrate how AI can deliver faster discovery, stronger energy systems, and lasting leadership in science, technology, and national security.

Estimated number of awards: 5 More Info : https://www. nsf. gov/funding/opportunities/trailblazer-nsf-trailblazer-e… Mar 2026 | DOE | Genesis Mission The U.S. Department of Energy announced 26 science and technology challenges of national importance to advance the Genesis Mission and accelerate innovation and discovery through artificial intelligence (AI).

Working in partnership with DOE’s National Laboratories, industry, and academia, these efforts will deliver tangible results for the American people. Examples include: Scaling the Grid to Power the American Economy: Using AI to improve power grid planning, interconnection, operations, and security — enabling decisions up to 20–100 times faster and improving electricity cost and reliability by up to 10 percent.

Harnessing America’s Historic Nuclear Data: Digitizing eight decades of nuclear research to create a secure, searchable database to inform future energy and security decisions. Enhancing Particle Accelerators for Discovery: Deploying AI to make accelerators adaptive and autonomous, accelerating breakthroughs in medicine, materials, and energy.

Designing Materials with Predictable Functionality: Using AI to design materials based on performance goals, shrinking development timelines from decades to months. Unleashing Subsurface Strategic Energy Assets: Applying AI to model underground environments for responsible, cost-effective energy development.

Achieving AI-Driven Autonomous Laboratories: Automating experiments to speed discovery of new drugs, advanced materials, and next-generation energy technologies. Reenvisioning Advanced Manufacturing and Industrial Productivity: Bridging research and production with AI-driven systems that strengthen supply chains, improve manufacturing productivity and capability, speed the design to production loop, and create American jobs.

Discovering Quantum Algorithms with AI: Accelerating quantum algorithm development to unlock breakthroughs in energy, chemistry, and logistics. Recentering Microelectronics in America: Advancing next-generation microelectronics to secure U.S. technological leadership, economic prosperity, and national security.

This first set of challenges will demonstrate how AI can deliver faster discovery, stronger energy systems, and lasting leadership in science, technology, and national security. More Info : chrome-extension://efaidnbmnnnibpcajpcglclefindmkaj/ https://www. energy.

gov/documents/genesis-mission-science-and-technology… The Office of Science Graduate Student Research (SCGSR) program creates a pathway for you to advance your PhD thesis research while working at a Department of Energy (DOE) National Laboratory, collaborating with world-class scientists, and using state-of-the-art facilities and cutting-edge scientific instrumentation.

While maximizing the impact of your own research, you will also expand your professional network and develop new opportunities for your future. In addition, you may have the opportunity for conducting a short international research visit to a prestigious institution abroad such as CERN or RIKEN.

The expertise, resources, and capabilities available at DOE National Laboratories and User Facilities are a combination not found anywhere else in the country. The unique opportunity to participate in the SCGSR program supports the goal to develop a new generation of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) experts who are critically important to the DOE Office of Science mission.

Deadline : May 6, 2026, at 5:00 PM ET More Info : https://science. osti. gov/wdts/scgsr Feb 2026 | USDA | Forest Service Grants The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Forest Service today announced up to $95 million in competitive grant funding through its Wood Innovations program for projects that advance innovative wood uses, expand wood-based construction, and grow U.S. wood energy markets and forest product processing capacity.

Funding is available through three Forest Service grant programs: the Wood Innovations Grant , Community Wood Grant , and Wood Products Infrastructure Assistance Grant programs.

Together, these programs support projects that: Develop innovative wood products Increase the use of wood in commercial and residential construction Expand wood energy systems Modernize, retrofit, or increase the capacity of wood products manufacturing facilities Deadline : 11:59 pm EST on April 22, 2026 More Info : https://www. fs. usda.

gov/science-technology/energy-forest-products/wood-… Feb 2026 | NSF | DMR-TMRP Research supported by the Division of Materials Research (DMR) focuses on advancing the fundamental understanding of materials, materials discovery, design, synthesis, characterization, properties, and materials-related phenomena.

DMR awards enable understanding of the electronic, atomic, and molecular structures, mechanisms, and processes that govern nanoscale to macroscale morphology and properties; manipulation and control of these properties; discovery of emerging phenomena of matter and materials; and creation of novel design, synthesis, and processing strategies that lead to new materials with unique characteristics.

These discoveries and advancements transcend traditional scientific and engineering disciplines. Projects supported by DMR are not only essential for the development of future technologies and industries that address societal needs, but also for the preparation of the next generation of materials researchers. Deadlines : Full proposal accepted anytime More Info : https://www.

nsf. gov/funding/opportunities/dmr-tmrp-division-materials-r… The primary goal of the ECosystem for Leading Innovation in Plasma Science and Engineering (ECLIPSE) program is to identify and capitalize on opportunities for bringing fundamental plasma science investigations to bear on problems of societal and technological need within the scope of science and engineering supported by the participating NSF programs.

The ECLIPSE meta-program has been created to foster an inclusive community of scientists and engineers, an ecosystem spanning multiple NSF Directorates, in the pursuit of translational research at the interface of fundamental plasma science and technological innovation.

The ECLIPSE program builds on the long history of NSF leadership in supporting multi-disciplinary research in plasma science and engineering, and is intended to enhance organizational unity within NSF, and potentially with other funding agencies, in considering proposals and supporting projects that may otherwise struggle to find a natural home within the existing hierarchy of Directorates, Divisions, and programs within the Foundation.

Examples of topical areas within the scope of the ECLIPSE program include but are not limited to: Atmospheric pressure plasmas and microplasmas with applications to , e.g., microelectronics, plasma agriculture, environmental remediation, and other clean and decarbonized energy goals enabled by electrification of the chemical industry.

New chemical measurement science for characterizing processes occurring in plasmas and using plasmas as part of measurement systems with applications to , e.g., analysis of environmental contaminants or identification of forensic evidence. Study of fundamental chemical reactions and mechanisms in plasmas with applications to , e.g., novel chemical synthesis. Deadlines : August – November 2026, Varies per program More Info : https://www.

nsf. gov/funding/opportunities/eclipse-ecosystem-leading-inn… Feb 2026 | DOD DARPA | SMASH The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) is soliciting innovative proposals around materials processing to enable efficient, scalable element separation across the periodic table. This capability would establish a new technological basis for domestic resource independence.

Specifically, the Smash program aims to create technologies that leverage parallel processing to: (1) drive process yield across multiple elements; (2) maximize energy utilization in the intrinsic separation processes; and (3) ensure solutions are scalable across industrial processing operations. Proposed research should investigate innovative approaches that enable revolutionary advances in science, devices, or systems.

Specifically excluded is research that primarily results in evolutionary improvements to the existing state of practice. Contact: Smash PA Coordinator Smash@darpa. mil Deadline : Apr 24, 2026, 01:00 pm EDT More Info : https://sam.

gov/opp/6ba704938fc54401b94f8340995dbd6a/view Feb 2026 | DOE BES | Energy Frontier Research Centers (EFRCs) The DOE SC program in Basic Energy Sciences (BES) announces a re-competition of the Energy Frontier Research Center (EFRC) program and encourages both new and renewal applications.

Applications from multi-disciplinary teams will be required to propose discovery science and use-inspired basic research that address scientific challenges in one or more of the topic areas listed below. The focus of the EFRC program is on fundamental scientific research, therefore applications to this NOFO must not propose applied research and technology development activities.

BES is soliciting applications in two general categories: BES Report Topics and Special Topics. Applications may respond to topics in both categories. Topic areas are open to both new and renewal applications, unless noted below in Section III.

Program Description. Expected dollar amount for individual award is $3,000,000 to $4,500,000 per year ($12,000,000 to $18,000,000 per award for a 4-year period). Average award size is expected to be $4,000,000 per award per year after the first year of operations.

Pre-Application: April 1, 2026 at 5:00 PM ET Full Application: July 1, 2026 11:59 PM ET https://simpler. grants. gov/opportunity/a096bc1f-4aa5-4cee-8e3e-972492c5… Feb 2026 | DOD DARPA | Future Program - Fleetwood The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) Biological Technologies Office (BTO) is issuing this Special Notice (SN) to announce additional research areas of interest for the forthcoming Fleetwood program.

The DARPA Fleetwood program aims to develop novel catalysts to enable the conversion of biomass resources to produce carbon containing chemicals for resilient global chemical manufacturing. Specifically, the Fleetwood program seeks to revolutionize lignin valorization. Fleetwood is interested in investigating novel catalytic pathways to access lignin from real biomass, rather than model compounds.

Examples of real biomass include but are not limited to agricultural residues, woody biomass, and pulp and paper industry waste. Fleetwood is challenging researchers to develop catalysts and novel methods to achieve complete delignification and complete depolymerization to monomers for lignocellulosic feedstocks to produce value-added chemicals.

Catalysis pathways include but are not limited to cell-free biocatalysis, thermocatalysis, and electrocatalysis. Fleetwood is structured over a 24-month period, consisting of a 12-month Phase 1 Base Period followed by a 12-month Phase 2 Option. Deadline : Mar 13, 2026, at 11:59 pm EDT More Info : https://sam.

gov/opp/9c31fd5fa9fd47ce8bc84077adb9f350/view Feb 2026 | NSF | Accelerating Research Translation (ART) The U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) seeks to increase the scale and pace of advancing discoveries resulting from academic research into tangible solutions that benefit the public.

The overarching goal for the Accelerating Research Translation (ART) program is to advance the U.S. scientific and economic leadership by building capacity and increasing the number of robust translational research ecosystems in Institutions of Higher Education (IHEs) that span across the full geography of our nation.

Innovations can occur anywhere and can be opportunities for creating sustained impacts in every single region of the United States. Achieving translational outcomes as a mechanism to drive sustained economic impacts is the primary aim of the “Accelerating Research Translation” (ART) program.

The ART program is aimed at providing resources that will ultimately facilitate a wide range of IHEs to achieve research translation, accelerate technology transfer, and create sustained economic and collective impacts across the U.S. It is understood that, like technology readiness levels (TRLs), there is no one measure or a combination of measures that can be used to describe the capacity of or measure the research translation readiness level (RTRL) for an IHE.

Some indicators that reflect on RTRL include volume of sustained basic and applied research as measured by research expenditures, robust technology transfer and entrepreneurship related activities (e.g. invention disclosures, patents, licenses, royalties, partnerships with industry, non-profits etc.).

Number of start-ups, resources for entrepreneurial and innovation education and training, the presence of a dedicated technology transfer office are also some of the other indicators that reflect on the RTRL. Deadline : Full proposal (due by 5 p. m.

submitting organization’s local time): January 15, 2026: Tracks 2 and 5 March 12, 2026: Tracks 1, 3 and 4 https://www. nsf. gov/funding/opportunities/art-accelerating-research-tra… Feb 2026 | Dept.

of the Army | USACE The US Army Corps of Engineers, Baltimore District, (USACE) intends to enter into a cooperative agreement with an eligible entity for the management and enhancement of natural resources and assistance in the water safety program at the Raystown Lake Project (RLP). Eligible Entities include non-Federal public and nonprofit entities.

The USACE anticipates an opportunity for seven (7) Conservation Interns, 2-Natural Resource Management and 5-Water Safety/Interpretation.

Activities include (1) wildlife management, threatened and endangered species monitoring, fisheries management, wildlife habitat enhancement, forest management, and boundary inspection/maintenance; and (2) activities in water safety promotion, updating bulletin boards; maintaining life jacket loaner stations; organizing special events; conducting interpretive programs and roving interpretation; writing news releases; possibly conducting media interviews (radio); promoting USACE safety campaigns; developing public service announcements and interacting with park visitors.

This agreement is an opportunity to provide training and education opportunities for conservation interns (two-2) with fish and wildlife, forestry, or education studies backgrounds. https://simpler. grants.

gov/opportunity/420228a7-5311-4356-a946-5de9a4b7… Feb 2026 | NSF | Translation to Practice (NSF TTP) The U.S. NSF Directorate for Technology, Innovation and Partnerships (NSF TIP) partners across sectors to advance three primary focus areas – accelerating technology translation and development, fostering regional innovation and economic growth, and preparing the American workforce for future high-wage jobs in STEM fields.

The translation of research to practice ensures that the insights and innovations developed through scientific study and experimentation have tangible, positive impacts for the Nation. These impacts include improving the quality of life, promoting economic and job growth, ensuring national security, and maintaining global competitiveness.

Indeed, scientific and engineering breakthroughs have the potential to address critical societal challenges in industries such as aerospace, agriculture, communications, education, energy, healthcare, national security, and transportation – but the translation of discoveries and innovations from the laboratory to society often takes many forms including non-linear pathways.

The NSF TTP program offers three tracks that represent different starting points or stages in moving discoveries and innovations from the laboratory to practice: NSF TTP-Explore (NSF TTP-E) is a pilot track that is likely to be the first step for researchers seeking to translate their basic research to practice.

To be eligible for the NSF TTP-E track, proposers must have an active, eligible, NSF research award (see Eligibility Information for further details). TTP-E is designed to encourage current, eligible NSF awardees to intentionally pursue applications of their research with the potential for societal impact.

The NSF TTP-E track provides the opportunity to obtain an extension of the initial award period of a current NSF award for up to two years in order to offer investigators an opportunity to explore adventurous, high-risk, use-inspired research and initial translational activities as the starting point for translation that was not covered by the original research award.

NSF TTP-Translate (NSF TTP-T) starts with use-inspired research and initial translational activities and further matures the idea(s), iterates and improves the solution(s), and lowers the barrier(s) to effective translation of research from lab to practice. NSF TTP-Partner (NSF TTP-P) supports translational efforts that demand one or more partnerships for technology development and deployment.

Here, strategic partnerships with stakeholders beyond U.S. institutions of higher education are essential ingredients for success and may include industry partners, government entities at all levels, philanthropies, international organizations, or other groups associated with large scale productization and distribution.

The NSF TTP-P track requires an NSF-Catalyzed Partnership with an organization that will assist in the translation to practice. In addition to the Principal Investigator (PI), NSF TTP-P proposals must include a co-PI or Senior/Key Personnel who is a member or employee of the NSF-Catalyzed Partner.

Partnerships with U.S. institutions of higher education are valued, but NSF TTP strongly prioritizes NSF-Catalyzed Partnerships that are able to help bring the product, process, or service to the market, potentially through licensing agreements, startup or small business formation, incorporation into an existing open-source ecosystem, development into standards setting arrangements, etc. Supplement Due Date(s) (due by 5 p. m.

submitting organization’s local time): April 01, 2025 - April 01, 2026 April 1 - April 1, Annually Thereafter Proposals Accepted Anytime - NSF TTP-E Track Only Full Proposal Deadline(s) (due by 5 p. m. submitting organization’s local time): Third Tuesday in May, Annually Thereafter NSF TTP-T and TTP-P Tracks https://www.

nsf. gov/funding/opportunities/nsf-ttp-national-science-foun… Jan 2026 | DOE | Critical Minerals and Energy Innovation The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Critical Minerals and Energy Innovation (CMEI) has formalized the realignment of a range of programs pertaining to critical minerals, manufacturing, federal codes and standards, and energy technology research and development.

CMEI will be divided into three pillars, each of which will be led by a corresponding Deputy Assistant Secretary.

The Office of Critical Minerals, Materials, and Manufacturing will accelerate mining activities, diversify supply chains for critical minerals and metals, expand battery and magnet research, stimulate innovation in processing and metallurgy, and facilitate the recycling of black mass, battery materials, and other critical minerals.

The Office of Energy Technology will continue to lead the world in research and development for cutting-edge energy technologies, fuels, chemicals, and hydropower. This office will also drive the commercialization and deployment of technologies that enhance energy networks across the United States and reduce the cost of energy for American ratepayers.

The Office of Innovation, Affordability, and Consumer Choice will exercise DOE’s appliance standards and building codes authority, with an emphasis on fact-based analysis, process transparency, and consumer choice and affordability. The office also oversees and manages multiple state and community energy and weatherization programs.

This office will promote innovation and the adoption of new and beneficial technologies for buildings and industrial applications. More Info : https://www. energy.

gov/cmei/office-critical-minerals-and-energy-innovat… Jan 2026 | DOD DARPA | Promethean Clay Proposers Day Promethean Clay aims to produce energy storage devices utilizing mechanically co-designed materials to create a new class of system, overcoming the limitations of the rigid exoskeleton in existing systems.

This program will enable (1) a generational improvement in energy storage performance through a design free of rigid materials; (2) a device design that can exhibit the thermal and safety performance for practical integration into systems; and (3) a pathway toward domestic sourcing of materials and manufacturing.

The technical challenge of this program is thereby manifested in the mechanical co-design of the materials making up the energy storage framework. The materials must exhibit mechanical connectivity across interfaces, exhibit uniform mechanical properties throughout all materials to mitigate localized stress formation, and still maintain the energy storage function.

The resulting energy storage devices will need to demonstrate resilience to thermal conditions and device safety that exceeds current energy storage systems today. Through this co-design approach, the energy storage system will break free of critical limitations of today’s energy storage systems, such as rigid packaging and external pressure requirements.

The rigid exoskeleton in energy storage systems today is made of heavy metals that compress components together to maintain pressure across the device. This removes the need today for mechanical connectivity between the components at the expense of energy density. These heavy metals used as packaging materials occupy a lion’s share of weight in the device as parasitic and inactive mass.

Efforts today to reduce the effect of this parasitic mass include increasing areal capacity of the active energy storing material or scaling the energy storage system to larger sizes. However, both approaches have been limited to incremental improvements in achieving performance gains. Promethean Clay is a four-year program with three phases.

This includes a two-year Phase 1 that demonstrates the design of an energy storage framework that can shed its rigid exoskeleton. Phases 2 and 3 will demonstrate an initial prototype device and push integration and application capability significantly beyond the state of the art.

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) will host an in-person Proposers Day in support of the DARPA Program Solicitation (PS) for Promethean Clay on February 25, 2026, at the DARPA Conference Center, 675 N. Randolph Street, Arlington, VA 22203 from 8:00 a. m.

to 5:00 p. m. ET.

DARPA anticipates releasing the DARPA-PS-26-16 prior to Proposers Day. If released, the PS will be made available at https://sam. gov/ .

Deadline : Proposers Day February 25, 2026 More Info: https://sam. gov/opp/5f28b873db924dc1af9f0d0ce982f7e7/view Jan 2026 | NSF | Environmental Sustainability The goal of the Environmental Sustainability program is to promote sustainable engineered systems that support human well-being and that are also compatible with sustaining natural (environmental) systems. These systems provide ecological services vital for human survival.

Research efforts supported by the program typically consider long time horizons and may incorporate contributions from the social sciences and ethics. The program supports engineering research that seeks to balance society’s need to provide ecological protection and maintain stable economic conditions. There are five principal general research areas that are supported.

Circular Bioeconomy Engineering: This area includes research that enables sustainable societal use of food, energy, water, nitrogen, phosphorus, and materials, with the reduction and eventual elimination of fossil fuel combustion that lacks carbon capture. The program encourages research that helps build the raw material basis for the functioning of society principally on biomass, drawing heavily on sustainable agriculture and forestry.

Additionally, material flows must reduce or preferably eliminate waste, with an emphasis on closed-loop or “circular” processing. Industrial ecology: Topics of interest include advancements in modeling such as life cycle assessment, materials flow analysis, net energy analysis, input/output economic models, and novel metrics for measuring sustainable systems. Innovations in industrial ecology are encouraged.

Green engineering: Research is encouraged to advance the sustainability of manufacturing processes, green buildings, and infrastructure. Many programs in the Engineering Directorate support research in environmentally benign manufacturing or chemical processes.

The Environmental Sustainability program supports research that would affect more than one chemical or manufacturing process or that takes a systems or holistic approach to green engineering for infrastructure or green buildings. Improvements in distribution and collection systems that will advance smart growth strategies and ameliorate effects of growth are research areas that are supported by Environmental Sustainability.

Innovations in management of storm water, recycling and reuse of drinking water, and other green engineering techniques to support sustainability may also be fruitful areas for research. Ecological engineering: Proposals should focus on the engineering aspects of restoring ecological function to natural systems. Engineering research in the enhancement of natural capital to foster sustainable development is encouraged.

Earth systems engineering: Earth systems engineering considers aspects of large-scale engineering research that involve mitigation of greenhouse gas emissions, adaptation to climate change, and other global concerns. Deadline: Full proposal accepted anytime More Info : https://www. nsf.

gov/funding/opportunities/environmental-sustainability Jan 2026 | NSF | Mid-Scale RI-1 The NSF Mid-scale Research Infrastructure-1 Program (Mid-scale RI-1) supports the design and implementation of research infrastructure — including equipment, cyberinfrastructure, large-scale datasets and personnel — whose total project costs are under $20 million.

Within Mid-scale RI-1, proposers may submit two types of projects, “Implementation” (e.g., acquisition and/or construction) or “Design”. The “Design” track is intended to facilitate progress toward readiness for a mid-scale range implementation