Request for Information (RFI): Nuclear Hybrid and Non-Electricity Energy Systems | DE FOA 0003011

Opportunity Information: Apply for DE FOA 0003011

This opportunity is a Department of Energy ARPA-E Request for Information (RFI) titled "Nuclear Hybrid and Non-Electricity Energy Systems" (Funding Opportunity Number DE FOA 0003011). It is not a traditional grant solicitation with funding available right away; instead, it is a market and technical sounding exercise where ARPA-E gathers input to shape a possible future research program. Because it is an RFI, the listing shows an award ceiling of $0 and expected awards of 0, reflecting that DOE is not making awards under this notice. ARPA-E is using the RFI to understand what kinds of high-impact, practical research directions could justify a later funding opportunity, potentially under a cooperative agreement structure if a full program is launched.

The central goal is to collect ideas on how nuclear reactor facilities, especially advanced reactors, could be integrated directly into industrial processes to supply carbon-free heat and/or power. ARPA-E frames nuclear energy primarily as a clean, zero-carbon heat source that can be used for more than electricity generation. Conventional nuclear plants typically convert fission heat into mechanical energy and then electricity, but ARPA-E is interested in approaches that capture nuclear heat more directly or combine heat and power in configurations that better match industrial needs. The theme is "hybrid" systems and non-electric applications, meaning concepts where reactors are coupled to other processes, equipment, or energy systems in ways that extend nuclear value beyond the electric grid alone.

A major motivation is industrial decarbonization. The RFI notes that industrial processes account for about 24 percent of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions and are difficult to decarbonize largely because many industrial sectors require large amounts of heat, including high-temperature, high-quality heat. In many cases, electrification is challenging, expensive, or technically constrained, and low-carbon fuels are not always readily available at scale. By integrating nuclear heat into industrial operations, ARPA-E sees a pathway to reduce or potentially eliminate emissions from parts of the industrial sector that are otherwise hard to abate.

The RFI also points to the expanding design space created by advanced reactors (ARs). Unlike the historical fleet, advanced designs are expected to cover a wide range of sizes and operating temperatures, which could make them easier to match to specific industrial loads. The RFI describes capacity ranging from about 1 MW for microreactors, to tens or low hundreds of MW for small modular reactors (SMRs), and up to gigawatt-scale systems. It also describes operating temperatures from roughly 300 to 900 degrees C. Those temperature ranges matter because they determine which industrial processes can be served directly (for example, low- to medium-temperature steam needs versus very high-temperature process heat).

ARPA-E highlights that non-electric nuclear heat use is not purely theoretical. Past or existing examples include desalination and district heating, but the agency suggests that imminent deployment of advanced reactors could broaden the application scope significantly. The underlying message is that current decarbonization pressures, together with emerging reactor technologies and industrial innovation, create an opening for novel combinations of technologies across sectors. ARPA-E is therefore seeking input on "transformative and implementable" technologies, implying they are looking for ideas that are ambitious enough to move the needle but grounded enough to be realistically engineered, demonstrated, and deployed.

On eligibility, the RFI is listed as unrestricted, meaning responses can come from any type of entity (industry, academia, national labs, nonprofits, individuals, consortia), subject to any additional instructions in the full RFI text. Submissions were required in PDF format and had to be emailed to ARPA-E-RFI@hq.doe.gov by 5:00 PM Eastern Time on March 30, 2023. The issuing agency is the Department of Energy, Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E), and the notice was created February 17, 2023. For full details and specific questions ARPA-E wanted respondents to address, the RFI directed interested parties to the full document hosted on the ARPA-E FOA site.

• The Department of Energy, Advanced Research Projects Agency Energy in the opportunity zone benefits, science and technology and other research and development sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Request for Information (RFI): Nuclear Hybrid and Non-Electricity Energy Systems" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 81.135.
• This funding opportunity was created on Feb 17, 2023.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Mar 30, 2023 Responses to this RFI should be submitted in PDF format to the email address ARPA-E-RFI@hq.doe.gov by 500 PM Eastern Time on Thursday, March 30, 2023. For further instruction, please review the RFI in its entirety at https://apra-e-foa.energy.gov. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Eligible applicants include: Unrestricted (i.e., open to any type of entity above), subject to any clarification in text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility.

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