U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)

The U.S Department of Energy (DOE)’s Office of Critical Minerals and Energy Innovation (CMEI) intends to establish, on behalf of the Analysis and Strategy Office (ASO), the PROSPECT Program—Providing Opportunities for Specialized Education in Critical Technologies—and anticipates investing up to $100 million, subject to the availability of appropriated funds, to strengthen the nation's educational capacity in critical minerals and materials.¿ The activities under this anticipated PROSPECT Program support collaborative approaches that strengthen educational pathways across the entire critical minerals and materials value chain—from mineral resource development and extraction through processing, manufacturing, recycling, and related supply chain activities. Specifically, the planned PROSPECT Program would build on existing investments in critical minerals and materials research, development, demonstration, and deployment by ensuring that the United States has the highly skilled workforce needed to support continued innovation and growth across the domestic supply chain.¿ Through collaboration among academia, industry, national laboratories, and other partners, the program is expected to help develop a durable talent pipeline that strengthens U.S. economic competitiveness, energy security, and national security. This Notice of Intent (NOI) is issued so that interested parties are aware of CMEI’s intention to establish this PROSPECT Program in the near term. All the information contained in this NOI is subject to change. CMEI will not respond to questions concerning this NOI. Complete information, including the full Notice of Intent, can be found on the DOE CMEI Funding Opportunities website: https://eere-exchange.energy.gov/.

The purpose of this modification is to clarify the meaning of the Program Policy Factors in Section V.C. To obtain a copy of the Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) please go to the ARPA-E website at https://arpa-e-foa.energy.gov. To apply to this NOFO, Applicants must register with and submit application materials through ARPA-E eXCHANGE (https://arpa-e-foa.energy.gov/Registration.aspx). For detailed guidance on using ARPA-E eXCHANGE, please refer to the ARPA-E eXCHANGE User Guide (https://arpa-e-foa.energy.gov/Manuals.aspx). ARPA-E will not review or consider concept papers submitted through other means. For problems with ARPA-E eXCHANGE, email ExchangeHelp@hq.doe.gov (with NOFO name and number in the subject line). Questions about this NOFO? Check the Frequently Asked Questions available at http://arpa-e.energy.gov/faq. For questions that have not already been answered, email ARPA-E-CO@hq.doe.gov. AGENCY OVERVIEW The Advanced Research Projects Agency – Energy (ARPA-E), an organization within the Department of Energy (DOE), is chartered by Congress in the America COMPETES Act of 2007 (P.L. 110-69), as amended by the America COMPETES Reauthorization Act of 2010 (P.L. 111-358), as further amended by the Energy Act of 2020 (P.L. 116-260): “(A) to enhance the economic and energy security of the United States through the development of energy technologies that— (i) reduce imports of energy from foreign sources; (ii) reduce energy-related emissions, including greenhouse gases; (iii) improve the energy efficiency of all economic sectors; (iv) provide transformative solutions to improve the management, clean-up, and disposal of radioactive waste and spent nuclear fuel; and (v) improve the resilience, reliability, and security of infrastructure to produce, deliver, and store energy; and (B) to ensure that the United States maintains a technological lead in developing and deploying advanced energy technologies.” ARPA-E issues this Notice of Funding Opportunit