Bipartisan Infrastructure Law - Rare Earth Element Demonstration Facility | DE FOA 0002686

Opportunity Information: Apply for DE FOA 0002686

The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law - Rare Earth Element Demonstration Facility notice (DE-FOA-0002686) is a Department of Energy, National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) Request for Information (RFI) issued to gather public and stakeholder input on the concept of a rare earth element (REE) demonstration facility and potential location(s) for such a facility. It is categorized under the Energy funding activity area (CFDA 81.089) and is listed as a discretionary opportunity using an "Other" instrument type, but it is important to understand that this particular posting is not a Funding Opportunity Announcement and does not involve funding decisions at this stage. The stated intent is information gathering only, meaning DOE is not accepting applications, proposing awards, or selecting projects through this RFI.

The core purpose of the RFI is to solicit feedback from a wide range of parties that would either help develop, invest in, operate, regulate, study, or be affected by an REE demonstration facility. DOE explicitly calls out industry members, investors, developers, universities and academia, research laboratories, government agencies, customers, potentially impacted communities, Tribes, and other stakeholders. The scope of feedback is not limited to technical considerations; DOE highlights broader policy and social priorities as part of the requested input, including environmental justice, the energy transition, and the perspectives and potential impacts on Tribes and other communities that could be affected by siting and operating this kind of facility. In practice, this signals that DOE is looking for insight not only on how an REE demonstration facility should work, but also where it might be located, what kinds of community benefits or safeguards should be built in, and how impacts and opportunities should be evaluated and managed.

Eligibility is described as unrestricted, meaning any type of entity can submit a response, subject to any further clarifications that may appear in the full text under additional eligibility information. Since this is an RFI rather than a competitive grant solicitation, "eligibility" mainly matters in the sense of who is allowed to provide input rather than who can win an award. Correspondingly, the listing shows expected awards as zero, reinforcing that DOE is not making grant awards based on this RFI. The posting includes an "Award Ceiling" value of 2, but because this is not a funding announcement and no awards are expected, that figure should not be interpreted as an available budget for applicants under this notice.

The RFI was created on February 14, 2022, with responses due by March 31, 2022. Submissions had to be sent electronically by email to REEdemoRFI@netl.doe.gov with the subject line "DE-FOA-0002686-RFI" (as specified in the notice) no later than 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time on March 31, 2022. DOE required responses to be included as attachments to the email, which is typical for RFIs where the agency wants a consistent, document-based response format that can be shared internally for analysis.

Overall, this opportunity is best understood as an early-stage market and stakeholder sounding exercise tied to Bipartisan Infrastructure Law priorities, aimed at shaping DOE's understanding of needs, constraints, and best paths forward for demonstrating domestic REE-related capabilities. The emphasis on environmental justice, Tribes, and potentially impacted communities indicates that DOE intended to integrate community impact considerations into facility planning and siting discussions from the outset, rather than treating them as an afterthought later in the process.

• The Department of Energy, National Energy Technology Laboratory in the energy sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Bipartisan Infrastructure Law - Rare Earth Element Demonstration Facility" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 81.089.
• This funding opportunity was created on Feb 14, 2022.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Mar 31, 2022 Responses to this RFI must be submitted electronically to REEdemoRFI@netl.doe.gov, with the subject line #8220DE-FOA-0002686-RFI#8221 no later than 800 p.m. (ET) on March 31, 2022. Responses must be provided as attachments to an email.. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $2.00 in funding.
• 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.

Apply for DE FOA 0002686

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