The Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) is issuing Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) DE-FOA-0003296 on behalf of the Geothermal Technologies Office (GTO). GTO actively pursues research, development, and demonstration projects to facilitate technology validation and demonstration, reduce cost, and improve performance of geothermal technologies. The economic viability of geothermal projects across the resource spectrum depends on developing and improving enabling technologies and detailed understanding of the subsurface, including geologic qualities, permeability, and other attributes.

This funding opportunity comprises two topic areas with separate objectives and technical focus.

Topic Area 1: High-Temperature Tools for Well Integrity Evaluation

Topic Area 1 seeks applications to address ​​wellbore tools and technology to supplement and advance beyond currently available off-the-shelf (OTS) solutions provided by the oil and gas industry for cement and casing evaluation. Current solutions are suitable for the upper end of the oil and gas industry’s temperature needs but are not generally considered adequate for use in hotter, EGS systems.

As advancements and novel methods in casing and cementing are implemented, a critical, early element of success is evaluating their efficacy. Given the harsh conditions often encountered in geothermal borehole environments, obtaining quality inspection and confirmation information can be a costly and difficult task. The projects selected under Topic Area 1 of this FOA will seek to address the availability of downhole cement and casing evaluation tools for use in high temperature and hostile geothermal wellbores.

Topic Area 2: Utilization of Reservoir Thermal Energy Storage (RTES) Technology for Decarbonization of Industrial Processes

Topic Area 2 seeks to demonstrate low-temperature (<130^◦ C) RTES technology with applications to industrial processes such as melting plastic, removing moisture, treating chemicals, and others. RTES takes advantage of large subsurface storage capacities, geothermal gradients, and thermal insulation associated with deep geologic formations to store thermal energy to be extracted in the future for beneficial use on a variety of timescales.

The activities funded through this FOA will advance the Biden-Harris Administration’s goals to achieve carbon pollution-free electricity by 2035 and achieve a net-zero-emissions economy by 2050. Strategic goals for this FOA are derived from DOE’s Enhanced Geothermal Shot and its associated roadmap, and GTO’s GeoVision Roadmap and Multi-Year Program Plan.

Questions regarding the FOA must be submitted to HT.Tools.RTES.FOA@ee.doe.gov

The Teaming Partner List will remain open and will be updated at least weekly until the close of the Full Application period, to reflect new Teaming Partners who have provided their information.

Applicants must submit a Letter of Intent by 5:00pm ET on the due date listed in the FOA to be eligible to submit a Full Application. Letter of Intent and Full Applications will only be accepted through EERE eXCHANGE.

Applicants that experience issues with submissions PRIOR to the Deadline: In the event an Applicant experiences technical difficulties with a submission, the Applicant should contact the eXCHANGE helpdesk for assistance (exchangehelp@hq.doe.gov).

The eXCHANGE system is designed to enforce hard deadlines for Letter of Intentand Full Application submissions. The “APPLY” and “SUBMIT” buttons automatically disable at the defined submission deadlines. The intention of this design is to consistently enforce a standard deadline for all applicants.