DOE's Small Innovative Projects in Solar (SIPS) 2024, $6.5M in Funding Available - Due 03/06/24

Opportunity Title:

Fiscal Year 2024 Small Innovative Projects in Solar (SIPS): Concentrating Solar-Thermal Power and Photovoltaics

Funder/Agency:

U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), Solar Energy Technologies Office (SETO)

Opportunity Number:

DE-FOA-0002888

Description:

This annual funding opportunity will award $6.5 million for seedling R&D projects that focus on innovative and novel ideas in photovoltaics (PV) and concentrating solar-thermal power (CSP) and are riskier than research ideas based on established technologies.

This funding opportunity is designed to streamline the application process to encourage applications from early-career researchers who have never applied or been selected for a SETO project award. In addition, applicants must submit a plan to broaden the participation of well-qualified members of underrepresented groups on their teams. These efforts will help to achieve the administration’s goal to increase the diversity of those working in applied energy research fields.

Topic Areas

SIPS Topic Area 1: CSP (7-12 projects, $400,000 each)This topic area will support small, focused projects investigating the applicability and robustness of novel ideas in CSP. Responsive concepts include all aspects of CSP plants with thermal energy storage, as well as solar-thermal industrial process heat innovations and solar-thermal fuel systems.

SIPS Topic Area 2: PV (7-12 projects, $250,000 each)Projects in this topic area will focus on new and emerging areas of PV research that can produce significant results within the first year of performance and, if successful, lay the foundation for continued research. These projects should aim to significantly lower costs and improve the power conversion efficiency, fielded energy output, reuse and recycling of system components, service lifetime, and manufacturability of PV technologies. 

Eligibility:

Universities

Federally Funded Research and Development Centers

Nonprofit Organizations

Community-based Organizations

State Agencies

Local Governments

Solar Developers

Award Details:

Total Amount Available:

$6,500,000

Maximum Award:

$400,000 

Minimum Award:

$250,000

Deadline:

Applications Due March 06, 2024

Opportunity Link

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