Nuclear Energy Research, Development and Demonstration
The Department of Energy (DOE) promotes nuclear energy as a resource capable of meeting the nation's energy, environmental, and national security needs by resolving technical, cost, safety, security, and proliferation resistance through research, development and demonstration at our national laboratories, universities and colleges, and U.S. industry. Our financial assistance programs play a key role in helping the DOE accomplish its mission of leading the nation's investment in the development and exploration of advanced nuclear technology and its underlying sciences. With this financial assistance, DOE strives to stimulate nuclear science and engineering education through support of advanced research and by training the next generation nuclear energy workforce, while seeking to align the nuclear energy research being conducted at U.S. colleges and universities with DOEs mission and goals.
General information about this opportunity
Last Known Status
Active
Program Number
81.121
Federal Agency/Office
Department of Energy
Type(s) of Assistance Offered
B - Project Grants
Program Accomplishments
Fiscal Year 2016 Similar to prior years Similar to prior years.
Fiscal Year 2018 Similar to prior years.
Fiscal Year 2022 DOE awarded more than $24 million through the Nuclear Energy University Program (NEUP) to support 37 university-led nuclear energy research and development projects in approximately 22 states. Additionally, 18 university-led projects received more than $5.2 million for research reactor and infrastructure improvements. 7 universities received almost $25 million for integrated research projects. DOE selected 2 universities, 1 national laboratory, and 1 industry-led projects that will take advantage of NSUF capabilities. DOE will support 2 of these projects with a total just over $1.5 million in research funds. All 4 of these projects will be supported by just over $2 million in facility access costs and expertise for experimental neutron and ion irradiation testing, post-irradiation examination facilities, synchrotron beamline capabilities, and technical assistance for design and analysis of experiments through NSUF. DOE also selected 5 universities for distinguished early career program to receive more than $3 million to support high potential early career faculty. Through the Integrated University Program (IUP), the DOE awarded more than $5 million for 65 undergraduate scholarships and 28 graduate fellowships to students pursuing nuclear energy-related disciplines at universities across the country. With this year's awards, the Office of Nuclear Energy has now awarded more than $870 million to continue American leadership in clean energy innovation and to train the next generation of nuclear engineers and scientists through its university programs since 2009. Visit Energy.gov for information on all of DOE's efforts to continue American leadership in low-carbon nuclear energy innovation.
Authorization
Department of Energy Organization Act of 1977, as amended, Public Law 95-91, 42 U.S.C. 7101, Statute 88,1240
Energy Reorganization Act of 1974, Title I, Section 107, Public Law 93-438, 42 U.S.C. 5817, Statute 88,1240
Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended, Section 32, Public Law 83-703, 42 U.S.C. 2051, Statute 68,919
Atomic Energy Act, Section 31, Public Law 83- 703, 42 U.S.C. 2051
Who is eligible to apply/benefit from this assistance?
Applicant Eligibility
Federal, State, local governments, universities, consortia, nonprofit institutions, commercial corporations, and individuals may apply.
Beneficiary Eligibility
Any individual, partnership, corporation, association, joint venture, institution of higher education, or nonprofit organization will benefit.
Credentials/Documentation
Costs will be determined in accordance with 2 CFR 200, and as amended by 910.
What is the process for applying and being award this assistance?
Pre-Application Procedure
Preapplication coordination is required. An environmental impact assessment is required for this listing. .
Application Procedure
2 CFR 200, Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards applies to this program. DOE solicitations (FOAs) set forth award procedures. Refer to the individual FOAs published on Grants.gov and NEUP.gov. For additional information, see the DOE, Office of Nuclear Energy website at http://energy.gov/ne/office-nuclear-energy. Applications are submitted through Grants.gov or NEUP.gov as directed in the individual FOA.
Award Procedure
DOE solicitations set forth award procedures. Applications will receive an objective merit review. The objective merit review will be based on evaluation criteria set forth in the competitive solicitation. Evaluations will be coordinated by a Merit Review Chair and conducted by a review board. This responsibility will be performed by the Office of Nuclear Energy or delegated to a DOE Operations Office. Final decisions will be made by the approved Program Officer or delegated Source Selection Official. For additional information, please refer to www.ne.doe.gov or NEUP.gov.
Deadlines
Contact the headquarters or regional location, as appropriate for application deadlines
Approval/Disapproval Decision Time
Deadlines for submissions will be posted in the individual funding opportunities posted at http://www.grants.gov and NEUP.gov. Per funding opportunity posted, a range of approval/disapproval time will be described.
Appeals
Not applicable.
Renewals
Proposals for renewal are subject to review and acceptance by the Program Director and/or Selection Official.
How are proposals selected?
Each proposal will be evaluated based on an objective merit review in accordance with the requirement of "DOE Financial Assistance Regulations" (2 CFR 200) and the evaluation criteria set forth in the competitive solicitations. These criteria typically include: appropriateness of the proposal method or approach, competency of research personnel and adequacy of proposed resources, reasonableness and appropriateness of the proposed budget, and other appropriate factors.
How may assistance be used?
Financial assistance, opportunities are defined in individual solicitations available on the DOE website, NEUP.gov, or Grants.gov. Notices published on Grants.gov define research, development, and demonstration areas that the Department intends to support such as: advanced reactors, fuel and reactor concepts that minimize proliferation risks, nuclear fuel and fuel cycles, advanced instrumentation, controls, simulation, modeling and analyses, nuclear waste management, construction, manufacturing and fabrication technologies, and related fundamental nuclear science areas in materials, reactor physics, chemistry, radiochemistry, health physics, and thermal hydraulics and fluid dynamics. Notices published on Grants.gov define development or demonstration projects and study areas activities that the Department intends to support such as: advanced designs, technologies or techniques, new regulatory or licensing requirements, and economic analyses. For a given solicitation, financial assistance may be available in whole or in part, for the following in support of nuclear energy research and related fields in development and demonstration activities: salaries, materials and supplies, equipment, travel, publication costs, subcontractor and supporting costs required for technical activities, market analyses, financing plans and other activities necessary to achieve the objective. Restrictions on use of funds depend on solicitation and award provisions.
What are the requirements after being awarded this opportunity?
Reporting
Performance Reports: Performance monitoring is tracked and reported according to set procedures dictated in each funding opportunity.
Auditing
Not applicable.
Records
Award recipient is expected to maintain auditable records to substantiate total costs incurred under the agreement and as required by the financial assistance award.
Other Assistance Considerations
Formula and Matching Requirements
Statutory formula is not applicable to this assistance listing.
Matching requirements are not applicable to this assistance listing.
MOE requirements are not applicable to this assistance listing.
Length and Time Phasing of Assistance
The period of performance and schedule of DOE payments is arranged at the time of award. Funds awarded are to be spent during the period of performance of each award, unless a different arrangement is approved at the time of award. Typically, awards range in duration from 1 to 5 years, with some eligible for a one time no cost extension for up to one additional year. Reference each FOA for applicable length and time. Also see NEUP.gov or Grants.gov for information on specific FOAs. Awards are made through a competitive solicitation process pursuant to Funding Opportunity Announcements (FOA). See NEUP.gov for specific information on the solicitation process for each FOA. Payment method for most awards is through ASAP. Awards not permitted to receive ASAP payments will be provided the necessary instruction on submitting Invoices for payment. Awards are released pending information provided in the funding opportunity announcement.
Who do I contact about this opportunity?
Regional or Local Office
Idaho Operations Office (DOE-ID) 1955 Fremont Ave., Idaho Falls, ID 83415 Contact: Trevor Bluth, Supervisor Telephone: (208) 526-3277.
Headquarters Office
Aaron Gravelle
U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Nuclear Energy,
1000 Independence Ave, S.W.
Washington , DC 20585 US
aaron.gravelle@nuclear.energy.gov
Phone: (301) 903-7991
Melissa Bates
U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Nuclear Energy, 1000 Independence Ave, S.W.
Germantown, MD 240660031 USA
melissa.bates@nuclear.energy.gov
Phone: 301-903-0930
Website Address
https://www.energy.gov/ne/office-nuclear-energy
Financial Information
Account Identification
89-0319-0-0-000
Obligations
(Project Grants (Cooperative Agreements)) FY 22$186,458,508.00; FY 23 est $150,000,000.00; FY 24 est $180,000,000.00; FY 21$552,990,732.00; FY 20$81,000,000.00; FY 19$156,000,000.00; FY 18$167,853,383.00; FY 17$158,806,998.00; FY 16$136,079,605.00; -
Range and Average of Financial Assistance
The range of awards vary per funding opportunity and depends on available program funding. Information on awards is published in the Funding Opportunity Announcements and can be found on the NEUP.gov or Grants.gov website. For example, NEUP awards typically range from $400,000 to $1,000,000; however, they can be more or less, as described in the FOA. NEUP R&D awards are capped at $800,000, whereas IRP awards can exceed $1,000,000, based upon the program's R&D focus and available funds. NEUP R&D awards with Nuclear Science User Facility (NSUF) access vary in that they can be funded both by DOE award and with NSUF resources and funding. Infrastructure awards greater than $250,000 require the university to share costs, calculated as a percentage of the amount over the $250,000 threshold. For IUP, Fellowship awards are typically $155,000 and Scholarship awards are $7,500 per student.
Regulations, Guidelines and Literature
NE Federal Register notices; NE Solicitations; DOE Financial Assistance Regulations (2 CFR 200); and the DOE Guide to Financial Assistance, which may be accessed through the DOE Office of Procurement and Assistance Management webpage at: http://www.management.energy.gov/policy_guidance.htm.
Examples of Funded Projects
Fiscal Year 2016 Similar to previous years See the NE Web site at http://energy.gov/ne/office-nuclear-energy
Fiscal Year 2018 Similar to previous years
Fiscal Year 2022 The NEUP.gov website is updated regularly with information on financial assistance to universities and colleges through Funding Opportunity Announcements (FOA) to stimulate and guide advanced nuclear energy research and to support students pursuing nuclear energy related disciplines at universities and colleges across the country. The website offers facts on prior awards, reporting information, and upcoming funding opportunity announcements (FOA). The programs covered in this website include the Nuclear Energy University Program (NEUP) and Integrated University Program (IUP). NEUP has three R&D elements: Integrated Research Projects (IRP), NEUP R&D, and Infrastructure. IRPs cover large, collaborative, university-led projects, addressing near-term needs of the DOE Office of Nuclear Energy's (NE) research and development (R&D) programs. NEUP R&D projects are university led projects that focus on more general and longer term R&D, guided by NE's programs. And Infrastructure support, including upgrades to university research reactors and general scientific infrastructure capabilities, advances the R&D and educational missions of universities. With the IUP, DOE supports nuclear science and engineering education and the next generation workforce through financial support to universities and colleges by awarding fellowships to graduate level students and scholarship grants to undergraduate level students. And by encouraging U.S. companies to partner with other U.S. federal agencies, public and private laboratories, institutions of higher education, and other domestic entities, DOE further supports the development of advanced nuclear energy technology and stimulates the sharing of expertise needed to successfully develop these innovative technologies. Through its Industry and ADRP FOAs, DOE solicits proposals for cost-shared projects to develop innovative, industry-driven reactor designs, and accompanying technologies with high potential to advance nuclear power in the United States.