H2@Scale Cooperative Research and Development Agreement Call

The Fiscal Year 2025 cooperative research and development agreement (CRADA) call for projects to use the Advanced Research on Integrated Energy Systems (ARIES) research platform in support of DOE's H2@Scale initiative is closed.

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technologies Office (HFTO) announced an opportunity on Oct. 9, 2024, for participation in CRADA projects with the NREL ARIES team in Fiscal Year 2025.​

To realize future energy systems that are clean, secure, reliable, safe, and affordable, it is critical to address the challenges of how to scale up the physical size of these new energy technologies and how to integrate them with the energy grid. Under this CRADA call, up to $5 million in DOE funding will be made available to NREL for joint partnerships with industry to perform cooperative research on three topic areas supporting the integration of hydrogen technologies in future energy systems.   

  • Topic 1: Validating Hydrogen System Integration With Renewables and the Grid
    Projects will use NREL’s ARIES hydrogen research infrastructure to derisk technology and system deployments through validation and testing, with an emphasis on generating impactful experimental and modeling results that reveal how electrolyzers and fuel cells interact with a grid that includes electricity from intermittent sources.

  • Topic 2: Analyzing/Modeling/Validating Hydrogen Systems for Industrial Applications
    Projects will use integrated modeling tools and analysis expertise developed under the GreenHEART program to site and optimize location-specific integrated energy systems that use renewable electricity to supply industrial end uses like green steel or green ammonia. 

  • Topic 3: Proton Exchange Membrane and Alkaline Electrolyzer Validation
    Projects will use NREL’s electrolyzer stack testbeds to validate the performance and durability of PEM and alkaline electrolyzers operating on clean energy sources with variable power supply profiles, including partner-specified operational profiles and standard renewable operational profiles.

Eligible partners include (1) for-profit entities, educational institutions, and nonprofits that are incorporated or otherwise formed under the laws of a particular state or territory of the United States and have a physical location for business operations in the United States and (2) U.S. state, local, and tribal government entities. HFTO funding will go toward NREL services, staff time, and facilities necessary to support each selected project.

Application Process and Deadlines

This solicitation closed on Nov. 1, 2024. Partners that pass initial screening will be contacted by the NREL topic leads in November to develop a full project proposal for final review and evaluation by the NREL H2@Scale Leadership Team Review Panel.

Applications not selected in this round or submitted after the due date may be considered for future calls.

CRADA Call Documents

Download the CRADA call documents for detailed application and eligibility requirements and instructions. The participant and each national laboratory conducting work for the project must enter a CRADA based on the H2@Scale CRADA Template. Each applicant should review the CRADA requirements and H2@Scale CRADA Template carefully to understand the general terms and requirements that will apply to its CRADA project. 

View the HFTO webinar announcing this CRADA call.

FY 2025 ARIES H2@Scale CRADA Call (modified Oct. 17, 2024)

Letter of Interest Submission Template

H2@Scale CRADA Template (Single Lab, Single Participant)

H2@Scale CRADA Template (Multi Lab, Multi Participant)

Responses to FY 2025 CRADA Call Questions (updated Oct. 25, 2024)

Contact

If you have any questions, please contact ARIES@nrel.gov.

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