Pioneering Railroad, Oceanic and Plane Electrification with 1K Energy Storage Systems (Propel-1K) | DE FOA 0003162

Opportunity Information: Apply for DE FOA 0003162

The Pioneering Railroad, Oceanic and Plane Electrification with 1K Energy Storage Systems (PROPEL-1K) opportunity is an ARPA-E funding program from the U.S. Department of Energy aimed at breaking through one of the biggest barriers to decarbonizing heavy transportation: the lack of energy storage systems that are light and compact enough for aircraft, ships, and some rail applications. While today s batteries work reasonably well for many passenger vehicles, they run into hard limits when you try to electrify platforms that need to carry large amounts of energy over long distances without adding excessive mass or volume. PROPEL-1K is built around the idea that incremental battery improvements are not enough for these sectors, so ARPA-E is looking for high risk, high reward approaches that could create entirely new performance and cost trajectories.

The program is motivated by emissions and energy demand trends. Transportation accounts for roughly 29 percent of total U.S. greenhouse gas emissions, and although light duty vehicles represent the largest share of transportation emissions, a substantial portion comes from segments that are much harder to electrify, including long distance trucking, aviation, rail, and maritime. In parallel, global energy consumption is projected to rise significantly by mid century, and meeting net zero goals will require multiple technology pathways. ARPA-E s view, reflected in the FOA text, is that broad electrification is essential but will only be practical in aviation, ocean shipping, and related modes if energy storage moves far beyond what conventional electrochemical batteries and even many next generation concepts are expected to deliver.

Technically, PROPEL-1K targets energy storage systems that can reach 1000 watt hours per kilogram and 1000 watt hours per liter, described as 1K technologies. Importantly, those targets are set at the net energy storage system level, not just at the material or cell level, and they are specified at end of life, meaning the system should still meet the performance bar after degradation over time. ARPA-E frames this as an effort to achieve more than a 4x improvement over state of the art options for the relevant use cases. The scope includes electrochemical and or chemical energy storage solutions, but explicitly emphasizes approaches that do not require hydrocarbon based fuels, whether fossil or synthetic. The FOA also signals strong interest in concepts that are not simply extensions of mainstream battery thinking or short term industry roadmaps, which is consistent with ARPA-E s mission to fund transformative R and D rather than incremental optimization.

From an applicant and award structure perspective, this is a discretionary funding opportunity issued under ARPA-E s statutory authority (42 U.S.C. 16538) and governed by federal assistance rules (2 C.F.R. Part 200 as supplemented by 2 C.F.R. Part 910). Awards are expected to be made as cooperative agreements and or other instruments, which usually means ARPA-E anticipates active programmatic involvement during the project period. The posted opportunity information indicates an award ceiling of up to $5,000,000 per award, with around 15 awards expected (Funding Opportunity Number DE-FOA-0003162, CFDA 81.135). The activity category is research and development in science and technology, and eligibility is described broadly as "Others," with the FOA itself providing the definitive details on who can apply and under what conditions.

The application process is tightly tied to ARPA-E s online portal. Applicants must access the full Funding Opportunity Announcement on the ARPA-E FOA site and must submit required materials through ARPA-E eXCHANGE; submissions sent by other means will not be reviewed. The opportunity listing provides pointers to the eXCHANGE registration page and the eXCHANGE user guide for step by step instructions. For technical issues with the portal, applicants are directed to contact ExchangeHelp@hq.doe.gov and include the FOA name and number in the email subject line. For questions about the FOA itself, ARPA-E directs applicants first to its FAQ page and then, if needed, to email ARPA-E-CO@hq.doe.gov. The original posting indicates a creation date of September 5, 2023 and an original closing date of October 17, 2023, which matters for timing if someone is looking at the announcement historically or checking whether ARPA-E has reissued, amended, or replaced it.

Overall, PROPEL-1K is best understood as an ARPA-E push to make electrification plausible in the hardest transportation sectors by backing radically higher energy density storage at the full system level, with performance that holds up through end of life operation and without leaning on hydrocarbon fuels. The agency is essentially inviting teams to propose new storage architectures, chemistries, and system concepts that could be disruptive if they work, even if they start out expensive, unproven, or far from commercial readiness.

• The Department of Energy, Advanced Research Projects Agency Energy in the opportunity zone benefits, science and technology and other research and development sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Pioneering Railroad, Oceanic and Plane Electrification with 1K Energy Storage Systems (Propel-1K)" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 81.135.
• This funding opportunity was created on Sep 05, 2023.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Oct 17, 2023. (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 $5,000,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 15 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Others (see text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility for clarification).

Apply for DE FOA 0003162

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