FY2017 Vehicle Technologies Office Batteries and Electrification to Enable Extreme Fast Charging Funding Opportunity Announcement | DE FOA 0001808

Opportunity Information: Apply for DE FOA 0001808

The FY2017 Vehicle Technologies Office "Batteries and Electrification to Enable Extreme Fast Charging" Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA), number DE-FOA-0001808, is a U.S. Department of Energy funding opportunity administered through the National Energy Technology Laboratory. It is structured as a discretionary funding program using cooperative agreements, meaning projects are expected to involve substantial federal involvement during performance rather than operating like a simple, hands-off grant. The FOA sits within the Energy, Science and Technology, and other Research and Development activity category and is tied to CFDA number 81.086, which is commonly associated with DOE vehicle and advanced transportation technology work.

At a high level, the opportunity is aimed at advancing electric vehicle charging and battery technologies in ways that support national and economic security goals. The stated policy rationale is that improving vehicle electrification and related infrastructure reduces petroleum dependence and imports, strengthens energy diversity, and supports reliable and environmentally sound energy use. The FOA specifically frames its intended impact around enabling progress toward a 2020 target of reducing U.S. petroleum use by more than 2.5 billion gallons per year through voluntary adoption of alternative fuel vehicles and the infrastructure needed to support them. In practical terms, the DOE is using this funding to accelerate technology improvements that make electric vehicles easier to use, faster to recharge, and more appealing for broader consumer and fleet adoption.

The FOA is organized into two main areas of interest. The first area focuses on "Extreme Fast Charging Systems for Electric Vehicles," which generally refers to charging technologies, equipment, controls, and integration approaches that can deliver very high charging power while maintaining safety, reliability, interoperability, and manageable impacts on the electric grid. Work in this area typically includes advanced charger hardware and power electronics, thermal management approaches, charging protocols and communication, site design considerations, and system-level solutions that enable high-power charging without excessive cost or downtime. Because extreme fast charging can stress both vehicles and infrastructure, the emphasis is often on practical system performance, safety engineering, and the real-world challenges of deploying and operating high-power charging at scale.

The second area of interest is "Batteries for Extreme Fast Charging," which targets battery technologies that can tolerate frequent, high-rate charging without unacceptable degradation, safety risks, or performance losses. Batteries that charge extremely quickly face issues like heat buildup, lithium plating, accelerated aging, and changes in internal resistance, so this area typically encourages innovations in materials, cell design, electrolyte formulations, electrode architectures, battery management strategies, and validation methods that support fast charging while preserving cycle life. The intent is to make fast charging not just technically possible, but practical over the life of a vehicle, so that drivers can rely on rapid charging without sacrificing battery longevity or needing expensive replacements.

In terms of who can apply, eligibility is listed as "unrestricted," meaning it is open to any type of entity as long as the applicant meets any conditions or clarifications included in the full FOA text. That generally implies that universities, national laboratories (subject to rules), private companies, nonprofits, state and local governments, and consortia can potentially participate, though the specific teaming rules and cost-share expectations would be defined in the full announcement. Because the instrument is a cooperative agreement and the topic is applied R&D with deployment relevance, applicants often propose multi-partner projects that combine research capability with engineering, manufacturing, or deployment experience.

The funding details indicate an award ceiling of $5,000,000 per award and an expectation of approximately 13 awards, signaling that DOE anticipated supporting multiple projects across the two topic areas rather than a single large program. The FOA was created on October 20, 2017, with an original closing date of January 18, 2018, while also noting that applicants should consult the FOA itself for specific application and submission deadline information. Questions about the FOA content and the mechanics of submitting an application are directed to the official posting in the Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) eXCHANGE system, which is DOE's platform for FOA documents, amendments, Q&A, and electronic submission.

Overall, this opportunity is best understood as DOE's targeted push to remove one of the biggest adoption barriers for electric vehicles: the time and inconvenience associated with charging. By funding both the charging systems and the battery technologies that must work together to make extreme fast charging feasible, the FOA aims to speed up commercialization and deployment, support U.S. technology leadership, and contribute to measurable reductions in petroleum consumption through broader adoption of electrified transportation.

• The Department of Energy, National Energy Technology Laboratory in the energy, science and technology and other research and development sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "FY2017 Vehicle Technologies Office Batteries and Electrification to Enable Extreme Fast Charging Funding Opportunity Announcement" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 81.086.
• This funding opportunity was created on Oct 20, 2017.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Jan 18, 2018 Please refer to the FOA for application and submission deadline Information. The FOA is contained in the EERE eXCHANGE system.. (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 13 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Unrestricted (i.e., open to any type of entity above), subject to any clarification in text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility.

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