2020 RFI for Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technologies Office (HFTO) | DE FOA 0002379

Opportunity Information: Apply for DE FOA 0002379

The 2020 Request for Information (RFI) for the Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technologies Office (HFTO), listed as Funding Opportunity Number DE-FOA-0002379, is a U.S. Department of Energy effort administered through the Golden Field Office to gather input from the public and stakeholders on topics related to hydrogen and fuel cell technologies. Unlike a typical grant or cooperative agreement solicitation, an RFI is primarily a market and stakeholder feedback mechanism. Its purpose is to collect ideas, technical perspectives, and practical recommendations that can help DOE shape future research priorities, program direction, and potential future funding opportunities in the hydrogen and fuel cell space. The activity area is categorized under Energy and is associated with CFDA (now commonly referred to as Assistance Listing) 81.087, which aligns with DOE hydrogen and fuel cell-related programs.

This opportunity is explicitly marked as unrestricted in terms of eligible applicants, meaning there are no formal limitations on who may respond. In practice, RFIs are often open to a wide range of contributors, such as private companies (from startups to large manufacturers), universities, national laboratories, state and local governments, nonprofits, utilities, technology developers, supply chain firms, investors, and individual subject matter experts. The open eligibility reflects the intent to collect broad, real-world input from across the hydrogen ecosystem, including production, storage, distribution, end-use applications, fuel cell systems, components, manufacturing, safety, codes and standards, and cross-cutting issues like durability, cost reduction, and scale-up.

Key administrative details signal that this is not a conventional funding call. The Opportunity Category and Funding Instrument Type are both listed as "Other," and the published award details (Award Ceiling: 2; Expected Awards: blank) do not indicate a standard grant award structure. That is consistent with an RFI, where DOE is not committing to make awards and is instead requesting information submissions by a stated deadline. The original closing date for responses was September 15, 2020, and the opportunity record shows a creation date of August 12, 2020. In other words, the window for submitting feedback was roughly about a month, which is typical for RFIs intended to inform near-term program planning.

In practical terms, responding to this RFI would have meant providing written input to DOE about technical needs, barriers, and opportunities across hydrogen and fuel cell technologies, including suggestions for research, development, demonstration, and deployment topics that could be valuable for future DOE initiatives. RFIs commonly seek actionable feedback such as: which technical challenges most constrain commercialization; what performance and cost targets matter most; where domestic manufacturing or supply chain gaps exist; what demonstration projects would be most informative; what data or testing infrastructure is missing; and how federal efforts can complement private-sector investment. While the notice does not list specific topic areas in the provided excerpt, HFTO RFIs typically revolve around accelerating hydrogen production pathways (including low-carbon options), improving fuel cell performance and durability, reducing system costs, enabling safe storage and delivery, and expanding end-use markets such as transportation, industrial applications, and grid-related uses.

Overall, DE-FOA-0002379 should be understood as a formal DOE information-gathering action rather than a direct grant opportunity. The main value to participants is the chance to influence DOE priorities and the design of future funding solicitations by offering credible, experience-based input. Entities working in hydrogen production, infrastructure, fuel cells, and related enabling technologies would view this RFI as a strategic opportunity to highlight needs, propose focus areas, and flag barriers that DOE could address through subsequent competitive funding announcements or program initiatives.

• The Golden Field Office in the energy sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "2020 RFI for Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technologies Office (HFTO)" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 81.087.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2020-08-12.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2020-09-15. (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 $2.00 in funding.
• Eligible applicants include: Unrestricted.

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