This post was also written by Henry R. King and Stephanie E. Giese.

The first of several mandatory submission deadlines to compete for substantial funding under the recently announced Advanced Research Project Agency-Energy (“ARPA-E”) Open Funding Opportunity Announcement (the “Open FOA”) No. DE-FOA-0000670 is at the end of this month. The ARPA-E will fund up to $150 million in research for breakthrough energy technologies under the Open FOA. The value of individual awards will range from $250,000 up to $10 million, and the period of performance for an individual project will be up to three years. As an “Open” FOA, almost any U.S. person, U.S. entity, or foreign entity with operations in the United States may submit a research proposal. Further, any proposal topic that falls within one of ARPA-E’s broadly defined energy research goals will be considered.

Virtually No Restrictions on Research Topics. Offerors must propose research topics that fall within one of ARPA-E’s two broad Mission Areas. Those Mission Areas are:

  1. to enhance the economic and energy security of the United States; and
  2. to ensure that the United States maintains a technological lead in developing and deploying advanced energy technologies.

Near-Term Mandatory Submission Deadlines. In order to compete for this ARPA-E funding, an offeror is required to submit:

  • a Notice of Intent by March 30, 2012 (5 p.m. EDT);
  • a Concept Paper by April 12, 2012 (5 p.m. EDT); and
  • a Full Application by the date to be announced in June 2012 in a modification to the Open FOA.

Key Compliance Requirements for Offerors to be Aware Of. Some of the key compliance requirements an offeror should be aware of as it prepares its submissions are:

  • Individual and entity eligibility requirements
  • ARPA-E Selection process requirements
  • Cost share requirements
  • Types of funding agreements envisioned are Cooperative Agreements, Technology Investment Agreements, Work Authorizations, and Interagency Agreements (Note: ARPA-E does not typically award grants or contracts.)
  • Protection of proprietary or confidential information submitted to ARPA-E
  • Protection of rights in technical data or inventions developed in the performance of an award