Energy Department Releases New Grant Funding Opportunities

Throughout July 2026, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) released or announced plans for three Notices of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) spanning numerous energy and manufacturing areas across a range of technology readiness levels (TRL). These announcements include:

• an up to $150 million NOFO to boost unconventional oil and gas recovery, advance hydraulic fracture characterization and revolutionize produced water management
• a Notice of Intent (NOI) for a NOFO up to $58 million, expected in August 2026, to advance technologies for producing chemicals from alternative and waste feedstocks
• an up to $10 million award opportunity through DOE's Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs in alignment with the Genesis Mission's goals to advance American leadership in artificial intelligence (AI)

Each of these announcements are outlined in greater detail below. Holland & Knight's Energy Technology Team is available to discuss these and other opportunities with interested applicants. Reach out to the authors with any questions or to discuss further.

Oil, Gas and Produced Water Management

On July 6, 2026, DOE's Hydrocarbons and Geothermal Energy Office (HGEO) released a $150 million NOFO seeking innovative proposals to enable rapid field deployment of a variety of novel technologies and processes related to improving primary and enhanced recovery efficiency, with the goal of significantly improving resource recovery and accelerating industry uptake. The NOFO also seeks to advance technologies for the treatment of flowback and produced water generated during oil and natural gas production, aiming to provide viable alternatives to deep well injection and mitigate associated water management issues.

Key Dates

• Application Deadline (all topic areas): September 8, 2026, at 5 p.m. ET
• Anticipated Selection Notification Date: January 27, 2027
• Anticipated Award Date: May 3, 2027

Topic Areas

Topic Area 1A: Field Test Site Research and Development of Technologies for Enhanced Recovery from Unconventional Oil and Gas Reservoirs

Proposals for this topic area should demonstrate and validate use of novel methods for improving recovery from unconventional oil and gas. Specific efforts of interest include field-based research and development (R&D) of any of a variety of injectants in Huff 'n' Puff (HnP) treatments or pattern floods and of novel treatments and techniques for improving production, including but not limited to improved completion, conductivity and/or conformance.

• Available Federal Funding: $30 million
• Number of Awards: Zero to two awards, up to $15 million each
• Minimum Cost Share Required: 20 percent
• TRL Advancement: TRL 5 à TRL 7

Topic Area 1B: Advanced Characterization of Fracture Propagation, Proppant Behavior and Well Diagnostics

Proposals for this topic area should carry out field test site investigations focused on advanced characterization of fracture propagation, proppant transport and placement, enhanced diagnostics, scientifically based well completion design "best practices" and characterizing the depletion domain architectures during production.

Focus areas of interest include, but are not limited to, field-based R&D of 1) novel fracturing fluids, additives and techniques; 2) technologies related to improving conformance control, zonal fluid flow technologies and completion technologies; 3) innovative technologies for improved subsurface characterization, visualization and diagnostics of the fracturing process; and 4) improving fracture diagnostics and modeling content.

• Available Federal Funding: $36 million
• Number of Awards: Zero to three awards, up to $12 million each
• Minimum Cost Share Required: 20 percent
• TRL Advancement: TRL 5 à TRL 7

Topic Area 1C: Enhanced Recovery of Oil and Gas from Unconventional Reservoirs Using CO₂

Proposals for this topic area should fund research designed to test the potential for using carbon dioxide (CO₂) as an enhanced oil recovery (EOR)/enhanced gas recovery (EGR) injectant in unconventional reservoirs through field test site projects and publicly shared results. Specific efforts of interest include field-based R&D on use of supercritical carbon dioxide (scCO₂) or CO₂ as an injectant in HnP treatment or in pattern flooding programs for oil, as well as CO₂ as an injectant to enhance natural gas recovery.

• Available Federal Funding: $60 million
• Number of Awards: Zero to three awards, up to $20 million each
• Minimum Cost Share Required: 20 percent
• TRL Advancement: TRL 5 à TRL 7

Topic Area 2: Advanced Field-Testing of Multi-Scale Produced Water Treatment Technologies and Processes

Proposals for this topic area should develop advanced multi-scale produced water treatment technologies and processes, demonstrating them through field-testing over a period longer than one year. Research efforts of interest include, but are not limited to: 1) R&D on scalable, low-energy desalinization processes for very high total dissolved solids produced water; 2) long-term pilot-scale field tests of novel membrane and osmosis technologies; 3) integrated water treatment facilities capable of treating large quantities of water at high throughput rates; and 4) technologies and processes to extract lithium, iodine, acids/bases and/or other valuable (or harmful) materials from produced water.

• Available Federal Funding: $24 million
• Number of Awards: Zero to two awards, up to $12 million each
• Minimum Cost Share Required: 20 percent
• TRL Advancement: TRL 5 à TRL 7

Registration Requirements

Applicants must:

• have an active SAM.gov registration and unique entity identifier (UEI) before applying, include the UEI in the application, and keep SAM.gov registration current; DOE cannot issue an award until these requirements are met
• register in eXCHANGE, using one organizational account per submission and designating backup contacts
• register in Grants.gov (requires Login.gov) to receive NOFO updates and follow the application instructions on Grants.gov

Advancing Innovative Chemical Technologies

On July 14, 2026, DOE's Alternative Fuels and Feedstocks Office (AFFO) released a NOI detailing plans to open a $58 million funding opportunity in August 2026 titled, "Accelerating Scale-up and Pre-piloting of Emerging Chemical Technologies (ASPECT)." The NOFO would aim to expand the supply and use of domestic alternative feedstocks to improve supply chain resiliency of U.S. chemical production and expand domestic manufacturing through technology innovation to lower costs and improve environmental safety of chemical production. The anticipated number of awards and anticipated funding allotted to each is not included in the NOI but will be clarified in the forthcoming NOFO that is expected on August 24, 2026.

Anticipated Topic Areas

Topic Area 1: Bench ASPECT

Topic Area 1 will support the development and adoption of new technologies for producing chemicals from alternative feedstocks, moving beyond proof-of-concept to bench and pre-pilot scale. Applicants may choose between two subtopic areas:

• Topic Area 1a (Bench Only). This subtopic area is intended for technologies currently beyond proof-of-concept and ready for additional bench scale R&D work. Funding in this subtopic area will support process development and optimization at the bench scale for promising early-stage chemical technology development.
• Topic Area 1b (Bench Scale and Unit Operation Pre-Piloting). This subtopic area will allow for the R&D work in subtopic area 1a and lower scale-up risk by pre-piloting one or more unit operations at the successful completion of the initial R&D work.

Under Topic Area 1, project performance periods are expected to range from two to four years.

Topic Area 2: Pre-Pilot ASPECT

Topic Area 2 will aim to accelerate the development and market entry of strategically valuable, domestically produced chemicals. This topic area will seek proposals to design, construct and operate pre-pilot scale facilities that convert alternative feedstocks into chemicals. Applicants can choose between two subtopic areas:

• Topic Area 2a (Unit Operation Pre-Piloting and Pre-Pilot System Integration). This subtopic area will support the development of technologies that require testing of one- or two-unit operations at scale before an integrated pre-pilot facility can be designed. Upon successful completion of these tasks, projects funded in this subtopic area will then design, construct and operate an integrated pre-pilot system.
• Topic Area 2b (Pre-Pilot System Integration Only). This subtopic area will support the development of technologies that have prior-scale data and are ready for pre-pilot system integration. Projects funded in this area will design, construct and operate an integrated pre-pilot system.

Under Topic Area 2, project performance periods are expected to range from two to five years.

Additional Information

• Concept Papers: It is likely that this NOFO will require submission of a concept paper. Concept papers will consist of only fundamental information about the project such as the chemical product, feedstock, conversion pathway, entities involved and justification describing the advantages of the proposed technology compared with the current standard.
• New Application Process: Though details are limited at this time, DOE plans to utilize a new, streamlined application and review process to alleviate burdens on applicants. AFFO will hold an application webinar following publication of the NOFO to provide more details.

Small Business Innovation Research and Technology Transfer

On July 22, 2026, DOE's Office of Technology Commercialization (OTC) opened an SBIR and STTR award opportunity focused on technologies that support DOE's Gensis Mission. This initial release precedes a broader Phase I funding opportunity expected later this fall. OTC now manages DOE's consolidated and redesigned SBIR/STTR program, which was previously administered by the Office of Science.

Through this opportunity, DOE intends to award up to $10 million across approximately 40 awards. Information to determine eligibility for SBIR and STTR can be found online.

Key Dates

• Application Deadline (all topic areas): September 10, 2026, at 2 p.m. ET
• Acquisition Management Portal Applications Open: Mid-August
• Virtual Office Hours Session: August 12 at 3 p.m. ET

Topic Areas

DOE is seeking innovative, cutting-edge technologies with significant potential for commercialization and strong value proposition for the market. In this round, DOE is interested in projects that address the following topics:

• Scaling the Biotechnology Revolution. This topic area calls for proposals to leverage advanced AI for biotechnology, including for biochemicals and bioproducts applications. Areas of interest include AI tools to support biomolecular design, establish genotype-phenotype relationships, support predictive microbiome engineering and microbiome gene expression, accelerate bioreactor design and biomanufacturing, and otherwise enhance genome engineering.
• Realizing Quantum Systems for Discovery: AI for Quantum Computing and Networking. This topic seeks proposals including, but not limited to, those that 1) leverage AI to characterize and mitigate decoherence in qubits, 2) develop and implement effective quantum error correction codes, 3) control quantum processing units and quantum network systems, 4) automate and optimize quantum resource estimation tools focusing on scalability and interoperability for multiple quantum computing architectures, 5) develop tolls to manage computational workflows that integrate classical high-performance computing, AI and quantum resources, and 6) ensure the scalability of quantum processor sand network systems.
• Designing Materials with Predictable Functionality. This topic seeks proposals that leverage advanced AI frameworks to facilitate easier materials design. Successful proposals should accelerate the discovery and deployment of advanced materials that are essential for American competitiveness in energy, manufacturing and technology by enabling "inverse design," where materials are engineered to meet specific property requirements.
• Achieving AI-Driven Autonomous Laboratories. This topic area seeks proposals that seek to integrate AI directly into experimental workflows to accelerate discovery, improve repeatability and generate richer datasets. Areas of interest include advanced robotics, AI for network operations, diagnostics, remote handling and neuromorphic computing circuit primitives.

Application Process

DOE is partnering with Partnership Intermediary ConnectWerx to host this round of applications. New participants will submit a single application for Phase I to enter the program through the Acquisition Management Portal (AMP), which will open for registration in mid-August. Initial applications will be in the form of a project pitch, responding to four open-text questions that may result in an invitation to submit a full application.

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