Domestic Near Net Shape Manufacturing to Enable a Clean and Competitive Economy | DE FOA 0003023

Opportunity Information: Apply for DE FOA 0003023

The Department of Energy (DOE), through its Golden Field Office, issued Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) DE-FOA-0003023 titled "Domestic Near Net Shape Manufacturing to Enable a Clean and Competitive Economy." This is a discretionary funding opportunity administered as a cooperative agreement, meaning DOE expects to have substantial involvement during the project period rather than acting only as a pass-through funder. The overall purpose is to push near net shape (NNS) manufacturing technologies closer to commercial readiness in a way that strengthens U.S.-based industrial capability and improves the resilience and competitiveness of clean energy manufacturing supply chains.

At its core, the FOA is aimed at accelerating both development and commercialization of innovative manufacturing approaches that can produce very large parts more efficiently and with less waste. Near net shape manufacturing generally refers to processes that create components close to their final geometry, minimizing the need for extensive machining, reducing scrap, lowering energy use, and shortening production timelines. DOE is tying this manufacturing focus directly to clean energy deployment and domestic competitiveness, so the expected outcome is not just a lab-scale proof of concept, but a credible pathway to real industrial adoption that supports clean energy industries.

A central requirement of the solicitation is that applicants must demonstrate technical and economic viability by producing a full-scale component during the project. The component must be tied to a clean energy manufacturing application and must weigh at least 10 tons (20,000 pounds). This full-scale production requirement is a major feature of the opportunity because it forces projects to confront real-world constraints like production throughput, tooling and equipment limits, quality assurance, repeatability, and cost. In practice, DOE is signaling that it is looking for manufacturing technologies that can perform at industrial scale, not only in controlled test settings.

DOE also expects project teams to include multiple segments of the value or supply chain. That typically implies partnerships that might include material suppliers, equipment or process technology providers, foundries or forges, machining and finishing vendors, quality and inspection specialists, and end users or original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) in clean energy sectors. The supply-chain emphasis suggests DOE wants proposals that demonstrate how the technology will be integrated into domestic production ecosystems, how it will be adopted by industry, and how it will reduce risks tied to foreign dependency or fragile sourcing for critical components.

In terms of basic funding parameters, the FOA listed an award ceiling of $15,000,000 per award and anticipated making about four awards. Eligibility was described as unrestricted (open to any entity type), subject to any additional clarifications included in the full announcement. The original posting date was April 12, 2023, with an original closing date of June 23, 2023. The funding activity category is Energy, with CFDA number 81.086. Applicants were directed to the EERE Exchange website (https://eere-exchange.energy.gov/) for the complete announcement details, including topic requirements, merit review criteria, cost share expectations if applicable, required deliverables, and submission instructions.

In summary, this FOA is a scale-driven manufacturing commercialization opportunity: DOE is looking for teams that can prove a near net shape manufacturing innovation by actually producing a massive, clean-energy-relevant component, while also demonstrating an industry-backed plan that strengthens domestic manufacturing capacity and improves clean energy supply chain competitiveness.

• The Department of Energy, Golden Field Office in the energy sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Domestic Near Net Shape Manufacturing to Enable a Clean and Competitive Economy" 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 Apr 12, 2023.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Jun 23, 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 $15,000,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 4 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.

Apply for DE FOA 0003023

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