Building EPSCoR-State/National Laboratory Partnerships

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Science (SC) announced a Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) DE-FOA-0003615 for the Building EPSCoR-State/DOE-National Laboratory Partnerships program. This initiative seeks applications for fundamental, early-stage energy research collaborations between academic institutions in eligible EPSCoR jurisdictions and DOE National Laboratories. The program encourages participation from undergraduate students, graduate students, and postdoctoral fellows, with an emphasis on early-career faculty. The total available funding is $35,000,000, with an expected 30-35 awards of approximately $1,000,000 each over four years. Eligibility is restricted to domestic applicants from specific EPSCoR jurisdictions, excluding certain nonprofit organizations and all federally affiliated entities as lead applicants or subrecipients. A pre-application is required by March 18, 2026, and full applications are due by May 21, 2026. Applications must propose research relevant to specific Office of Science or Applied Energy Offices program areas, include student participation, and involve a letter of commitment from a National Laboratory partner. Cost-sharing is not required, but institutional commitment is. Applicants are limited to two submissions as lead institutions per program area and PIs to a single application.