The Nationally Significant Federal Lands and Tribal Projects Program (NSFLTP) of The Fixing America’s Surface Transportation Act (FAST Act) (Pub. L. 114-94, section 1123), provides funding for the construction, reconstruction, and rehabilitation of nationally significant projects within, adjacent to, or accessing Federal and Tribal lands. This Program provides an opportunity to address significant challenges across the nation for transportation facilities that serve Federal and Tribal lands.

Training programs funded by the Brownfields Job Training Grant provide program graduates with the opportunity to seek and obtain environmental jobs that contractors may otherwise fill from outside the affected community. EPA intends to use this grant opportunity to support the creation of good-paying jobs with the free and fair choice to join a union and the incorporation of strong labor standards and workforce programs. Brownfields Job Training Grants help residents take advantage of jobs across a spectrum of brownfield related activities, including the assessment, cleanup, remediation, and planning/site preparation for the revitalization of brownfields. This can involve the assessment and cleanup of solid and hazardous waste; chemical risk management; stormwater management relating to site cleanup; planning and site preparation for low impact development activities; planning and site preparation for green infrastructure installation and maintenance; and vulnerability assessment and contamination mitigation planning. Applicants will be evaluated on the extent to which they partner with and secure hiring commitments from local contractors and other stakeholders in communities where EPA-funded projects are located.

The purpose of the HBIIP is to increase significantly the sales and use of higher blends of ethanol and biodiesel by expanding the infrastructure for renewable fuels derived from U.S. agricultural products. The program is also intended to encourage a more comprehensive approach to market higher blends by sharing the costs related to building out biofuel-related infrastructure.

The Catalyst Program is designed to stimulate economic growth and inspire partnerships that improve rural economic vitality across the four-state NBRC region. NBRC encourages projects that take a creative approach to addressing an economic need or opportunity in the region, alleviate economic distress, and contribute to economic growth. Successful projects support a broad range of economic development initiatives such as, but not limited to, projects that modernize and expand access to public water and wastewater services, revitalize transportation infrastructure, establish workforce development programs and facilities, grow the outdoor recreation economy, and provide access to new childcare and healthcare facilities.

The EPA anticipates awarding up to $932 million in competitive grant funding under the 2024 Clean Heavy-Duty Vehicles Grants Program Notice of Funding Opportunity. The program is soliciting applications nationwide for a grant competition to fund the replacement of existing non-zero-emission Class 6 and 7 heavy-duty vehicles with zero-emission Class 6 and 7 heavy-duty vehicles. The following entities are eligible to apply under the 2024 Clean Heavy-Duty Vehicles Grant Program: States, including U.S. territories; Municipalities, including public school districts; Indian Tribes; Nonprofit school transportation associations.

The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management (FECM) announced up to $16 million in federal funding for large-scale conversion of carbon dioxide emissions into environmentally responsible and economically valuable products. With funding provided by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, projects will develop the sustainable feedstocks and conversion technologies necessary to produce crucial fuels, materials, and other carbon-based products that are better for the environment than current petroleum-derived equivalents. This funding opportunity announcement has two topic areas:

• Engineering-Scale Testing of Electrochemical Systems for the Conversion CO2 into Value-Added Products
• Feasibility Studies for Retrofitting of Refineries and Petrochemical Facilities for Carbon Conversion

The primary objectives of this funding opportunity announcement are to:

• Help small operators significantly reduce methane emissions from oil and natural gas operations, using commercially available technology solutions for methane emissions monitoring, measurement, quantification, and mitigation.
• Accelerate the repair of methane leaks from low-producing wells and the deployment of early-commercial technology solutions to reduce methane emissions from new and existing equipment such as natural gas compressors, gas-fueled engines, associated gas flares, liquids unloading operations, handling of produced water, and other equipment leakage.
• Improve communities’ access to empirical data and participation in monitoring through multiple installations of monitoring and measurement technologies while establishing collaborative relationships between equipment providers and communities.
• Enhance the detection and measurement of methane emissions from oil and gas operations at regional scale, while ensuring nationwide data consistency, through the creation of collaborative partnerships.

The Technologies to Emend and Obviate SYnthetic Nitrogen’s Toll on Emissions (TEOSYNTE) program will emphasize strategies that lower the application of synthetic nitrogen (N) fertilizer on corn and sorghum fields. Lowering the application of synthetic N fertilizer would reduce greenhouse gas emissions as well as significantly lower farmers’ operating costs while maintaining crop yields. Small businesses can apply for the SBIR/STTR soliciations under this program.

The NSF SBIR/STTR and SBIR/STTR Fast-Track pilot programs support moving scientific excellence and technological innovation from the lab to the market. These NSF SBIR/STTR Fast-Track pilot programs provide fixed amount cooperative agreements for the development of a broad range of technologies based on discoveries in science and engineering with potential for societal and economic impacts. Under a traditional NSF SBIR/STTR Phase I award, a small business can receive non-dilutive funding for research and development (R&D) to demonstrate technical feasibility over 6 to 12 months and then, after completion of a Phase I project, companies may apply for Phase II funding to further develop the proposed technology.

The Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs are highly competitive programs that encourage domestic small businesses to engage in Federal Research/Research and Development (R/R&D) with the potential for commercialization. Topics for the Department of Energy’s FY 2025 SBIR/STTR Phase I Release 1 Funding Opportunity Announcement have been issued and are available on our website: https://science.osti.gov/sbir/Funding-Opportunities. The following DOE program offices are participating in this solicitation:

• Office of Advanced Scientific Computing Research (ASCR)
• Office of Basic Energy Sciences (BES)
• Office of Biological and Environmental Research (BER)
• Office of Fusion Energy Sciences (FES)
• Office of High Energy Physics (HEP)
• Office of Nuclear Physics (NP)

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has opened the second-round funding opportunity for enhanced geothermal systems (EGS) demonstrations authorized under President Biden’s landmark Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. The legislation authorizes DOE to support competitively selected pilot projects that collectively demonstrate EGS in different geologic settings, using a variety of development techniques and well orientations. The currently open FOA seeks projects in Topic Area 4 only: demonstrating EGS at a well-characterized site in the eastern United States with potential for near-term electricity or thermal power production.