The DOE SC program in Accelerator Research and Development and Production (ARDAP) hereby announces its interest in applications to conduct cross-cutting use-inspired basic research and development (R&D) to advance accelerator science and technology (AS&T) and domestic supplier development that supports SC’s activities in physical sciences research, and which is of broader benefit to other U.S. government agencies and industry. Please note that this Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) is for cross-cutting R&D and domestic supplier development and that program-specific AS&T R&D is supported though FOAs issued by each SC program.
ARDAP’s mission is to support cross-cutting AS&T R&D, use-inspired technology development of relevance to many fields, domestic accelerator technology supplier development, and dissemination of accelerator knowledge and training to the broad community of accelerator users and providers. (More information is available at the program website: https://science.osti.gov/ARDAP). In the interest of fostering a rich ecosystem of R&D performers and domestic technology suppliers, applications from Minority Serving Institutions1 , Emerging Research Institutions2 , and institutions with no prior DOE or ARDAP funding are encouraged.
Please note that this FOA is only for cross-cutting R&D opportunities within the ARDAP mission, meaning that R&D proposals must have a recognized impact on more than one of the programs listed above. The SC programs in BES, FES, HEP, NP, and IP routinely issue separate FOAs for programmatic accelerator research and development aimed at developing technologies for facilities needed by their respective programs.
Deadlines:
- REQUIRED Pre-application: Feb. 7, 2023
- Application: March 21, 2023
ARDAP’s program includes two mission areas: Accelerator Stewardship and Accelerator Development. Accelerator Stewardship was established in 2014, and Accelerator Development was established in 2022. Accelerator Stewardship is aimed at use-inspired basic R&D and cross cutting basic R&D to test new applications of accelerator technology, with a goal of up to TRL-43 , but no explicit MRL4 goal. Accelerator Development is aimed at strengthening domestic suppliers of critical accelerator technology, with a goal of up to TRL-6 and MRL-5 to -7.
Accelerator Stewardship
The central goals of Accelerator Stewardship are to: • Engage the expertise and facilities of the existing U.S. accelerator R&D ecosystem in a manner that enhances the ability of research sponsors to support innovative concepts; • Enhance the accelerator technology capabilities of U.S. industry; • Facilitate access to the accelerator R&D capabilities at the SC National Laboratories5 • Drive a limited number of specific accelerator applications towards practical, testable prototypes in a five to seven (5-7) year timeframe; • Foster collaboration between developers of accelerator technology and experts who apply accelerator technology; and • Provide the basic R&D foundation necessary for sustained innovation across a broad range of accelerator applications.
Track 1: Accelerator Stewardship Topical Areas
- a) Particle Therapy Beam Delivery Improvements.
- b) Ultrafast Laser Technology Program.
- c) High Power Electron Accelerator Technology for Industrial Applications.
- d) Compact Accelerator Technologies for Security and Medicine.
Track 2: Long-Term Generic Accelerator R&D
Track 3: Accelerator Stewardship Test Facility Program
Accelerator Development
The central goal of Accelerator Development is to increase supply chain resiliency for accelerator technology by: • engaging the expertise and facilities of the domestic accelerator R&D ecosystem in a manner that enhances knowledge and technology transfer; and • strengthening the accelerator technology capabilities of U.S. industry, with a focus on strengthening production capability.
Track 4: Accelerator-Technology Sector Production Enhancement
- (a) Track 4a: Accelerator Technology Sector Business Plans
- (b) Track 4b: Accelerator Technology Partnerships
In accordance with 2 CFR 910.126, Competition, eligibility for award is restricted to:
Applications for activities in Track 1: Accelerator Stewardship Topical Areas will be accepted from all responsible domestic organizations capable of meeting the objectives of this FOA.
Applications for activities in Track 2: Long-Term Generic Accelerator R&D will only be accepted from regionally-accredited U.S. academic institutions or domestic non-profit organizations subject to section 501 (c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986.
Applications for activities in Track 3: Accelerator Stewardship Test Facility Program will be accepted from all responsible domestic organizations capable of meeting the objectives of this FOA, with the exception of DOE National Laboratories which cannot be the lead institution on a Track 3 application. Partnering DOE National Laboratories must submit their collaborative application to Grants.gov.
Applications for activities in Track 4a and 4b: Accelerator-Technology Sector Production Enhancement will be accepted from all responsible domestic organizations capable of meeting the objectives of this FOA.
Applicant institutions are limited to no more than two (2) pre-applications, or applications for each PI at the applicant institution.
DOE anticipates that, subject to the availability of future year appropriations, approximately $19,500,000 will be available for all Accelerator Stewardship and Accelerator Development new and renewal awards.
Out of an estimated $10,000,000 in FY 2023 funding: approximately $2,000,000 may be awarded in the Track 2 topic area of Long-Term Generic Accelerator R&D; approximately $600,000 may be awarded in the Track 3 topic area of Accelerator Stewardship Test Facility Program; approximately $600,000 may be awarded in the Track 4a topic area of Accelerator Technology Sector Business Plans; approximately $4,000,000 may be awarded in the Track 4b topic area of Accelerator Technology Partnerships; and the remainder of funds may be allocated to Track 1 Accelerator Stewardship Topical Areas. These divisions are provided for planning and estimating purposes only and do not reflect a commitment of how funds will be distributed.