The purpose of this document is to advise the public that the NOAA Ocean Acidification Program on behalf of the National Oceanographic Partnership Program (NOPP) is soliciting proposals focused on expanding understanding of various aspects of marine Carbon Dioxide Removal (mCDR) to reduce uncertainty about the extent and durability of carbon removal, associated co-benefits/risks, and contribute to regulatory frameworks needed for both testing and implementation of approaches. This knowledge will assist in the verification or invalidation of hypotheses regarding mCDR, in order to make informed decisions regarding a potential scaled negative carbon ocean industry. The agencies and entities participating in this multi-agency request for proposals include: NOAA (Ocean Acidification Program, Global Ocean Monitoring and Observing Program, US Integrated Ocean Observing System/US IOOS), the Department of Energy (Fossil Energy and Carbon Management, Water Power Technologies Office), Department of Navy (Office of Naval Research), the National Science Foundation (Chemical Oceanography Program) and philanthropies including ClimateWorks. Other agencies, sub-entities and philanthropies may also join after the NOFO release.
This NOFO is focused on various aspects of mCDR implementation and the research required to successfully execute and understand the impacts of mCDR. A separate and complimentary Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) focused on Measurement, Reporting and Verification (MRV) technology development will be issued by ARPA-E in the near future. Applicants are encouraged to consider how responses to this NOFO could dovetail with a more focused program on transformative MRV technology development that may run in parallel with research toward mCDR implementation. More information on the ARPA-E MRV program will be available on the ARPA-E opportunities website, https://arpa-e-foa.energy.gov.
Deadline: Feb. 28, 2023
To be eligible under this NOPP funding opportunity, each proposing team must be comprised of participants from at least two of the following three sectors: academia, private sector (including Non-Governmental Organizations, or NGOs), or government (including federal, tribal, state, and local).
The federal agencies participating in this NOPP solicitation anticipate, collectively, making multiple awards, subject to the availability of funds, in amounts up to $2,000,000 per project. Total estimated funding for all awards is up to $30M million. The number of awards is anticipated to range from approximately ten (10) to twenty (20) and will be adjusted based on availability of funds. Proposals not funded in the current fiscal period may be considered for funding in the next fiscal period without NOAA or NOPP repeating the competitive process outlined in this announcement.
