U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Issues Call for Proposals (CFP) for Nuclear Energy Program Supporting (PS) and Mission Supporting (MS) Research and Development (R&D)

On February 14, 2011, the DOE Office of Nuclear Energy (NE), through its Nuclear Energy University Programs (NEUP), invited 85 universities who provided 245 pre-applications to submit full proposals for PS and MS R&D. This solicitation is open only to those who previously participated in the Request for Pre-Applications (RPA) process.

Background: DOE's NEUP previously received 766 pre-applications from 105 U.S. universities in the areas of Fuel Cycle (FC) R&D, Reactor Concepts R&D, Nuclear Energy Advanced Modeling and Simulation (NEAMS), and Nuclear Energy Enabling Technologies (NEET). Pre-applications were reviewed for both program relevancy and scientific/technical merit and additional evaluation criteria identified in the RPA.

DOE expects to fund up to $44.7 million in nuclear energy research through NEUP in fiscal year (FY) 2011; $30.7 million in PS areas and $14.0 million in MS “Blue Sky” areas; although these funding estimates may be subject to reductions depending on the outcome of final Congressional appropriations for the NE program. The maximum project award for FY 2011 is planned to be $1.2 million for up to four years.

To view the FY 2011 NEUP PS & MS R&D CFP, go to www.neup.gov. Full applications are due March 15, 2011, and must be submitted using the online NEUP submittal application through www.neup.gov to be considered for award.