FY 2025 University Nuclear Research Infrastructure Revitalization | DE FOA 0003314

Opportunity Information: Apply for DE FOA 0003314

The FY 2025 University Nuclear Research Infrastructure Revitalization funding opportunity (DE-FOA-0003314) is a U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Nuclear Energy (DOE-NE) grant program managed through the Idaho Field Office. Its central purpose is to strengthen and modernize the nation s university based nuclear research and development ecosystem by investing in infrastructure that better matches the needs of advanced reactor technologies now moving toward deployment in the U.S. Rather than funding standalone purchases or routine upgrades, the opportunity is aimed at strategically building or improving university capabilities so they can meaningfully contribute to advanced-reactor-relevant R and D, hands on education, and workforce development at a national scale.

A key theme of the FOA is alignment with advanced reactor R and D needs and maximizing the return on federal investment. DOE-NE is looking for proposals that combine facilities, equipment, and related capabilities into an integrated package that clearly works together toward a defined objective or end state. In practical terms, applicants are expected to show how each requested component fits into a coherent plan that produces a new or substantially enhanced capability. Proposals that read like a list of unrelated equipment purchases are explicitly discouraged, and applicants must also avoid duplicating capabilities that already exist elsewhere. The request should demonstrate that it adds capacity to the current U.S. landscape, not simply replicate what is already available.

The FOA also stresses speed and cost effectiveness, with a preference for rapid, lower cost approaches that can enable advanced-reactor-relevant research, training, and workforce preparation sooner rather than later. Importantly, the program is not intended to support planning or construction of new university nuclear reactors. DOE-NE is signaling that near term capability growth should come from smarter, faster infrastructure pathways, such as upgraded laboratories, specialized test loops, irradiation related preparation and post analysis capabilities, advanced instrumentation, modeling and simulation enabling infrastructure, or other modern tools that allow universities to contribute to advanced reactor development without building new research reactors.

Another major priority is collaboration and broadening participation. The opportunity encourages consortia that bring together diverse types of institutions, with an emphasis on expanding access and benefits for underrepresented communities that have historically faced barriers to participating in nuclear research infrastructure. In effect, DOE-NE wants applicants to think beyond a single campus model and instead propose partnerships that share facilities, create pipelines for students and researchers, and distribute the value of the investment across a wider network. Competitive proposals will typically make clear how partners will use the revitalized infrastructure, how access will be managed, and how the project strengthens education and workforce outcomes across the consortium.

From an administrative standpoint, this is a discretionary grant opportunity in the Energy activity category under CFDA 81.121. Eligible applicants are public and state controlled institutions of higher education and private institutions of higher education. The application deadline listed is 2025-02-12. The award ceiling is $6,000,000, and DOE-NE anticipates making 1 award, which implies a highly competitive process aimed at selecting a single, high impact project with national or multi institutional significance. The FOA also notes that DOE-NE may adjust priorities during FY 2025 in response to external events, policy changes, or Congressional and budget direction, and it reserves the right to reflect those shifts in the timing and scale of award announcements. In other words, applicants should be aware that federal priorities and funding timelines can move, and DOE-NE is explicitly leaving room to adapt as the fiscal year evolves.

Overall, the opportunity is best understood as a targeted investment to modernize university nuclear R and D infrastructure for the advanced reactor era, favoring integrated and non duplicative capability builds, practical and timely approaches that strengthen research and workforce readiness, and multi institution collaboration that expands participation and access.

• The Idaho Field Office in the energy sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "FY 2025 University Nuclear Research Infrastructure Revitalization" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 81.121.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2024-11-20.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2025-02-12. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $6,000,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 1 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Public and State controlled institutions of higher education, Private institutions of higher education.

Apply for DE FOA 0003314

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