Innovative Manufacturing Initiative

I. The purpose of this amendment is to make the following change:

Extend the Application due date from November 17, 2011 to December 7, 2011.

II.

All other parts of the FOA remain unchanged.

I. The purpose of this amendment is to make the following changes:

a. Add the following language to Section IV.B. Letters of Intent and Concept Papers

2. Concept Papers are required.

Applicants must complete the Concept Paper in accordance with the instructions below. The application process will include three phases: a letter of intent phase, a concept paper phase and a full application phase. Only applicants who have submitted a Letter of Intent will be eligible to submit a Concept Paper. Following completion of the concept paper phase, applicants will be notified as to whether they are encouraged or discouraged to submit a full application. The control number issued when the Applicant began the Letter of Intent submission process must be included in the Concept Paper and Full Application documents.
The Concept Paper must not exceed 3 pages, including cover page, charts, graphs, maps, and photographs when printed using standard 8.5” by 11” paper with 1 inch margins (top, bottom, left, and right), single spaced. EVALUATORS WILL REVIEW ONLY THE NUMBER OF PAGES SPECIFIED IN THE PRECEDING SENTENCE. The font must not be smaller than 11 point. Do not include any Internet addresses (URLs) that provide information necessary to review the application. See Section VIII.D for instructions on how to mark proprietary application information. Save the information in a single file named “Control#_Institution_Concept_Paper.pdf.” The Concept Paper must include the following:

i. Cover Page (1-page limit):
The top of the Cover Page should indicate the FOA Number and Title along with the Control Number assigned by EXCHANGE during Letter of Intent submission. This should be followed by the project title and number and name of the Subtopic the Applicant is addressing (e.g. 1B. High-temperature Processing). Failure to specify the Subtopic will result in the concept paper being considered non-responsive and applicants will not be permitted to submit a full application.
The Cover Page should show the name of organization, and both the technical (Principal Investigator) and business points of contact for the applicant, denoting the names, titles, addresses, telephone numbers, and electronic mail addresses. The cover page should also identify the names of other key team members and participant organizations (subrecipients).

Finally, the cover page must specify the current and final Technical Readiness Level (TRL) of the proposed project and estimated budget (DOE funds request, cost share and total). These numbers must match the numbers entered on the Exchange website (but they can be edited before submission of the full application).

ii.

Concept Paper (2-page limit):
The Concept Paper must provide a clear, concise statement of the specific project objectives and address the evaluation critieria below. The Concept Paper will be evaluated against following criteria and therefore must be organized along the following subheadings:

1. Responsiveness of project objectives and expected outcomes to the FOA and subtopic goals/objectives
2. Technical merit and level of innovation of the proposed R&D
3. Soundness of planned technical approach, budget and schedule to accomplish the project objectives
4. Project is consistent with stated TRLs and is no earlier than TRL 2 and not later than TRL 6

5. Potential for significant U.S. manufacturing energy productivity improvement and/or reduction of greenhouse gas emissions
6. Potential market for and economic viability of the proposed technology over existing technology
7. Technical and commericial capabilities of the proposed team
Concept Papers will be evaluated by DOE using the above criteria. Based on this evaluation, DOE will “encourage” or “discourage” applicants to submit a full application. Note that if an applicant is discouraged from submitting a full application and that applicant submits a full application, it is highly unlikely that the application will be selected for award.
• Concept Paper due date: September 22, 2011 5:00 PM Eastern Daylight Time
• Concept Papers be submitted via the EERE eXCHANGE (use Concept Paper buttons) at https://eere-exchange.energy.gov/.

b. Add the following language to Section IV.E.2. Concept Paper Due Date

• Concept Papers must be received by September 22, 2011, 5:00 PM Eastern Daylight Time. You are encouraged to transmit your Concept Paper well before the deadline. All CONCEPT PAPER SUBMISSIONS MUST BE MADE VIA THE EERE eXCHANGE AT https://eere-exchange.energy.gov/. After the above deadline, the eXCHANGE system will not accept Concept Papers. CONCEPT PAPERS RECEIVED BY ANY OTHER MEANS WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED.

Applicants must submit a Concept Paper by the due date to be eligible to submit a Full Application.

c. Add the following language to Section IE.C Content and Form of Application

Only applicants who have submitted a letter of intent and concept paper will be eligible to submit a full application.

d. Extend the Application due date from October 5, 2011 to November 17, 2011

II.

All other parts of the FOA remain unchanged.

I. The purpose of this amendment is to make the following changes:

a. Add the following language to Section II.C. Maximum and Minimum Award Size:

If a project involves work at TRL 2 - 3 as well as 4 - 6, the maximum DOE share for the entire project is not to exceed $9,000,000.

b. Add the following language to Section III.C. Other Eligiblity Requirements:

A Non-DOE National Laboratory is also eligible for funding as a lead participant or as a team member on another entity’s application. If a Non-DOE National Laboratory is selected for award, the proposed work will be authorized through an Interagency Agreement. The Federal agency sponsoring the National Laboratory must authorize in writing the use of the National Laboratory on the proposed project and this authorization must be submitted with the application. The Non-DOE National Laboratory must establish that it is authorized to carry out the activities under the proposed project and accept funds from another agency. The following wording is acceptable for this authorization:
Authorization is granted for the _____________ Laboratory to participate in the proposed project. The work proposed for the laboratory is consistent with or complementary to the missions of the laboratory and will not adversely impact execution of the DOE assigned programs at the laboratory. THIS LABORATORY IS AUTHORIZED TO PERFORM THE WORK PROPOSED IN THE APPLICATION SUBMITTED UNDER DOE FUNDING OPPORTUNITY ANNOUNCEMENT # DE-FOA-0000560 BY THE FOLLOWING STATUTORY AUTHORITY [insert Statute name, citation, and section]____________.

A Non-DOE Federal Agency is also eligible for funding as a lead participant or as a team member on another entity’s application. If a Non-DOE Federal Agency is selected for award, the proposed work will be authorized through an Interagency Agreement. A cognizant Contracting Officer from the Federal Agency must submit a signed legal opinion that lists its statutory authority to carry out the proposed project, explains how it would meet the statutory authority under the proposed project, and explains the authority by which the agency can accepts federal funds from another agency (i.e., explain how accepting the award would not be considered supplanting funds). The opinion should include the following acknowledgement,
THIS AGENCY IS AUTHORIZED TO PERFORM THE WORK PROPOSED IN THE APPLICATION SUBMITTED UNDER DOE FUNDING OPPORTUNITY ANNOUNCEMENT # DE-FOA-0000560 BY THE FOLLOWING STATUTORY AUTHORITY [insert Statute name, citation, and section]____________.
DOE reserves the right to contact the applicant to further clarify whether the applicant has the necessary authority.

II.

All other parts of the FOA remain unchanged.

III. Applicants are directed to review all questions and answers related to this FOA posted at
https://eere-exchange.energy.gov/, as answers are subject to change.

The purpose of this amendment is to make the following changes: Extend the Letter of Intent due date from August 1, 2011 to September 1, 2011; and extend the Application due date from August 25, 2011 to October 5, 2011.

The purpose of this Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA), DE-FOA-0000560 Innovative Manufacturing Initiative, is to solicit Applications for funding cost-shared research and development of innovative manufacturing processes and materials technologies to advance the clean energy economy by increasing industrial and manufacturing energy efficiency, deliver the breakthroughs that the Nation needs to significantly reduce energy and carbon intensity throughout the economy over the coming decades, and revitalize existing manufacturing industries and support the development of new products in emerging industries. This FOA seeks Applications to select and fund research and development (R&D) projects beginning as early as Technology Readiness Level 2 (Applied Research) with efforts up through Technology Readiness Level 6 (Prototype) to advance the engineering and development of transformational manufacturing process and materials technologies that significantly improve the competitive position of U.S. industry. In this FOA, innovative manufacturing technologies are broadly defined as new manufacturing processes, technologies, and materials that drastically reduce energy use in manufacturing without sacrificing product quality, production throughput, or system economics.

The full Funding Opportuntiy Announcement (FOA) is posted on the EERE eXCHANGE website at https://eere-exchange.energy.gov. Applications must be submitted through the EERE eXCHANGE website to be considered for award. The applicant must first register and create an account on the EERE eXCHANGE website. A User Guide for the EERE eXCHANGE can be found on the EERE website http://eere.energy.gov/financing/exchangeExchange/Manuals.aspx after logging into the system.

Information on where to submit questions regarding the content of the announcement and where to submit questions regarding submission of applications is found in the full FOA posted on the EERE Exchange website.