Request for Information (RFI): “Research and Development Opportunities for Opaque Building Envelopes” | DE FOA 0002162

Opportunity Information: Apply for DE FOA 0002162

The U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), through the Building Technologies Office (BTO) and administered by the Golden Field Office, issued this Request for Information (RFI) under opportunity number DE-FOA-0002162 titled "Research and Development Opportunities for Opaque Building Envelopes." Even though the listing appears in the same ecosystem where funding announcements are posted, this particular notice is not a grant competition. It is a structured request for input meant to guide DOE thinking about future research, development, and deployment priorities related to opaque building envelope technologies, meaning non-window portions of the building shell such as walls, roofs, foundations, insulation systems, cladding assemblies, and related components that affect heat flow, moisture performance, durability, and overall building energy use.

The core purpose of the RFI is to collect feedback from a broad set of stakeholders, including industry, universities, national laboratories, government agencies, and other interested parties, on the current direction of BTO's opaque envelope program and where it should go next. To support more specific and actionable comments, BTO developed a companion report organized around five key areas of technology research and development. That report is intended to frame discussion by laying out (1) current characteristics and baseline performance of opaque envelope systems, (2) opportunities for research and development improvements, (3) approaches to integrating envelope technologies with other building systems and design practices, and (4) pathways for real-world implementation and market adoption. DOE is asking respondents to comment on each of these areas, essentially pressure-testing whether the report reflects reality in the field and whether the proposed directions address the most important technical and deployment barriers.

Beyond general program direction, DOE is also looking for detailed feedback on the specific technical objectives and technical targets it is considering, along with the tools and methods used to evaluate envelope performance. This includes comments on the overall portfolio of R&D activities DOE should pursue and informed estimates of the potential impacts of those activities. In practice, that means DOE wants stakeholders to weigh in on what performance goals are realistic and meaningful, what metrics should be used, where modeling and testing tools are strong or weak, what cost and manufacturability constraints matter most, and what kind of energy, emissions, resilience, durability, or comfort improvements could reasonably be expected if certain envelope innovations are developed and adopted at scale.

A key administrative point is that this notice is explicitly not a Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA). EERE is not accepting applications, and there is no funding available through this RFI. DOE notes that it may decide to issue a future FOA informed by the content of the RFI and the responses received, but it also may choose not to issue any FOA at all. There is no guarantee of future funding, and responding to the RFI does not provide any advantage or disadvantage in any later competition if one is eventually released. Any future award amounts, number of awards, and schedule would depend on Congressional appropriations and agency direction.

Participation is open, with eligible applicants listed as "unrestricted," which aligns with the fact that this is an information-gathering request rather than a competitive assistance award. Responses had to be submitted electronically by email to BTOEnvelopeRDO@ee.doe.gov no later than 5:00 pm Eastern Time on July 20, 2020. DOE required submissions as email attachments in Microsoft Word (.docx) format, limited to 10 pages, using 12-point font and 1-inch margins, and advised compressing files over 25 MB to avoid delivery issues. Only electronic submissions were accepted. Additional instructions, including where to direct questions and how to format responses, were provided in the full RFI document hosted on the EERE Exchange website (https://eere-exchange.energy.gov), which serves as DOE's primary portal for energy efficiency and renewable energy solicitations and related public notices.

In short, this opportunity is best understood as DOE setting the table for a potential future R&D agenda on opaque envelope technologies by asking the market and research community to critique its proposed framework, validate or correct its assumptions, and suggest priorities, targets, and pathways that are both technically credible and likely to translate into real-world building energy savings.

• The Golden Field Office in the energy sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Request for Information (RFI): “Research and Development Opportunities for Opaque Building Envelopes”" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 81.086.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2020-06-04.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2020-07-20. (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 $2.00 in funding.
• Eligible applicants include: Unrestricted.

Apply for DE FOA 0002162

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