Opportunity Information: Apply for DE FOA 0002090
The Buildings Energy Efficiency Frontiers and Innovation Technologies (BENEFIT) 2019 funding opportunity (Funding Opportunity Number: DE-FOA-0002090) is a U.S. Department of Energy program, managed through the National Energy Technology Laboratory, designed to push early-stage innovation in building energy technologies. It is a discretionary funding opportunity using a cooperative agreement structure, meaning awardees are expected to collaborate closely with the federal sponsor during the project rather than operating entirely independently. The overall aim is to support research and development that makes buildings more energy productive while also improving operational flexibility, security, and resiliency, with the practical end goal of lowering energy costs.
In total, DOE planned to invest up to $47 million through this announcement. Individual awards could be as large as $6,000,000, and the program anticipated making about 40 awards, which signals an intent to fund a broad portfolio of projects rather than only a handful of large demonstrations. The eligible applicant pool was essentially open (unrestricted), allowing participation from universities, private companies, non-profits, and national laboratories, subject to any clarifications that may have appeared in the full announcement text. The funding activity aligns with multiple public-interest categories, including energy, environment, housing, science and technology, and other research and development, and it is associated with CFDA number 81.086.
The technical scope is organized into three topic areas that reflect major levers for improving building performance. Topic Area 1, Flexible Building Technologies, targets innovations that help buildings interact more intelligently with the electric grid and with on-site resources. In practice, this kind of work often focuses on technologies and controls that can shift, shed, or shape building loads, coordinate distributed energy resources, and enable more responsive and resilient building operation during routine conditions or disruptions. The emphasis on flexibility also ties directly to grid modernization, since buildings can act as active participants in balancing supply and demand when equipped with the right hardware, software, and control strategies.
Topic Area 2, Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning (HVAC) Technologies, supports improvements to one of the largest energy consumers in most buildings. Projects in this area generally aim to reduce energy use while maintaining or improving occupant comfort, indoor air quality, and system reliability. The opportunity highlights the value of high-impact, early-stage work, which commonly includes new components, advanced materials, next-generation system designs, smarter controls, and integrated approaches that deliver performance gains beyond incremental tuning of existing equipment.
Topic Area 3, Solid-State Lighting Technologies, focuses on innovation in lighting, including technologies that improve efficiency, performance, and controllability. Solid-state lighting is a key efficiency pathway because lighting energy use is significant across many building types and because advanced lighting systems can also enable additional savings through sensing and controls. Work in this topic area typically supports better light sources and drivers, improved optical and thermal management, and more sophisticated control and connectivity approaches that can reduce energy consumption while preserving lighting quality.
Key administrative details from the listing include a creation date of April 23, 2019, and an original application deadline of July 15, 2019. Overall, BENEFIT 2019 is best understood as a DOE Building Technologies Office effort to seed a diverse set of high-upside R&D projects that can meaningfully improve how buildings consume and manage energy, while also strengthening flexibility and resilience in ways that matter for both building owners and the broader energy system.Apply for DE FOA 0002090
- The Department of Energy, National Energy Technology Laboratory in the community development, energy, environment, housing, science and technology and other research and development sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Buildings Energy Efficiency Frontiers & Innovation Technologies (BENEFIT) – 2019" 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 Apr 23, 2019.
- Applicants must submit their applications by Jul 15, 2019. (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 40 candidate(s).
- Eligible applicants include: Unrestricted (i.e., open to any type of entity above), subject to any clarification in text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility.
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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
What is the BENEFIT 2019 funding opportunity?
The Buildings Energy Efficiency Frontiers and Innovation Technologies (BENEFIT) 2019 funding opportunity is a U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) program designed to support early-stage innovation in building energy technologies. It focuses on research and development that can make buildings more energy productive while improving operational flexibility, security, and resiliency, with the practical goal of lowering energy costs.
What is the Funding Opportunity Number for this program?
The Funding Opportunity Number is DE-FOA-0002090.
Which DOE organization manages this opportunity?
The opportunity is managed through the National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) for DOE.
What type of funding mechanism is used?
This is a discretionary funding opportunity using a cooperative agreement structure. That means awardees are expected to collaborate closely with the federal sponsor during the project rather than operating fully independently.
What is the overall goal of BENEFIT 2019?
The overall goal is to support high-upside, early-stage R&D that improves building energy performance and helps buildings operate more flexibly and resiliently. The intended outcomes include lowering energy costs and strengthening the ability of buildings to respond to routine conditions or disruptions.
How much total funding was DOE planning to invest through this announcement?
DOE planned to invest up to $47 million through this announcement.
What is the maximum size of an individual award?
Individual awards could be as large as $6,000,000.
About how many awards did DOE anticipate making?
The program anticipated making about 40 awards, indicating an intent to fund a broad portfolio of projects.
Who was eligible to apply?
The eligible applicant pool was described as essentially open (unrestricted), allowing participation from universities, private companies, non-profits, and national laboratories, subject to any clarifications in the full announcement text.
What is meant by an "unrestricted" applicant pool?
In this listing, "unrestricted" indicates broad eligibility across organization types (such as universities, companies, non-profits, and national labs), rather than limiting applications to a narrow category of institution.
What are the main topic areas supported by BENEFIT 2019?
The technical scope is organized into three topic areas: (1) Flexible Building Technologies, (2) Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning (HVAC) Technologies, and (3) Solid-State Lighting Technologies.
What kinds of projects fit under Topic Area 1: Flexible Building Technologies?
Topic Area 1 targets innovations that help buildings interact more intelligently with the electric grid and with on-site resources. This commonly includes technologies and controls that can shift, shed, or shape building loads; coordinate distributed energy resources; and enable more responsive and resilient operation during normal conditions or disruptions.
How does building flexibility relate to grid modernization?
The opportunity notes that flexibility ties directly to grid modernization because buildings can act as active participants in balancing electricity supply and demand when equipped with appropriate hardware, software, and control strategies.
What kinds of projects fit under Topic Area 2: HVAC Technologies?
Topic Area 2 supports improvements to HVAC, one of the largest energy consumers in most buildings. Projects generally aim to reduce energy use while maintaining or improving occupant comfort, indoor air quality, and system reliability. The opportunity emphasizes early-stage, high-impact work such as new components, advanced materials, next-generation system designs, smarter controls, and integrated approaches that go beyond incremental tuning of existing equipment.
What outcomes does the HVAC topic area emphasize besides energy savings?
In addition to reducing energy use, the HVAC topic area emphasizes maintaining or improving occupant comfort, indoor air quality, and system reliability.
What kinds of projects fit under Topic Area 3: Solid-State Lighting Technologies?
Topic Area 3 focuses on innovation in lighting, including technologies that improve efficiency, performance, and controllability. It often includes work on improved light sources and drivers, optical and thermal management, and advanced controls and connectivity that can reduce energy consumption while preserving lighting quality.
Why does the opportunity emphasize controls and connectivity for lighting?
The listing notes that advanced lighting systems can enable additional savings through sensing and controls, beyond the efficiency gains of the light source itself.
What public-interest categories does this opportunity align with?
The funding activity aligns with multiple categories, including energy, environment, housing, science and technology, and other research and development.
What is the CFDA number associated with this opportunity?
The opportunity is associated with CFDA number 81.086.
When was the opportunity created?
The listing includes a creation date of April 23, 2019.
What was the original application deadline?
The original application deadline was July 15, 2019.
Is BENEFIT 2019 more focused on early-stage R&D or large-scale demonstrations?
Based on the description, BENEFIT 2019 is aimed at seeding early-stage, high-upside R&D projects. The anticipated number of awards (about 40) also suggests a broad portfolio approach rather than a small number of large demonstrations.
How does the cooperative agreement structure affect project execution?
Because the award mechanism is a cooperative agreement, awardees should expect close collaboration with the federal sponsor during the project, rather than operating entirely independently.
What practical benefits is DOE aiming for in buildings through this program?
The program aims to improve how buildings consume and manage energy, strengthen operational flexibility and resilience, and ultimately lower energy costs.
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