Buildings Energy Efficiency Frontiers & Innovation Technologies (BENEFIT) – 2019 | DE FOA 0002090

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.

• 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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