Topic #: CW26-T06 · Branch: DOE · Status: Open
Alternative Fuels and Feedstocks Office, AFFO (https://www.energy.gov/cmei/fuels/alternativefuels-and-feedstocks-office) comprising portfolios in bioenergy and hydrogen and fuel cells, enables RD&D to accelerate technology commercialization for the production, storage, delivery and use of alternative fuels, chemicals, and feedstocks. Transportation Technologies Office (TTO) funds RD&D and deployment of innovative, efficient, and affordable transportation solutions.
Posted: 10/30/2026 · Opens: 10/30/2026
This button copies the full topic as plain text: the work, the dates, the apply steps, and the readiness list. Paste it into the AI you already use. Ask it if the work fits your firm, what you are missing, and what to skip.
This call starts with a short pitch, not a full proposal. Use the copy to judge the fit and shape the pitch. The call follows SBA policy: no limit on AI help, and no disclosure is required. Your firm signs the pitch and answers for every claim in it.
The first step is a short pitch, on the ConnectWerx site.
ApplySelect Apply. The official call page opens on the ConnectWerx site. The first step is a short pitch in the ATI portal. Full proposals are by invitation only.
Send this topic to a partner. The link opens this page.
Eligibility comes first. SBIR and STTR awards go to small businesses: for-profit, based in the United States, 500 or fewer employees counting every domestic and foreign affiliate, and at least 51 percent owned and controlled by U.S. citizens or permanent residents. A company owned by a large parent usually cannot apply on its own. It can take part as a subcontractor under an eligible small business.
An ATI portal account is set up for the person who will submit the pitch. Pitches go in through the portal, and the account takes time to set up. To pitch, the portal account is what you need.
If your pitch is invited, the full application needs SAM.gov entity registration active. Start it now: a new registration takes 10 or more business days to become active.
If your pitch is invited, the full application needs the SBA Company Registry complete. You get a SBC Control ID. Start it now: identity checks cannot be rushed.
The first step is a pitch: 4 narrative questions, 3 short-answer questions, and 7 structured selection questions, due by the date above at 2:00 p.m. Eastern. Full proposals are by invitation only. Plan to submit the pitch early.
Most topics need more than one small company can give. When people join a team, the members can cover the full scope of the topic together. Your email address stays private. Other members contact you through this site first.
Fill in the form to add your name to this list. Enter your role, a short text about what you bring, and your email address.
Send this page. It is the direct route: the link opens this topic, with the apply steps on it. The official listing opens a search page, and you need the topic number to find this topic there.
Alternative Fuels and Feedstocks Office, AFFO (https://www.energy.gov/cmei/fuels/alternativefuels-and-feedstocks-office) comprising portfolios in bioenergy and hydrogen and fuel cells, enables RD&D to accelerate technology commercialization for the production, storage, delivery and use of alternative fuels, chemicals, and feedstocks. Transportation Technologies Office (TTO) funds RD&D and deployment of innovative, efficient, and affordable transportation solutions.
This topic seeks innovative transportation and fuel solutions and complementary technologies to enhance the security and reliability of energy networks, lower energy costs for Americans, and provide consumers with more options.
Areas of Interest
a. Production of Chemicals and Fuels from Alternative Feedstocks: Novel production, or process intensification, of cost-competitive organic chemicals, fertilizers, and strategic liquid
fuels from hydrogen, biomass, and waste (e.g., municipal or industrial waste or resource recovery from nuclear power plants, data centers, mine tailings, wastewater, end-of-life tires, etc.)
b. Fuel Cell System Technologies: Fuel cell systems (e.g. SOFC, PEMFC) that efficiently convert gaseous fuels (e.g. hydrogen, natural gas or biogas) into electricity to provide affordable, MW-scale prime and/or backup power for U.S. data centers and other growing electrical loads. Innovative concepts to improve performance and durability, and lower costs of fuel cell materials, components, and balance of plant. Technology advancement should demonstrate potential to meet 2030 stationary fuel cell targets including 80,000 hours durability and a capital cost of $1000/kW for systems operating on natural gas and $600/kW with direct hydrogen.
c. Fuels and Feedstocks Delivery and Storage: Hydrogen delivery and storage technologies that support large-scale hydrogen transfers. Novel concepts to reduce capital or operating cost, increase durability, and improve performance of components and systems. Concepts should compare the proposed approach to current state-of-the-art technologies.
d. Automotive Materials: SI-driven smart polymer matrix composite material systems to enable early detection of battery thermal runaway and electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding through optimization of material interfaces, load transfer, and multifunctionality, embedded sensing and SI-driven diagnostics that will enhance public safety. The smart composites are anticipated to provide the following functionalities, aiming for an electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding effectiveness >30 dB, a battery thermal runaway detection threshold ≤130 °C, and a fiber-to-resin load transfer efficiency >87%.
e. Advanced Motors and Power Systems: Advancements in cost-effective traction motors and power electronics for vehicle traction drives that reduce reliance on foreign supply chains, including rare earth elements and other relevant critical minerals. There is especially an interest in heavy rare earth (HRE)-free magnets for use in electric motors designs that can meet vehicle minimum requirements. Solutions must meet these minimum electric drive requirements for a full hybrid vehicle (HEV): bus voltage: 200-400 V; peak power: 40-100 kW; power density: ≥50 kW/L.
f. Off-Road, Rail, Marine and Aviation: Develop and demonstrate a powertrain optimization software tool which improves efficiency and reduces criteria emissions for hybrid electric offroad or mining vehicles. The tool may provide energy efficiency calculations for hybrid powertrains, route/cycle optimizations (with or without automation), and/or inter-vehicle connectivity. The final product should be available for integration in representative off-road or mining vehicles.
g. Energy Efficient Mobility Systems: Improvements in vehicle automation, traffic management, intermodality, or other technologies that improve system wide energy performance and affordability of passenger or freight transportation. Examples include, but are not limited to, cooperative adaptive cruise control/vehicle platooning, traffic signal optimization and/or traffic signal vehicle V2I applications, and mixed mode delivery fleet assignment and dispatch management software. Non-responsive examples included, but are not limited to, software applications that merely connect customers to transportation providers and tracking systems that merely provide emissions and fuel-use data to customers.
Not of Interest Specific technologies NOT of interest: • Fuel cells and batteries for on-road transportation applications • Reversible fuel cells for energy storage applications • Liquid-fueled fuel cells