Topic #: CW26-T11 · Branch: DOE · Status: Open
The primary mission for the Office of Nuclear Energy is to advance nuclear energy science and technology to meet key energy resilience and economic needs in the United States. Proposed projects must demonstrate a strong tie to at least one of NE's three major goals: keeping existing U.S. nuclear reactors operating, deploying new nuclear reactors, and securing and sustaining nuclear fuel cycles.
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.
The primary mission for the Office of Nuclear Energy is to advance nuclear energy science and technology to meet key energy resilience and economic needs in the United States. Proposed projects must demonstrate a strong tie to at least one of NE's three major goals: keeping existing U.S. nuclear reactors operating, deploying new nuclear reactors, and securing and sustaining nuclear fuel cycles.
This topic area targets the development of fuel cycle technologies. Applications are sought with special emphasis on bridging gaps between early-stage research and commercialization. By funding projects in the areas of interest below, NE aims to build a resilient, secure, highly
automated and economically competitive nuclear infrastructure for both the existing fleet and advanced reactors.
Areas of Interest Areas of particular interest include, but are not limited to: • Enhancing domestic nuclear fuel supply chain capabilities. • Technologies that enhance fuel cycle safety and reduce technical and regulatory risk. • Improving nuclear fuel resource utilization through advanced recovery and reuse technologies of valuable components from used nuclear fuel. • Advancing technology readiness of nuclear fuels, cladding, and material compositions for current commercial light-water reactor (LWR), non-LWR, and advanced reactors. Key focus areas include, but are not limited to, metallic fuel forms, molten salt fuel, silicon carbide (SiC) cladding, and Tri-structural ISOtropic (TRISO) particle fuel. • Technologies to reduce waste generation and volume of waste to be dispositioned. • Limiting proliferation risk through materials control and accounting (MC&A) requirements.
Not of Interest Areas NOT of interest to this sub-topic: • Applications focused on border security, nuclear forensics, nuclear medicine, personnel dose monitoring, or nuclear weapons. • Applications that fail to justify the use of surrogate materials for fuel fabrication (https://ammt.anl.gov/).