Advanced Materials for High-Efficiency, Flexible and Reliable Coal-Fueled Power Plants | DE FOA 0002002

Opportunity Information: Apply for DE FOA 0002002

The Department of Energy (DOE), through the National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL), issued this funding opportunity to push forward advanced structural materials and real-world, commercial-scale component fabrication needed for the next generation of coal-fueled power plants and for major upgrades to the existing fleet. The core idea is that higher-efficiency fossil energy power systems require much higher operating temperatures and pressures than conventional plants, and those harsher conditions quickly expose the limits of today s commonly used steels and alloys. By developing and qualifying new materials and, just as importantly, proving that they can be manufactured into very large components, the program aims to unlock higher steam or supercritical CO2 (sCO2) temperatures, improve plant efficiency, and allow older plants to keep operating safely under modern grid demands that increasingly require frequent ramping and cycling rather than steady baseload operation.

The opportunity is centered on advanced ultra-supercritical (AUSC) pulverized coal plants and transformational sCO2 power cycles. These systems are expected to operate at temperatures up to about 760 degrees Celsius and pressures up to about 5,000 psia. At those conditions, many critical parts cannot be made reliably from conventional materials, so the solicitation emphasizes gamma prime strengthened nickel superalloys such as Haynes 282 and Inconel 740. These alloys can retain strength and resist creep, fatigue, and degradation at the elevated temperatures needed for high efficiency, but they also bring significant manufacturing challenges due to their high strength and complex compositions.

A major driver behind the FOA is the gap between material capability and manufacturing readiness. The components envisioned are not small specialty parts; they include large-scale items that can weigh up to roughly 10 tons, such as boiler and heat exchanger tubing and valves, large-diameter thick-wall steam and sCO2 piping and fittings, and turbine parts for both steam and sCO2 turbines. Because other industries have rarely needed gamma prime strengthened nickel superalloys at this size, the United States does not yet have a mature, established supply chain to routinely produce these large, qualified components. DOE notes that some prior or ongoing DOE-funded efforts are already working toward scaling up manufacturing and building domestic capability, but the agency sees substantial remaining research and development needs before the full suite of required nickel superalloy components can be produced reliably, affordably, and at commercial scale.

The FOA also ties materials development directly to practical power-sector outcomes: improving heat rate and efficiency in existing fossil energy plants by enabling higher working-fluid temperatures, and extending the useful life of existing plants by another 10 to 20 years beyond the original nominal 30-year design life. That life extension goal is specifically linked to severe cycling service, since frequent start-stop and load-following operation tends to accelerate damage mechanisms like thermal fatigue, creep-fatigue interaction, and microstructural degradation. In other words, the program is not only about building brand-new high-temperature plants, but also about equipping the current fleet with materials and components that can survive more demanding operating profiles while maintaining safety and reliability.

Cost and manufacturability are explicit barriers the funding opportunity is trying to reduce. Nickel superalloys, particularly gamma prime strengthened grades, are expensive at every stage: producing basic ingot, processing and forming, and final fabrication. Their high strength makes conventional manufacturing routes more difficult and more expensive, including casting, forging, extrusion, and machining. The FOA highlights that these factors not only drive up cost but also restrict which existing U.S. fabrication equipment can realistically handle large components made from these alloys. As a result, competitive projects under this opportunity would be expected to address scale-up and fabrication hurdles in a way that strengthens a U.S.-based manufacturing supply chain, rather than only demonstrating lab-scale material properties.

Administratively, the opportunity is identified as DE FOA 0002002 and is categorized as a discretionary funding opportunity in the energy area (CFDA 81.089). Awards are planned as cooperative agreements, which typically means substantial federal involvement during the project rather than a hands-off grant model. Eligibility is listed as unrestricted, meaning a wide range of applicants (industry, universities, national labs, nonprofits, and others) may apply, subject to any additional eligibility clarifications in the full announcement. The FOA was created on April 9, 2019, with an original closing date of June 7, 2019. DOE anticipated making about 6 awards, with an award ceiling of $1,000,000 per award.

Overall, this grant opportunity is essentially a bridge-building effort between advanced high-temperature alloy performance and the practical, domestic ability to produce large, code-qualified, commercial components needed for AUSC and sCO2 coal-fueled power systems, as well as for efficiency upgrades and life extension of existing plants. The emphasis is not just on discovering better materials, but on proving manufacturing routes, component fabrication, and supply chain readiness for nickel superalloy parts that are large, thick, and mission-critical under extreme temperature, pressure, and cycling conditions.

• The Department of Energy, National Energy Technology Laboratory in the energy sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Advanced Materials for High-Efficiency, Flexible and Reliable Coal-Fueled Power Plants" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 81.089.
• This funding opportunity was created on Apr 09, 2019.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Jun 07, 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 $1,000,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 6 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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