Opportunity Information: Apply for DE FOA 0003538
The Fiscal Year 2026 Consolidated Innovative Nuclear Research opportunity (DE FOA 0003538) is a discretionary federal grant program run under the U.S. Department of Energy structure, with administration listed through the Idaho Field Office. It sits within the Energy funding activity category (CFDA/Assistance Listing 81.121) and is aimed at supporting research and development that advances the Office of Nuclear Energy (NE) mission: pushing nuclear energy science and technology forward in ways that serve U.S. energy reliability, environmental goals, and economic competitiveness.
At its core, the opportunity is framed around NE's long-term priorities for strengthening the U.S. nuclear sector and accelerating innovation where government support can have outsized impact. The solicitation highlights four major goal areas that proposals are expected to align with. First is enabling the continued operation of the existing U.S. reactor fleet, which typically includes work that improves performance, safety margins, reliability, longevity, and cost-effectiveness of current plants. Second is enabling the deployment of advanced nuclear reactors, a broad category that can cover new reactor concepts, enabling technologies, validation and demonstration activities, and the technical problem-solving needed to reduce deployment risk. Third is developing advanced nuclear fuel cycles, which generally points to improvements or new approaches in fuels, materials, fuel fabrication, recycling and waste management concepts, and associated safeguards and security considerations. Fourth is maintaining U.S. leadership in nuclear energy technology, which signals an emphasis on innovation, competitiveness, and research that sustains domestic expertise and capability in a strategic global technology area.
A notable feature of the program description is its emphasis on integrated, collaborative research. NE explicitly positions the work as something carried out across national laboratories, universities, industry, and international partners, coordinated under NE program direction. In practice, that means the agency is not just looking for isolated research projects, but for work that plugs into a broader national R&D ecosystem, helps move technologies closer to real-world use, and supports eventual deployment or market adoption. The description also underscores the intent to "deploy innovative nuclear energy technologies to the market" and to optimize the benefits of nuclear energy, which implies interest in research pathways that are not purely theoretical and that consider downstream implementation, performance validation, and practical impact.
Eligibility is relatively broad and includes public and state-controlled institutions of higher education, private institutions of higher education, for-profit organizations other than small businesses, and small businesses. That mix signals that DOE is open to proposals from academia and industry alike, including commercial entities that may be positioned to translate R&D into deployable technology. The funding instrument is a grant, with an award ceiling of $3,100,000 per award as listed in the source data. The opportunity's original application closing date is June 9, 2026, and it was created on December 15, 2025. The listing shows "ExpectedAwards: 0," which is best read as not specified in the provided data extract rather than a definitive statement that no awards will be made, since many FOA summaries leave that field blank or set to zero when the number of awards is not predetermined.
Overall, this FOA is best understood as a consolidated NE research funding vehicle for FY 2026 that supports a wide range of nuclear energy innovation work, with DOE explicitly prioritizing projects that contribute to sustaining the current reactor fleet, enabling next-generation reactors, advancing fuel cycle technologies, and keeping the United States at the forefront of nuclear energy science and technology through coordinated, collaborative R&D.Apply for DE FOA 0003538
- The Idaho Field Office in the energy sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Fiscal Year 2026 Consolidated Innovative Nuclear Research" and is now available to receive applicants.
- Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 81.121.
- This funding opportunity was created on 2025-12-15.
- Applicants must submit their applications by 2026-06-09. (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 $3,100,000.00 in funding.
- Eligible applicants include: Public and State controlled institutions of higher education, Private institutions of higher education, For-profit organizations other than small businesses, Small businesses.
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Applicants who have applied for this opportunity (DE FOA 0003538) also looked into and applied for these:
| Funding Opportunity |
|---|
| Fiscal Year 2026 Scientific Infrastructure Support for Consolidated Innovative Nuclear Research Apply for DE FOA 0003541 Funding Number: DE FOA 0003541 Agency: Idaho Field Office Category: Energy Funding Amount: $1,500,000 |
| Fiscal Year 2026 Distinguished Early Career Program Apply for DE FOA 0003540 Funding Number: DE FOA 0003540 Agency: Idaho Field Office Category: Energy Funding Amount: $800,000 |
| Fiscal Year 2026 University Reactor Sharing and Outreach Apply for DE FOA 0003542 Funding Number: DE FOA 0003542 Agency: Idaho Field Office Category: Energy Funding Amount: $200,000 |
| Tribal Colleges and Universities Planning for Clean Energy Transition - 2025 Apply for DE FOA 0003402 Funding Number: DE FOA 0003402 Agency: Golden Field Office Category: Energy Funding Amount: Case Dependent |
| Tribal Clean Energy Planning and Development – 2025 Apply for DE FOA 0003400 Funding Number: DE FOA 0003400 Agency: Golden Field Office Category: Energy Funding Amount: Case Dependent |
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