2025 RFP Q&amp;A

The submission deadline has been extended to Friday, Feb. 20, 2026.

The total funds a university can receive from all its projects in FA1 and FA2 is $230K for two years, to be supplemented by $230K in cost share. An additional $230K can be funded for an educational project in FA3.

One submission is required per participating organization. Teams with multiple members from the same organization must submit a single form signed by that organization’s sponsored programs office. Teams with members from different organizations must submit separate forms from each organization.

Yes, dormant subsidiaries still need to be listed.

You must identify both the countries of citizenship for officers listed in 2(c) and owners of the ultimate parent with more than 5% stake listed in 2(c)(i).

Yes, any individual/department providing the cost share must submit the cost share commitment letter. In this case, a letter from a Dept. Head is acceptable.

The LOI can be signed by your college research officer (CRO).

Yes, PINS should be used by NC State PIs to submit proposals to this RFP.

No, in addition, the standard DOE project rules and regulations apply to all funded projects.

IP belongs entirely to the performer, and the performer can choose where to exploit the IP freely.

Depending on the type of commercialization for “other countries,” DOE approval might be required.

Patent submission must be reported to PowerAmerica per DOE requirements. Commercialization of PowerAmerica-funded projects should be reported to PowerAmerica per DOE request.

The SOPO Word document has a four-page maximum.

Membership is required before the award is disbursed.

The partner universities and National Lab allocations are in addition to the $1M. Partner universities and National Labs receive their additional separate funding.

A university can have an industry as a sub, and the industry can receive funding up to the same level as the lead university’s funding. In a teaming arrangement, the lead must be the entity receiving the most PowerAmerica funding.

The maximum a university will receive is $230K from all winning proposals in FA1 and FA2, and the maximum a company will receive is $1M from all winning proposals in FA1 and FA2, as stated in the RFP. There is a limited amount of money, and we want to give many good teams an opportunity to perform on projects. Proposals can be submitted with full funding as proposed in the concept papers, and an allocation of funding from a single entity to its multiple winning proposals can be performed to meet the $230K or $1M total for university and industry, respectively.

Yes, subrecipients should use the 15% de minimis rate.

They are allowed to use unrecovered F&A to meet cost-share requirements.

PowerAmerica does not have a template. If the subrecipient is not an FFDRC, they do not need to submit a field work proposal. (See Wikipedia list of FFDRCs)

Usually, organizations classified as FFDRCs have templates of their own.

Apologies for a typo in the RFP, which has since been corrected. Items 1-5 should be submitted as a single PDF. Commitment letters are not included in the 15-page limit.

InfoReady has been configured to correctly reflect this requirement. There is one upload tab for Items 1-5 (single PDF) and a separate upload tab for commitment letters.

Yes. Limited budget revisions from the concept paper stage are permitted, provided the total project cost does not exceed the maximum allowed for the submission category, and all cost-share requirements are met. (Concept papers are a rough draft, and the proposal can include changes.)

Industry advisors who receive no PowerAmerica funding need not be PowerAmerica members.

National Lab project awards may be up to $1M. If participating in multiple PowerAmerica proposals, then National Lab recipients may receive up to $1M total.

The lead team member should submit a single consolidated budget.

Separate “Subrecipient Letters of Intent” are not needed from partners that are only providing cost share and receive no funding.

Both students attend once a year for both years.

Yes, that is how it should read.

Industry partners not receiving PowerAmerica funding do NOT need to travel to the Annual meeting and summer workshop.

The provided example is a reasonable timeline.

Yes, as long as two undergraduate students are engaged over the course of the project, it is acceptable. Please indicate it clearly in the budget breakdown. The goal is to train at least a minimum of two undergraduate students in WBG.

Figures, images, and graphs can be used, as long as the entire proposal remains within the page limits specified in the RFP.

Yes. Total funding from all projects in FA1 and FA2 can not exceed $230,000 for a university.

Undergraduate involvement should be supported through paid research positions funded by the project, rather than credit-bearing activities alone. For university-led projects in Focus Areas 1 and 2, proposals must engage two undergraduate students in the work plan. Institutions may structure student participation according to their employment policies (e.g., hourly appointments during the academic year or summer).

Graduate students may also participate in the project, but they do not replace the required two undergraduate student involvement.

Institutions may structure undergraduate participation in a manner consistent with their student employment policies (e.g., hourly appointments during the academic year or summer), provided that two undergraduate students are meaningfully engaged in the project and their roles are clearly described in the proposal and in the budget breakdown.

The requirement can be met by a larger number of students in a cohort, all working on the project, where their total paid hours correspond to two FTE students for two years working on the project.

MIPs do not count toward the limit. A university can receive up to $230K from PowerAmerica for all projects in FA1 and FA2, along with additional funding for a Member-Initiated Project.

Member-Initiated Projects have a maximum of $150K in PowerAmerica funds, and the required cost share is 50% ($75K) or more. FA1 and FA2 projects have a $230K maximum PowerAmerica funding level for a university and require 1:1 cost share ($230K).

Correct.

The required document is a cost share commitment letter. The template is attached and titled as ” Cost Share Commitment Letter.”

We intend to collaborate with a national lab on a project with a total budget of $230K. The budget instructions state that any sub-recipient receiving less than $250k does not need to complete the Department of Energy EERE 540.132 form. Is there another form the national lab needs to fill out, or can we just add it to our budget in “tab f. Contractual” under “Sub-Recipient”? Also, does the national lab (sub-recipient) need to fill out its own Budget Justification?

No other form is required; please add to your budget per instructions. And yes, the sub-recipient should provide its own Budget Justification.

Letter of Commitment (signed by an authorized official)
Statement of Work (SOW) describing their technical role

Include all costs in a single 24-month budget to reflect Budget Period 1. The total requested funding, along with the required 1:1 cost share, should reflect the full 24-month work plan.

We can not grant a deadline extension. All proposals are due Feb. 20, 2026.

I understand that there is a 1:1 cost match requirement for the total award amount. For example, if Organization A receives an award of $100,000 and provides a cost share of $150,000, and Organization B receives an award of $100,000 but can only provide a cost share of $50,000, the combined cost share across both organizations would meet the 1:1 match for the total $200,000 award. Is that approach acceptable, or does each individual entity need to meet a 1:1 cost match on its own award amount?

Yes, it is acceptable. The lead PI is responsible for showing the 1:1 cost match for the total budget.

There appears to be conflicting guidance regarding DOE RTES documentation requirements for subcontractors. The BP1 RFP language suggests that applicants and subcontractors designated as “covered individuals” must submit the full RTES package (resumes, current and pending support, PID, research security training, and transparency of foreign connections). However, the InfoReady submission portal instructions seem to indicate that only the PI completes the full RTES form, while team members and subcontractors may only need to submit the Current and Pending Support disclosure. Could you clarify what RTES documentation is required from subcontractors and their covered individuals?

Apology for the confusion. Based on the RTES template section numbering, the following materials must be submitted:

Section (1) Resumes (PI/Key Personnel only):
Submit resumes for the PI and Key Personnel only. If a subcontractor is not a Key Personnel, their resume is not required. InfoReady includes a dedicated tab for uploading resumes.
Sections (2) and (5):
Both the recipient and subrecipients must complete these sections. The InfoReady upload tab has been updated to reference the specific RTES section numbers for clarity.
Sections (3) and (4):
These sections are required only if the proposal is for an R&D project.

Yes. Every effort should be made to procure supplies and materials from U.S. sources. In the case of SiC substrates and epitaxy, there are multiple U.S. vendors, many of which are PowerAmerica members. Procuring non-U.S. supplies and materials requires prior approval from PowerAmerica.

Yes, it should be a separate document. The SOPO covers the technical scope of work, and the Letter of Commitment/Intent documents the cost-share commitment.

Yes, under the contractual tab is sufficient.

Two trips per year.

2025 RFP Q&A

When are Full Proposal submissions due?

The RFP states that “University project awards may be up to $230K.” Does this mean that the total budget for a single project cannot exceed $230K? If the proposal includes multiple universities, can the combined budget across all universities exceed $230K?

One of the required documents for the full proposal is a Subrecipient Letter of Intent. Should each team member organization provide a Letter of Intent, or is this only required from the lead organization?

We have two dormant entities that are subsidiaries of a U.S.-based parent company. Do these dormant entities need to be featured in our entity chart included on the Transparency of Foreign Connections form?

Question 2(c) of the Transparency of Foreign Connections form asks us to identify the “countries of citizenship” for individuals (i.e., officers); is this question asking for the countries of citizenship of the officers listed in 2(c), or does it only apply to the shareholders of the entities?

For cost share commitment letter, is it sufficient for a university Department Head to provide the letter?

For full proposals submitted by NC State University PIs, does the Office of Sponsored Programs need to sign off on and/or submit the letter of intent (LOI)?

Should NC State University PIs use PINS to submit a full proposal?

Are PowerAmerica’s bylaws the only and exhaustive T&Cs that apply to funded projects?

For Institute-funded projects, the IP belongs entirely to the performer, correct? Can the performer choose where to exploit the IP freely, for example, outside of the project, outside of the U.S.?

Are there any restrictions to commercialization in the U.S. vs. other countries?

Are there any procedural, reporting, or other obligations in terms of filing patents and commercialization efforts?

What is the maximum accepted page number for the SOPO Word document?

Do team members need to be PowerAmerica members by the proposal submission date, or is membership required by the start of funding?

Is the $1M project award per industry inclusive of the $230K funding for partner universities, or is the partner universities’ allocation in addition to the $1M? In other words, if we have partner universities and National Labs as partners, what is the total maximum project award?

Is the inverse of the situation you describe above true as well? That is, if we intend to disburse subaward funding to an industry partner, is the funding allocated for that partner in addition to our 230K limit as a university?

How should funds be allocated if multiple concept papers from a single entity have been approved for a full proposal submission?

Could an industry partner claim the 15% de minimis rate for any flow-through funding received?

If an industry partner were to only commit cost share, could they claim the value of “unrecovered” de minimis indirect costs on their cost share contribution?

The budget template states that Federally Funded Research and Development Centers must submit a signed “field work proposal” during award application; is there a template for the field work proposal?

The RFP indicated that Items 1-6 should be submitted as a single PDF, with a 15-page limit, and that Item 6 should include letters of commitment from each participating organization. Could you please clarify whether the letters of commitment are included in the 15-page limit?

Could you please confirm whether limited budget revisions are permitted at this stage, if needed, and whether there are any specific constraints we should be aware of?

Can we have industry advisors in MIP proposals who are not PowerAmerica members?

Is there a maximum budget cap for National Laboratory partners similar to the $230K cap applied to university partners, or are National Laboratory budgets subject to different limits under the program?

You write in your FAQs that teams with members from different organizations must submit separate Subrecipient Letters of Intent from each organization. Is this the case even if our industry partners are only providing third-party cost share and not flow-through funding? “

For universities involved in a full proposal, are two undergraduates required to attend the Annual Meeting (or Workshop) each year or only once (e.g., toward the end of the program)?

Your cost share letter template includes NCSU as the addressee. Can you confirm that this is how they should read?

A lot of documents ask for the Period of Performance. Do you have any recommended dates for when we should expect projects to start? For example, would August 2026 – July 2028 align with PowerAmerica’s timeframe?

With respect to the requirement to “engage two undergraduate students in the work plan,” does this mean two students continuously for the entire two-year program, or would engaging with two students — one in the first year and one in the second year — be acceptable?

Can we include figures, images, or graphs in the Technical Project Description, or is it preferred that this section be limited to text only?

We have a question regarding the limitations on the award amounts for universities in Focus Areas 1 and 2. Our organization intends to be a subrecipient to industry partners in Focus Area 1. Do our budgets as a subrecipient count towards the $230,000 limit in Focus Areas 1 and 2?

Can the “undergraduate involvement” requirement be met through credit-bearing opportunities that are enabled by the project funding (e.g., capstone thesis, industrial senior design), or is involvement limited only to paid research positions?

Does the student involvement requirement have to be met by two students over the full project period, or can it be met by a larger number of students in a cohort over a shorter time for an equivalent level of commitment?

Do Member-Initiated Projects count towards the $230,000 budget limit for universities in Focus Areas 1 and 2?

The required RTES information applies only to the Principal Investigator and other paid senior/key personnel on the project. RTES information is not required for industry partners who provide cost share but do not receive project funding, correct?

The RFP states that a cost share sample is attached. Please let me know where it is located on your website.

The top of the RFP says “Budget Period 1,” and we are submitting a proposal for a 24-month project. In the DOE budget template, would you prefer that we have two 12-month budget periods or only include a single 24-month budget period?

Is it possible to get a deadline extension for Full Proposal submission?

Is there a requirement that wafer substrates and epitaxy be domestically sourced?

For universities or national labs receiving funding as subrecipients, is listing them under the contractual tab sufficient, or do they also need to complete a separate detailed budget tab?