Office of Elementary and Secondary Education (OESE): Office of Indian Education (OIE): Indian Education Discretionary Grants Program: Professional Development Program (PD) Training Grants
This funding opportunity provides financial support to small businesses developing innovative plant engineering technologies that enhance sustainable energy production and efficiency.
The funding opportunity titled "Plant Engineering to Revolutionize Sustainable Energy Production and Heighten Opportunities for Novel Efficiency SBIR/STTR (PERSEPHONE SBIR/STTR)" is being offered by the Advanced Research Projects Agency – Energy (ARPA-E) under the U.S. Department of Energy. It supports small businesses through the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs. The announcement number for this opportunity is DE-FOA-0003552, and all necessary details, templates, and updates can be found on ARPA-E eXCHANGE or other federal grant platforms like Grants.gov. The funding focuses on the development and application of advanced plant engineering technologies that contribute to sustainable energy solutions. The purpose of this funding opportunity is to promote innovation in plant engineering to address sustainable energy challenges. It aims to support technical advancements that enable improvements in traits such as crop yield, resilience, and energy efficiency. The program also seeks to accelerate commercialization pathways for bioengineered solutions and to foster collaborations between small businesses and research institutions. Funding can be used for research and development in specific technical categories, such as tool development, novel tools for plant engineering, and biocontainment strategies. Each category has unique technical performance targets. For example, Category A focuses on improving iteration time, throughput, and genotype independence, while Category C emphasizes biocontainment metrics like gene flow and invasiveness. Projects must adhere to the technical and cost-sharing guidelines specified in the notice, with ARPA-E substantially involved in monitoring and directing funded projects. Eligibility is restricted to small business concerns as defined by the SBA, with specific work-sharing requirements for SBIR and STTR programs. Under the SBIR guidelines, small businesses must perform at least 66.7% of the work in Phase I and 50% in Phase II and IIS. STTR projects require 40% of the work to be completed by the small business and 30% by a research institution. Applicants must also meet other SBA eligibility benchmarks. Joint applications meeting both SBIR and STTR criteria are permitted under certain conditions. Applicants are required to submit a range of documents, including a technical volume, budget justification, summary for public release, and a single summary slide, among others. Templates for these components are available on ARPA-E eXCHANGE. Full applications must also include a completed SF-424 form, company registration from SBIR.gov, and any necessary ownership certifications. Submissions must follow strict formatting and content guidelines, and incomplete or non-compliant applications may be disqualified. Evaluation criteria include the technical merit and impact of the proposed project, as well as the qualifications of the project team. Applicants have the opportunity to respond to reviewer comments prior to final selection. Key dates include a submission deadline of March 4, 2025, for full applications, with replies to reviewer comments due by April 1, 2025. ARPA-E anticipates announcing selections in May 2025, with funding agreements expected to be finalized by August 2025.
Award Range
Not specified - $500,000
Total Program Funding
$13,000,000
Number of Awards
29
Matching Requirement
No
Eligible Applicants
Additional Requirements
1. Eligible Applicants:(a) An eligible applicant must be--(1) An IHE, including a TCU;(2) A State educational agency in a consortium with an IHE or a TCU;(3) An LEA in a consortium with an IHE or a TCU;(4) An Indian Tribe or Indian organization in a consortium with an IHE or a TCU; or(5) A BIE-funded school in a consortium with at least one TCU, where feasible. BIE-funded schools are eligible applicants for a pre-service training program when the BIE-funded school applies in consortium with an institution of higher education that meets the requirements in paragraph(c) of this section. (b) Eligibility of an applicant that is an IHE or a TCU, or an applicant requiring a consortium with an IHE or a TCU, requires that the IHE or TCU be accredited to provide the coursework and level of degree or Native American language certificate required by the project.Post Award Requirements: (a) Requirement for payback meeting. Prior to providing funds or services to a participant, the grantee must conduct a payback meeting with the participant to explain the costs of training and payback responsibilities following training. (b) Requirement for payback agreement. (1) Prior to providing funds or services to a participant, and for each subsequent year that training funds are disbursed, the grantee must enter into a written agreement with each participant in which the participant agrees to the terms and conditions required by 34 CFR 263.12. (2) The payback agreement must explain the Secretarys authority to grant deferrals and exceptions to the service obligation pursuant to 263.10 and include--(i) The current Department address for purposes of the participants compliance with 263.11, or any other purpose under this part, and other Office of Indian Education contact information;(ii) The estimated length of training; (iii) The total training costs; (iv) The total amount of assistance accrued year-to-date;(v) The total number of months in the service obligation year-to-date;(vi) A statement explaining that work must be in an LEA that serves a high proportion of Indian students, and the regulatory definition of that phrase; and(vii) Information documenting that the grantee held a payback meeting with the participant that meets the requirements of this section.(3) The grantee must submit a signed payback agreement to the Department within 30 days of the date on which the payback agreement is fully executed by the grantee and participant. The grantee must provide a copy of the payback agreement to the participant upon execution.(c) Exit certification. At the time of exit from the program, the grantee must provide the below information to the participant. Upon receipt of this information from the grantee, the participant must provide written certification to the grantee that this information is correct: (1) The name of the institution where the participant received pre-service training and the award number of the Federal grant that provided the scholarship.(2) The number of months the participant needs to work in an LEA that serves a high proportion of Indian students to satisfy the payback requirements in 263.9.(3) The total amount of financial assistance received.(4) The participants field of study and the obligation of the participant to perform the service obligation with employment that meets the requirements in 263.9(b).(d) Career preparation. During the grant period, a grantee must conduct activities to assist participants in identifying qualified employment opportunities following completion of the program. (e) Information and annual reporting. The grantee must report to the Secretary all participant training and payback information in a manner specified by the Secretary as well as any other information that is necessary to carry out the Secretarys functions under section 6122 of the ESEA and 34 CFR part 263. Each grantee will make annual reports to the
Geographic Eligibility
All
Application Opens
January 17, 2025
Application Closes
April 28, 2025
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