Closed · DE-FOA-0003460 · CFDA 81.087 · Discretionary
Fiscal Year 2025 Solar Module and Solar Hardware (SMASH) Incubator
Federal grant opportunity posted by Golden Field Office, cataloged on Grants.gov.
- $1M-$4M
- Award range
- Closed
- Status
- May 30, 2025
- Close date
- 10
- Expected awards
The verdict
Fiscal Year 2025 Solar Module and Solar Hardware (SMASH) Incubator is a closed discretionary listing from Golden Field Office that offered $1,000,000 -- $4,000,000 across 10 expected awards. Future funding cycles may be published under the same CFDA number.
- $1M-$4M
- award range
- Closed
- application status
- 10
- expected awards
- 81.087
- CFDA program
Opportunity snapshot. This Grants.gov announcement - Fiscal Year 2025 Solar Module and Solar Hardware (SMASH) Incubator - is cataloged under number DE-FOA-0003460 and tied to CFDA assistance listing 81.087, posted by Golden Field Office. Grants.gov currently shows the opportunity as closed, first posted on January 8, 2025. The funding category is Discretionary, delivered as a cooperative agreement.
Award economics. The award range on file is $1,000,000 -- $4,000,000. The agency has projected $20.0 million in total estimated funding for this announcement. It expects to issue 10 awards. If the agency funds the expected 10 awards from the $20.0 million estimated pool, the average award works out to roughly $2.0 million. Cost sharing or matching funds are required, meaning applicants must contribute a portion of the project budget from non-federal sources, factor this into your financial plan before drafting the proposal. Federal award ranges are often upper bounds; actual allocations reflect program appropriations, the strength of the applicant pool, and the evaluation committee's scoring.
Deadline and action path. This opportunity closed on May 30, 2025. Future funding cycles may be published under the same CFDA number, so monitoring the parent program page is the most reliable way to catch re-announcements. Every Grants.gov submission requires an active SAM.gov registration and a Unique Entity ID. Review the Eligibility section below carefully, federal eligibility categories (nonprofit, state or local government, tribal, individual, educational institution, small business) have distinct registration and reporting requirements. Pre-application outreach to the listed agency contact is permitted and often welcomed, it helps clarify scope and scoring priorities. Before acting on the deadline or award figures above, verify them directly on the official Grants.gov listing, amendments can change dates and amounts after this page was last refreshed.
Award Range
$1,000,000 -- $4,000,000
Close Date
May 30, 2025
Posted
January 8, 2025
Est. Total Funding
$20,000,000
Expected Awards
10
Instrument
Cooperative Agreement
Cost Sharing
Required
Description
SMASH Incubator seeks to address the lack of sufficient private investment that is available to successfully commercialize the output of research, development, and demonstration activities and bring innovative solar photovoltaic (PV) technology to market. Specifically, projects funded through this NOFO will encourage innovations in solar photovoltaic (PV) manufacturing across the supply chain, with the aim of reducing U.S. reliance on imported materials and technologies. This NOFO also encourages the development of new solar hardware and technology for domestic use and potential export. These activities are expected to deliver jobs and economic growth in the clean energy sector, while increasing national energy security. Topic Area 1 seeks to conduct early-stage pilot-scale testing and demonstration of innovative processes or products that can substantively increase domestic manufacturing in all segments of the crystalline silicon solar module supply chain. Each segment also includes the manufacturing equipment used in that segment, input materials for that segment, process control and characterization tools, and consumables used in that segment, which today are predominantly made outside the United States. Topic Area 2 aims to support the cadmium telluride (CdTe) PV industry, an increasingly valuable part of the U.S. economy and leading domestic renewable energy technology. All segments of the CdTe PV module supply chain are of interest, including improvements in materials, processes, manufacturing, components, metrology, demonstration, recycling, and reclamation. Topic Area 3 is focused on R&D and demonstration activities with the goal of de-risking new non-module PV components and manufacturing processes, while developing and validating a realistic pathway to commercial success. This includes structural and electrical components and tools that can be made domestically and improve performance, functionality, reliability, or ease of installation for PV systems.
Eligibility
Grants.gov lists this opportunity under eligibility category codes 22, 23. These codes correspond to applicant types (state/local government, tribal organization, nonprofit, educational institution, individual, small business, etc.) defined in Grants.gov's own eligibility reference. See the current Grants.gov eligibility categories or check the official listing below for this opportunity's exact eligibility statement.
Official Listing on Grants.gov
View full details, application forms, and submission instructions.
Agency Contact
For questions regarding this NOFO: solar.incubator@ee.doe.gov For questions regarding Exchange: EERE-eXCHANGESupport@hq.doe.gov
Key Dates
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Disclaimer: This information is sourced from Grants.gov and SAM.gov and is for informational purposes only. Opportunity details, deadlines, and eligibility requirements change frequently. Always verify current information directly on Grants.gov before applying. PlainGrants is not affiliated with any federal agency.
Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.
Related
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| Sources | the SAM.gov Assistance Listings and Grants.gov |