United States: $25 Million In Funding Available For U.S. Companies And Organizations Under New U.S.-India Joint Clean Energy Research And Development Center ("JCERDC")

Twenty-Five Million Dollar Program: During fall 2011, the U.S. Department of Energy (the "DoE") intends to award $25 million in cost-sharing cooperative agreement funding to U.S. companies and other organizations involved in: (1) building energy efficiency (2) second generation biofuels, and (3) solar energy research and development. In a May 16, 2011, press release announcing the JCERDC, Secretary of Energy Steven Chu stated, "This innovative approach to collaborative research is a testament to the special relationship shared by the two countries. By working with our partners in India and sharing a strong commitment to building a clean energy economy, we can get further, faster, than by working alone." Together the United States and India intend to invest $100 million in public and private funds in JCERDC consortia.

Joint U.S. - India Effort: The intent of the JCERDC is to engage engineers and scientists from the United States and India in a five-year cooperative effort to build clean energy economies and improve access to energy. Only teams made up of two U.S. participants and two Indian participants may apply. U.S. participants eligible for award include domestic private companies, universities, non-profits, government-operated laboratories, and DoE Federally Funded Research and Development Centers ("FFRDCs"). Eligible Indian participants include Indian national laboratories, universities, and public and private sector companies, as well as other research organizations recognized by India's Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation ("SIRO")/Department of Scientific and Industrial Research ("DSIR").

Minimum of Three Awards: DOE anticipates making a minimum of three awards to domestic entities under this announcement, one for each research area. The anticipated awards to U.S. entities over a five year period are:

DoE requires 50 percent cost sharing by the U.S. entities. The Government of India will make similar awards to the Indian entities involved in the U.S.-India consortia.

Application Information and Date: The Funding Opportunity Announcement, Number DE-FOA-0000506, can be found at www.pi.energy.gov/159.htm. Applications are due by August 16, 2011, and must be submitted via e-mail to JCERDC@HQ.DOE.GOV(United States) and http://JCERDC@INDOUSSTF.ORG (India) rather than through Grants.gov or FedConnect.

This article is presented for informational purposes only and is not intended to constitute legal advice.