EERE and the National Science Foundation (NSF) announce a funding opportunity in the area of renewable hydrogen technology research and development. Proposals are invited to specifically address discovery and development of advanced materials systems and chemical processes for direct photochemical and/or thermochemical water splitting for application in the solar production of hydrogen fuel. Projects are encouraged which advance scientific frontiers in photochemical and/or thermochemical materials systems and interfacial processes utilizing state-of-the-art methodologies in theory, synthesis, and characterization to enhance scientific understanding of the important fundamental physical, thermal, chemical, electrochemical and optoelectronic processes that are critical to efficient and durable solar hydrogen production. A key benefit of this joint effort is the direct coordination of NSF-funded basic research and EERE-funded applied R&D toward the development of cost-effective large-scale systems for the low-carbon production of hydrogen through advanced solar water-splitting technologies.

Collaboration and leveraging opportunities are encouraged. Concept papers for EERE’s recently released Hydrogen Production FOA are due on November 26, 2013.

More information, application requirements, and instructions can be found on the NSF website. Letters of intent are due December 13, 2013, and full proposals are due February 10, 2014.