Apr 11 -- This Request for Information (RFI) is issued by the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Manufacturing & Energy Supply Chains Office (MESC) to solicit feedback from manufacturers, minority-owned businesses, academia, research laboratories, government agencies, State and local officials, labor unions, Tribes, community-based organizations (CBOs), and other parties on issues related to design and implementation of Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, Section 50143 to provide grants for domestic production of efficient hybrid, plug-in electric hybrid, plug-in electric drive and hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles. Responses to this RFI must be submitted electronically to DE-FOA-0003032@netl.doe.gov no later than 5:00pm (ET) on May 9, 2023.
On August 16, 2022, President Joseph R. Biden signed the landmark Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 (IRA) into law. The law includes $391 billion to support the Administration’s energy and climate goals by deploying clean energy, strengthening domestic manufacturing, and investing in workers and communities.
IRA section 50143 appropriated $2 billion to provide grants for domestic production of efficient hybrid, plug-in electric hybrid, plug-in electric drive, and hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles, in accordance with section 712 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005. That section established the domestic manufacturing conversion grant program to provide grants and loan guarantees to clean vehicle manufacturers and suppliers, including component manufacturers. Section 712 states that “[p]riority shall be given to the refurbishment and retooling of manufacturing facilities that have recently ceased operation or will cease operation in the near future.”
Building on Section 712, IRA Section 50143 makes funding for such grants available through September 30, 2031, and provides that, the Secretary of Energy shall require a recipient of a grant to provide not less than 50 percent of the cost of the project carried out using the grant. To help inform DOE’s implementation of the IRA provision referenced above, this RFI seeks input on:
-- Anticipated Program Scope and Details [19 Qs]
-- Worker and Community Benefits [13 Qs]
-- Equity, Environmental, and Energy Justice (EEEJ) Priorities, including implementation of Justice40 [8 Qs]
The investments in the Inflation Reduction Act build on the $7.5 billion provided by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to deploy a national network of 500,000 electric vehicle chargers; more than $7 billion to ensure domestic manufacturers have the critical minerals and other components necessary to make EV batteries; and $10 billion for clean transit and school buses at the Department of Transportation and Environmental Protection Agency. The CHIPS and Science Act invests in expanding America’s manufacturing capacity for the semiconductors used in electric vehicles and chargers. Together, this package of legislation will create good jobs along the full supply chain for the automotive sector, from components and equipment manufacturing and processing to final assembly and incentivize the development of reliable EV battery supply chains. It also will reduce greenhouse gas emissions and other air pollutants from cars and trucks, which have a disproportionate impact on the air quality in low-income communities and communities of color.
MESC is responsible for strengthening and securing manufacturing and energy supply chains to modernize the nation’s energy infrastructure and support a clean and equitable energy transition. The MESC office manages programs that develop clean domestic manufacturing and workforce capabilities, with an emphasis on opportunities for small and medium enterprises and communities in energy transition.
RFI:
https://infrastructure-exchange.energy.gov/Default.aspx#FoaId9722c925-cdfe-4ee9-ae1d-f88fdbc3f632