Solid-State Lighting Advanced Technology Research and Development- 2018 | DE FOA 0001823

Opportunity Information: Apply for DE FOA 0001823

The Solid-State Lighting Advanced Technology Research and Development - 2018 funding opportunity (DE FOA 0001823) was a U.S. Department of Energy program, administered through the National Energy Technology Laboratory, aimed at pushing solid-state lighting (SSL) technologies further into high-performance, cost-effective, widely adopted commercial products. The focus covered both LED (light-emitting diode) and OLED (organic light-emitting diode) approaches, with the overall intent of improving how efficiently lighting converts electricity into useful light while also addressing practical issues that can slow adoption in real buildings and outdoor environments.

A central goal of the opportunity was to maximize the energy efficiency of SSL products available in the marketplace. In practice, this means funding research and development that improves performance at the device, package, and luminaire levels, and not just in controlled lab demonstrations. Alongside efficiency, the program emphasized reducing market barriers by improving lifetime and reliability, raising and maintaining color quality, and strengthening overall lighting system performance. These themes reflect the reality that customers care about more than raw efficacy; they need products that hold their output and color over time, perform well thermally and electrically in real fixtures, and deliver consistent results across manufacturing batches.

Cost reduction was another major objective, targeting both SSL sources and luminaires. This includes efforts to lower materials and manufacturing costs, simplify designs, improve yields, and reduce the cost of delivering high-quality light through better optics, drivers, thermal management, and integrated system designs. The opportunity also highlighted product consistency while maintaining high quality, signaling interest in work that improves uniformity, repeatability, and quality control so that SSL products perform predictably across large-scale production runs.

A further priority was strengthening the growth, leadership, and long-term sustainability of domestic U.S. manufacturing within the SSL industry. This aspect ties technology R&D to competitiveness and supply chain resilience by encouraging innovation that can be manufactured effectively in the United States, supporting domestic capabilities in advanced lighting components, processes, and systems.

From an administrative standpoint, this was a discretionary funding opportunity using a cooperative agreement, which typically implies substantial federal involvement during the project period (for example, coordination, technical direction, or milestone-based collaboration). The program anticipated making about 16 awards, with an award ceiling of $1,500,000 per project. The opportunity fell under CFDA 81.086 and was categorized under research and development spanning energy, environment, health, science and technology, and related areas. Eligibility was listed as unrestricted (open to any type of entity), subject to any additional eligibility details contained in the full funding announcement.

The funding opportunity was created on April 27, 2018, and originally closed on June 18, 2018. Overall, the program can be summed up as a targeted DOE effort to accelerate next-generation LED and OLED advances that deliver higher efficiency, longer life, better color and system performance, lower costs, and more consistent manufacturing outcomes, while also reinforcing a strong U.S.-based SSL manufacturing ecosystem.

• The Department of Energy, National Energy Technology Laboratory in the energy, environment, health, science and technology and other research and development sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Solid-State Lighting Advanced Technology Research and Development- 2018" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 81.086.
• This funding opportunity was created on Apr 27, 2018.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Jun 18, 2018. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $1,500,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 16 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Unrestricted (i.e., open to any type of entity above), subject to any clarification in text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility.

Apply for DE FOA 0001823

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