The US Department of Energy (DOE) announced the Fiscal Year 2025 Vehicle Technologies Office (VTO) Program Wide funding program. (DE-FOA-0003514) This funding opportunity will award up to $88 million for projects that will seek innovative transportation solutions for on- and off-road vehicles.

This funding opportunity has 10 major topic areas:

• Topic Area 1 Technologies for Enhanced Lithium-Ion Cell Safety: As more and more electric vehicles (EVs) enter the roadways, concerns over vehicle safety remain a top priority. This topic area focuses on the development of technologies to improve the abuse tolerance of lithium (Li)-ion cells of the type being used in plug-in electric vehicles, that is, cells with graphite anodes and mass-produced cathodes.

• Topic Area 2a Low-Cost Production of Lithium: As lithium-metal-based batteries continue to evolve, there are concerns about the supply and cost of Li metal. This topic seeks innovative approaches for producing battery-grade lithium at a lower cost, with reduced energy consumption, improved production yield, and minimal environmental impact compared to the current process.

• Topic Area 2b Lithium-Metal Surface Protection: This topic seeks to develop novel materials that can form a beneficial passivation layer on the surface of the Li foil for use in rechargeable Li batteries containing liquid or solid-state electrolytes.

• Topic Area 3a Ultra-Long-Cycle Life Li-Ion Batteries for Heavy-Duty Electric Trucks: The subtopics under Topic Area 3 aim to accelerate a domestic battery industry that can support lower cost options for long-haul US trucks. This subtopic seeks Li-ion battery chemistry innovations and design solutions that are readily adapted to multilayer pouch cells or cylindrical or prismatic cells to demonstrate extended cycle life.

• Topic Area 3b Standardized Battery Module Design for Heavy-Duty Electric Trucks: The subtopics under Topic Area 3 aim to accelerate a domestic battery industry that can support lower cost options for long-haul US trucks. This subtopic supports innovative standardized modules or scaled packs (for cell-to-pack design) suitable for Class 8 long-haul trucks.

• Topic Area 4 Thermal Technologies for Zero-Emission Vehicles (ZEVs): The objective of this topic area is to research, develop, and demonstrate innovative technologies capable of significantly decreasing the on-board energy use of vehicle thermal systems for medium- and heavy-duty on-highway zero-emission vehicles (ZEVs).

• Topic Area 5 Optimized Grid Planning for Electric Vehicles using Advanced Metering Infrastructure: The objective of this topic area is to research, develop, and validate novel and innovative tools leveraging Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) and smart metering as a sensory network to improve the EV charging infrastructure energization process, accelerate EV charging infrastructure deployment, and provide an efficient and secure EV load management platform.

• Topic Area 6 Co-located Renewable Fuel and Off-road vehicle Pilots (CROP): Farms and agricultural communities rely on a wide range of off-road vehicles to till, plant, irrigate, harvest and transport crops. These vehicles have unique requirements for durability, power/torque density, and daily run times. Farms also possess a unique advantage as producers of fuel feedstocks, such as agricultural waste and animal manure, as well as ideal siting for local clean electricity production. Through a two-phased approach, proposals under this area of interest will demonstrate locally produced, renewable fuels for agricultural use.

• Topic Area 7 Vehicle Life Cycle Analysis Baseline: The objective of this topic area is to conduct life cycle analysis (LCA) including energy usage, critical materials requirements, sustainability, and greenhouse gas emissions on up to four vehicles.

• Topic Area 8 Quality Improvements of Battery Busbar Joining: This topic area will focus on joining methods implemented for “foil-to-tab” manufacturing for use in EVs and the ability to monitor joining performance in real time.

• Topic Area 9 Electric Vehicle Workforce Development: This topic area targets the development of local, state, regional, or national outreach, awareness, and partnership building efforts. VTO highly encourages project teams that include one or more Clean Cities and Communities coalition.

• Topic Area 10 Vehicle Technology Integration Open Topic: The objective of this topic area is to explore novel solutions to transportation and related clean energy and infrastructure challenges through demonstration and deployment projects that will spur market development. The project team must include at least one active and DOE-designated Clean Cities and Communities coalition with a significant project role.

VTO expects to make about 27-47 awards under the Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO), each ranging between $1 and $6 million. Prior to submitting a full application for this opportunity, a concept paper with requirements described in the NOFO is due on 1 April 2025 at 5:00 p.m. ET.