RFI on Geologic Hydrogen Resource Exploration | DE FOA 0003494

Opportunity Information: Apply for DE FOA 0003494

ARPA-E has issued a Request for Information (RFI) titled "RFI on Geologic Hydrogen Resource Exploration" (DE-FOA-0003494) to gather feedback from industry, researchers, and other stakeholders on how the agency might shape a future research and development program focused on geologic (naturally occurring) hydrogen. This notice is strictly an information-gathering effort, not a funding opportunity, and it is not accepting applications or proposals for financial assistance. ARPA-E is using the responses to help decide whether to create a future program and, if so, what technical areas, performance targets, and project concepts should be included. No Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) exists at this time.

The central idea behind the RFI is to spur new approaches for two linked challenges: first, improving the ability to find and evaluate naturally occurring subsurface hydrogen resources, as well as geologic settings that could be suitable for "hydrogen stimulation" (methods intended to enhance or induce hydrogen generation and/or recovery); and second, developing credible methodologies to estimate how much hydrogen is actually recoverable, whether from natural accumulations or from stimulated systems. ARPA-E frames this as a way to speed up discovery, lower uncertainty in economic evaluations, and support the practical management decisions needed to responsibly develop these resources.

ARPA-E is specifically looking for input on technologies and methods that could achieve several outcomes. These include creating an exploration toolset tailored to geologic hydrogen (onshore and offshore), improving detection accuracy and precision, cutting the cost of exploration campaigns, and shortening the time from initial screening to a confident discovery. In addition to tools and workflows for detection and appraisal, ARPA-E highlights the need for stronger scientific understanding of the geologic processes that generate hydrogen in the subsurface, especially hydrogen produced through serpentinization (water-rock reactions involving ultramafic rocks) and radiolysis of water (hydrogen generation driven by natural radiation). Another emphasis is quantifying recharge: how quickly hydrogen reservoirs may be replenished by ongoing generative processes, which directly affects estimates of reserves, sustainable production rates, and long-term project value.

A final theme running through the RFI is end-to-end resource characterization and monitoring that can inform real-world decisions. ARPA-E is interested in approaches that improve resource prediction and site management while also supporting subsurface engineering (for example, how to design development strategies around reservoir behavior), clarifying expected economic returns, and addressing environmental impacts and mitigation. In other words, the agency is not only asking "can we find hydrogen?" but also "can we confidently measure it, model it, manage it, and develop it responsibly at a cost and pace that makes it viable?"

From an administrative standpoint, the listing shows the agency as the Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy, with an unrestricted eligible applicant field (because it is an RFI rather than a competitive award). The opportunity category is discretionary and the instrument type is listed as a cooperative agreement, but the posted award ceiling and expected awards are both zero, reinforcing that no funding is being offered under this notice. The RFI was created on 2024-11-04 and lists a closing date of 2024-12-02 for submitting information. The full RFI is available through ARPA-E's funding opportunity site at https://arpa-e-foa.energy.gov.

• The Advanced Research Projects Agency Energy in the oz, science and technology and other research and development sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "RFI on Geologic Hydrogen Resource Exploration" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 81.135.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2024-11-04.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2024-12-02. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Eligible applicants include: Unrestricted.

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