EERE eXCHANGE: FAQs

Question 1: The Wounded Warrior Family Foundation (WWFF) is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization that is offering a grant opportunity to the DOE that is an all green 3 ethanol/electricity refineries project in Brazil. Please help with the proper placement of this application in the DOE schedules for future grants. Since the DOE current policy is to support the purchase of oil from Brazil; it would seem appropriate and compatible to support the production and distribution of ethanol and electricity in Brazil which will affect tens of millions of people both there and in the USA. It is possible that EE0000686 is not the proper venue to submit this application. Please advise as to the correct and open forum for this concept. Attached is a five page summary and financial requirements. 1/3rd of the total equity/grant required will be matched by 2/3rds in Brazil/bank/consortium financing. Therefore; only one third in equity is requested in either grant or investment form or a combination of both. Thanks for your help and possible interest.
Answer 1:

All interested Applicants must submit a Letter of Intent (LOI) by the due date stated in the FOA if they wish to submit an application. The LOI must be submitted in response to THIS FOA in EERE Exchange (https://eere-exchange.energy.gov/). More detailed instructions for submitting the LOI are stated in the FOA.

Question 2: Regarding the maximum period of performance of Topic Area 1. One year is an extremely short period of time to address all the technical problems associated with the integration of up-graded bio-oils into petroleum refineries. Will it be possible to increase the period of performance for Topic Area 1 to two years ?
Answer 2: DOE is seeking projects that will efficiently address the challenges currently limiting the widespread deployment of thermochemical liquefaction technologies, preferably within a 12 month project period for Topic Area 1. Projects proposing a longer period of performance for Topic Area 1 may not be able to demonstrate their competitive advantage of the technology or the potential to contribute meaningfully to the RFS volumetric requirements and therefore, may not receive the technical merit review score necessary to justify selection and funding of the proposed project.

Question 3: Topic area 1 is aimed at early TRL (2-3), as such would a cost share waiver be granted if requested?
Answer 3: The cost share requirement for both Topic Areas is 20% of total project costs. Applicants are encouraged to consider all forms of allowable cost share to meet the 20% cost share requirement, including in-kind contributions. Please refer to Appendix C – Cost Share Information of the FOA for additional information.

Question 4: FOA DE-FOA-0000686 states that Applicants must be Domestic Entities. However, it does not provide information in regards to team members. Can foreign entities be team members on a domestic entity’s application? For example the sister FOA, DE -FOA-0000615, states “A foreign legal entity may be proposed as a team member on a domestic entity’s application. Eligible foreign legal entities include but are not limited to: (1) institutions of higher education; (2) nonprofit and for-profit private entities; (3) foreign governments; and (4) consortia of entities (1) through (3). If the foreign team member is a consortium, an established member of the consortium must be designated as the lead applicant." Is this same information applicable to DOE-FOA0000686?
Answer 4: Yes, the same information is applicable to DE-FOA-0000686. Foreign entities may participate as team members, not as team leads.

Question 5: The DE-FOA-686 instructions require the submission of a "Letter of Intent" by May 1, but the EERE Exchange portal only displays a page for submission of "Concept Paper" details. Is this the correct page to file details for our "Letter of Intent"? Also, the instructions say the LOI must include an "estimated total DOE funding request," yet there does not seem to be a field to enter that information on the "Concept Paper" page in EERE Exchange. Where should we enter that information? Can you please give any guidance on how to address these issues?
Answer 5: A technical issue with the Exchange website has been corrected. The Apply button will direct the applicant to the "Letter of Intent Details" page. Please include the "estimated total DOE funding request" within the abstract section of the Letter of Intent.

Question 6: I am the President of an early stage start-up company located in Pennsylvania. My Business Proposal detail the production of cellulosic ethanol from feed stock other than corn.There are 204 ethanol plants currently in the U.S. 200 are corn base. In 1986 the Department of Food , Science and Technology at Cornell University produce ethanol from agricultural waste at an yield amounted greater than 80% that was theorical projected by using commercial dry wine yeast. My company goal is to use this format but replacing the wine yeast with newly develop yeast from the NREL that has the ability to convert the cellulosic glucose six-carbon but also the remaining five-carbon sugars. I am interested in this funding opportunity, any information you can forward me will be greatly appreciated.
Answer 6: As stated in the FOA: This Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) is intended for research and development (R&D)...that will accelerate the development of thermochemical liquefaction technologies to produce a bio-oil feedstock from biomass considered to be a high-impact feedstock or from algal biomass. The bio-oil feedstock produced must be utilized within a petroleum refinery and leverage its existing capital for further processing to final fuels (such as renewable: gasoline, diesel, jet fuel) that will contribute to the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007, Renewable Fuels Standard volumetric goals for advanced biofuels. Applicants must propose an algae or thermochemical liquefaction conversion pathway for producing a bio-oil feedstock that can be utilized at one or more insertion points within a petroleum refinery, such as in the hydrotreaters, reformers, fluid catalytic crackers, cokers, isomerization units, or hydrocrackers. For the purpose of this FOA, insertion points are defined as any point after vacuum or atmospheric distillation within the refinery where a feedstock can be inserted for additional processing. Applications proposing to blend a bio-oil feedstock only at the beginning of the refining process with the crude oil (i.e. pre-vacuum distillation or pre-atmospheric distillation) or only at the end of the refining process as finished fuels (i.e. blending) will not be considered responsive to this FOA and will be excluded from further consideration. Also note that projects proposing gasification or biodiesel (FAME) conversion technologies are not considered responsive to this FOA and will be excluded from further consideration.

Question 7: Would an oil company that is building a small biodiesel plant for the purposes of making approximately 2000 gal./day to fuel its own fleet qualify for DE FOA 000686 ?
Answer 7: As stated in the FOA: Applications proposing to blend a bio-oil feedstock only...at the end of the refining process as finished fuels (i.e. blending) will not be considered responsive to this FOA and will be excluded from further consideration. Also note that projects proposing gasification or biodiesel (FAME) conversion technologies are not considered responsive to this FOA and will be excluded from further consideration.

Question 8: This is a question regarding bio-oil stabilization and commoditization grant. I am currently working on a project involving a novel method of producing oil from cellulosic sources, but the oil is going to be triacylglyceride. I was wondering why there is a requirement to work with a petroleum refinery, and if having access to multiple biodiesel refineries can count for that requirement.
Answer 8:

As stated in the FOA:
Applicants must propose an algae or thermochemical liquefaction conversion pathway for producing a bio-oil feedstock that can be utilized at one or more insertion points within a petroleum refinery, such as in the hydrotreaters, reformers, fluid catalytic crackers, cokers, isomerization units, or hydrocrackers. There may be other insertion points that are unique to the targeted petroleum refinery and this should be addressed in the application.

The bio-oil feedstock produced must be utilized within a petroleum refinery and leverage its existing capital for further processing to final fuels (such as renewable: gasoline, diesel, jet fuel) that will contribute to the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007, Renewable Fuels Standard volumetric goals for advanced biofuels.

Also note that projects proposing gasification or biodiesel (FAME) conversion technologies are not considered responsive to this FOA and will be excluded from further consideration.

Question 9: After reading the FOA document carefully, I'm not completely clear on the required feedstock. Should it be 1) a high impact biomass feedstock that has the "ultimate agronomically and ecologically sustainable potential of producing at least 50 million dry tonnes per year in the United States." or 2) a bio-oil produced from a biomass feedstock that conforms to the specifications listed in #1? In other words, are proposals responsive that deal directly with conversion of biomass feedstocks - or, does this FOA require bio-oil upgrading?
Answer 9: Applications must address how the applicant will produce a bio-oil from a high impact biomass feedstock that is suitable for insertion within a petroleum refinery, such as in the hydrotreaters, reformers, fluid catalytic crackers, cokers, isomerization units, or hydrocrackers. The bio-oil produced from the lignocellulosic or algal feedstock may be partially upgraded to ensure acceptance into the petroleum refinery. Applications proposing to blend a bio-oil feedstock only at the beginning of the refining process with the crude oil (i.e. pre-vacuum distillation or pre-atmospheric distillation) or only at the end of the refining process as finished fuels (i.e. blending) will not be considered responsive to this FOA and will be excluded from further consideration.

Question 10: At the bottom of page 7 and top of page 8 of the first amendment, the FOA states: “Also note that projects proposing gasification or biodiesel (FAME) conversion technologies are not considered responsive to this FOA and will be excluded from further consideration.” Is this statement specifically intended to exclude syn-gas/FT approaches to producing bio-oils, or are all processes that yield a refinery-grade liquid bio-oil feedstock that involve a gaseous intermediate excluded from this FOA?
Answer 10: Applicants must propose an algae or thermochemical liquefaction conversion pathway for producing a bio-oil feedstock that can be utilized at one or more insertion points within a petroleum refinery, such as in the hydrotreaters, reformers, fluid catalytic crackers, cokers, isomerization units, or hydrocrackers. Therefore, syngas and FT technologies are not considered responsive to this FOA and will be excluded from further consideration.

Question 11: We plan to submit to Topic 2, and are in the process of securing a letter of commitment from a refiner. We understand from the FOA that, if we are unable to complete the letter of commitment before the final submission deadline, we are only eligible to apply for Topic 1. Question: If we submit a letter of intent to DOE before May 1 listing Topic 2 as our intended topic, are we committed to submitting to Topic 2, or can we switch to Topic 1 sometime between May 1 and May 29?
Answer 11: Submitting a letter of intent to a particular topic area does not commit an organization to submit a full application to that topic area, however, if an applicant does not submit a letter of intent to a particular topic area, they will not be allowed to submit a full application to that topic area. Applicants may submit a letter of intent to each topic area but only the last, on-time application for a particular product and process will be reviewed.
As stated in the FOA:
Applicants must select one, and only one, Topic Area for EACH of their proposed product(s) and process(s). If an Applicant submits applications proposing the same product and process to both Topic Areas, DOE will review only the last, on-time application submitted in Exchange.

Question 12: 1) Can we add partners not included in our Letter of Intent submission in our full application? 2) Can we change the lead partner on the full application from what was used in the LOI?
Answer 12: 1) It is highly encouraged that any potential partner be identified in the LOI. Applicants are not committed to submitting an application using every partner identified in the LOI but are encouraged to have the LOI be as comprehensive as possible.
2) Within reason, Applicants are encouraged to submit an LOI for each possible scenario. Applicants are not committed to submitting a full application for every LOI that is submitted but any application that does not have a corresponding LOI will be excluded from further consideration.

Question 13: Although we read your FAQ's regarding system usage in question 5, you did not answer whether or not we will, in fact, have to click "Submit" on a screen that looks just like what is on Page 14, Figure 13 of the EERE Exchange User Guide for the Letter of Intent. Although you mention that you identified a system error and fixed it for the LOI, further clarification is needed. That figure 13 simply states "Concept Paper" but does not clarify if an upload + control # are sufficient for this LOI to be considered "submitted" or if we will need to actually click "Submit" for the LOI, which makes us certify to the Terms stated in the Figure 13. Please specifically clarify- are we clicking "Submit" and certifying to Terms and Conditions for the LOI on DE-FOA-0000686?
Answer 13: LOIs must be in "Submitted" status to be considered for further review. Agreeing to the terms and conditions means that the applicant has read and agrees to the terms and conditions in the FOA. All applicable terms and conditions to include, but not limited to, cost share, performance period, eligibility, and cost principles may be found in Funding Opportunity Announcement DE-FOA-0000686: Bio-Oil Stabilization and Commoditization.

Question 14: I have been trying for 2 days to review FE-FOA-0000686, but can not. I can not change my password. I need the address for my letter of intent to submitt my application. Is there still a time limit of May 1, 2012.
Answer 14: Please contact the EERE Exchange helpdesk at EERE-ExchangeSupport@hq.doe.gov. If a fix is unavailable in time, please create a new profile in Exchange to submit your LOI and application material.

Question 15: I don't think the term CCR means Continuous Catalytic Regeneration in the context that is used the subject FOA. Conradson Carbon is more likely the meaning.
Answer 15: Yes you are correct, in this context CCR does mean Conradson Carbon Residue.

Question 16: We are contemplating a process in which a bio-oil is produced from oligmoerizing furanic components produced via lower temperature, liquid phase conversion of biomass/biomass components. These bio-oils can be hydrotreated to produce hydrocarbon fuels within a refinery construct. Would such processes be construed as responsive to DE-FOA-0000686?
Answer 16: In general, pyrolysis and other targeted liquefaction technologies occur in oxygen deprived conditions at approximately 300°C or higher. Applications proposing processes that deconstruct the biomass at higher temperatures, such as gasification, or by using predominantly chemical means, such as acid hydrolysis, would not be responsive to this FOA.

Question 17: How many applications can be submitted from an organization from different applicants/teams.
Answer 17: Multiple applications can be submitted by one organization to either topic area. However, as stated in the FOA: Applicants must select one, and only one, Topic Area for EACH of their proposed product(s) and process(s). If an Applicant submits applications proposing the same product and process to both Topic Areas, DOE will review only the last, on-time application submitted in Exchange.

Question 18: I am requesting additional clarification on your previous answer to Question 10, regarding the FOA guidance that "gasification" processes will be excluded from consideration under this FOA. It is clear from this answer that syngas-FT approaches do not qualify. Can you please comment on whether a process that enables the conversion of biomass to methane and subsequently catalytically converts that methane to a liquid bio-oil feedstock that can be utilized at one or more insertion points within a petroleum refinery, such as in the hydrotreaters, reformers, fluid catalytic crackers, cokers, isomerization units, or hydrocrackers, would qualify under this FOA? More generally, I am asking whether the term "gasification", as used in the FOA, is intended to exclude all processes that involve a gaseous intermediate state in the process-flow, or whether it is intended to only exclude syngas-FT processes (or other processes whose output cannot be used at the refinery insertion points targeted by this FOA)?
Answer 18: All gasification processes are excluded from consideration under this FOA. This includes syngas to FT, syngas to mixed alcohols, syngas to other hydrocarbons, and any other process involving gasification technologies. Gasification, as used in this FOA, is meant to encompass any front-end technology resulting in C1 chemistry.

Question 19: FOA states "(3) If the Applicant’s financial assistance application is chosen for award and the award is in excess of $1,000,000, the applicant will, by the end of the fiscal year, upgrade the efficiency of their facilities by replacing any lighting that does not meet or exceed the energy efficiency standard for incandescent light bulbs set forth in Section 325 of the Energy Policy and Conservation Act (42 U.S.C. 6295)." Is this still applicable and if so will this cost be considered part of the project costs?
Answer 19:

Section 316 of Division B of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2012 applies to all DOE grants awarded after the enactment of this Act that are in excess of $1,000,000. It does not apply to any other form of financial assistance. Calculation of grant award amounts shall include the Federal share and recipient cost share. Recipients shall certify that any incandescent light bulbs that do not meet or exceed the energy efficiency standards set forth in or pursuant to Section 325 of the Energy Policy and Conservation Act (42 U.S.C. 6295) used in the facility(ies) where a majority of the work under the grant will be performed will be upgraded to meet or exceed the standard for lamps established in or pursuant to that section by the end of the Federal Government’s fiscal year.

Costs directly associated with complying with this requirement may be considered allowable and allocable in accordance with the applicable cost principles as set forth in 10 CFR 600. Costs associated with complying with this requirement may also be included in the calculation of recipient cost share. Applicants should identify the facility (the rooms or areas where a majority of the proposed project work will occur) and, identify and justify the costs associated with upgrading the light bulbs to meet or exceed the energy efficiency standard for incandescent light bulbs set forth in or pursuant to section 325 of the Energy Policy and Conservation Act (42 U.S.C. 6295) prior to the end of the Federal fiscal year.

Question 20: Can we submit a letter of intent due date passed as of 5/1/12 application dead line 05/29/12?
Answer 20: Late LOI submittals will not be accepted. As stated in the FOA: Applicants must submit a Letter of Intent by the due date to be eligible to submit an Application. The LOI due date was May 1, 2012.

Question 21: According to question number 16 and your response, we believe our project as stated in the letter of intent will be deemed non-responsive. We have an alternative approach which does not require hydrolysis as the primary means of biomass deconstruction. Are we allowed to modify our Title and Description for the full proposal with an approach we believe to be more responsive?
Answer 21: Applicants may make changes between the LOI and the application but Applicants may submit one and only one application under each valid control number. To be valid, the control number must have been assigned by Exchange to an on-time Letter of Intent. DOE will not accept applications submitted under control numbers that do not have an associated and valid LOI. DOE will review only the last, on-time application submitted in Exchange. Only the product and process described in the application will be reviewed, information submitted in the LOI will not be considered for scoring purposes.

Question 22: One of the Co PIs listed in our LOI was recently killed in a farming accident. Will we be able to list a different Co PI from the same institution to replace him?
Answer 22: Yes, you may make changes between the LOI and the Application. Only the information submtited in the Application will be considered in the review.

Question 23: When submitting the LOI a mistake was made in the dollar amount to be requested. Is it possible to change this award size requested when the full proposal is submitted?
Answer 23: Yes, you may make changes between the LOI and the Application. Only the information submtited in the Application will be considered in the review.

Question 24: I have just registered on your website and I see that there is a funding opportunity (DE-FOA-0000686) with a letter of intent due date of May 1st. I realize that time is past. I wonder if this deadline will be extended. Please let me know if there is anything I can do to still get an application in on this.
Answer 24: Late LOI submittals will not be accepted. As stated in the FOA: Applicants must submit a Letter of Intent by the due date to be eligible to submit an Application. The LOI due date was May 1, 2012.

Question 25: Our proposal concept comprises direct thermochemical liquefaction-based conversion of “algal biomass” (total harvested algae material including all solids and any and all contained oil [some macro-algae contain essentially no oil]) to a petroleum refinery input. The algae would be harvested from ponds, lakes, streams, and rivers in which they represent a major contaminant problem. Would such a proposal be considered responsive to this FOA?
Answer 25:

As stated in the FOA: ““Algal Biomass” means biomass from cyanobacteria, microalgae, and macroalgae. Algal biomass from heterotrophic algae must be grown using a high-impact biomass-derived feedstock to qualify.” Also note that while aquatic plants may be lignocellulosic feedstocks, they may not be high-impact biomass-derived feedstocks as defined in the FOA.

Applicants may choose to use algae in the two different ways that would be responsive to this FOA.
1) "This Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) is intended for research and development (R&D)...that will accelerate the development of thermochemical liquefaction technologies to produce a bio-oil feedstock from biomass considered to be a high-impact feedstock or from algal biomass...The bio-oil feedstock produced must be utilized within a petroleum refinery and leverage its existing capital for further processing to final fuels (such as renewable: gasoline, diesel, jet fuel) that will contribute to the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007, Renewable Fuels Standard volumetric goals for advanced biofuels."
And
2) "Projects may also propose technologies utilizing oils extracted from algae that could be accepted into a petroleum refinery for further processing to the final products...Heterotrophic algae will be considered only if grown using a high-impact cellulosic biomass-derived feedstock so that the final fuel will be an advanced biofuel. Tasks related to the development of algal strains, cultivation, growing, and harvesting are specifically excluded from this FOA and applications proposing such efforts will be deemed non-responsive and excluded from further consideration."

Therefore, to be responsive to the FOA, your feedstock must meet the definition of algal biomass or high impact feedstock.

Question 26: We are exploring oily plants on marginal lands, which can produce terpenoid hydrocarbons and have the potential to be a sustainable advanced biofuel feedstock. The biocrude is extracted from the plants and needs to be upgraded before feeding into a petrochemical refinery. My question is whether extraction can be the alternative to pyrolysis or hydrothermal liquefaction to produce baseline bio-oil, i.e., plant terpenoids in this case.
Answer 26: As stated in the FOA: "This Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) is intended for research and development...that will accelerate the development of thermochemical liquefaction technologies to produce a bio-oil feedstock from biomass considered to be a high-impact feedstock or from algal biomass...The bio-oil feedstock produced must be utilized within a petroleum refinery and leverage its existing capital for further processing to final fuels (such as renewable: gasoline, diesel, jet fuel) that will contribute to the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007, Renewable Fuels Standard volumetric goals for advanced biofuels."
Projects proposing the use of oils extracted from terrestrial plants will not be considered responsive to this FOA. The oils must be produced from the oily plants by way of a thermochemical liquefaction technology.

Question 27: Is it acceptable for the same refiner to be a “cooperating refinery partner” on more than one proposal submission?
Answer 27: Yes, it is allowable for refinery partners to collaborate with more than one applicant.

Question 28: We have a question regarding the TEA mentioned on page 8 of the FOA. Q. Can you confirm a TEA is needed? It is mentioned on page 8 but is not mentioned on pages 27 and 28. Only the LCA is mentioned.
Answer 28: A techno-economic analysis is not required as part of the application. However, selected applicants will be required to prepare and update a TEA as part of the project. The application must describe how the applicant intends to complete this effort. Refer to Criterion 1: Technical Merit and Work Plan Rationale; scores will be based on how the application convincingly demonstrates the technical merit and provides a credible approach for the proposed project by clearly defining R&D barriers, achievable technical targets, and meaningful project deliverables (including a techno-economic analysis and life cycle assessment).

Question 29: On the FOA, page 23 number 11. ENVIRONMENTAL QUESTIONNAIRE, the FOA reads as follows: 11. Environmental Questionnaire You must complete the environmental questionnaire (EF-1 and PMC111.1). Do not submit the form online through the EERE Project Management Center website; it will not be reviewed as part of the application. Save the questionnaire in a single file titled “ControlNumber_LeadOrganization_Env.” Forms EF-1 and PMC111.1 are not downloadable from the FOA or site. Where do we obtain the forms?
Answer 29: The EF-1 and PMC 111.1 are now posted to the FOA application documents.

Question 30: I will probably convert to Topic Area 1. Can this be done?
Answer 30: Yes, you may make changes between the LOI and the Application. Only the information submtited in the Application will be considered in the review.

Question 31: Is there a penalty for proposal lengths that fall under the 25 page maximum (as opposed to over)?
Answer 31: No, there is not a penalty. Scores are based on content.

Question 32: I understand that the Project Narrative must not exceed 25 pages. My question is whether a full page of that 25 total must be devoted to a cover page and another full page to a Table of Contents. Could we include the information for the cover page on about one-third of a page and use the remaining two-thirds of that page for a Table of Contents? The material we have will fit, but I am asking if that approach would be compliant with the FOA.
Answer 32: Applicants may format their documents however they wish, within the guidelines stated in the FOA. As stated in the FOA: "The project narrative must not exceed 25 pages for a Topic Area 1 application or 35 pages for a Topic Area 2 application, including cover page, table of contents, charts, graphs, maps, photographs, and other pictorial presentations, when printed using standard 8.5” by 11” paper with 1 inch margins (top, bottom, left, and right), single spaced."
The project narrative must include: Merit Review Criterion Discussion; Roles of Participants; Facilities and Other Resources; Equipment; Bibliography and References, if applicable;
Statement of Project Objectives (SOPO); Business and Commercialization Plan; and the IP Statement. All the components of your Project Narrative must be within the Narrative page limit specified. EVALUATORS WILL REVIEW ONLY THE FIRST 25 PAGES OF A TOPIC AREA 1 APPLICATION, OR THE FIRST 35 PAGES FOR A TOPIC AREA 2 APPLICATION. Organizing the content of the Project Narrative within these guidelines is at the discretion of the applicant.

Question 33: I’m a bit confused on the Environmental Questionnaire requirement. The text in the FOA indicates (to me) that the Questionnaire must be filled out and kept for future use, but not submitted (referencing the “Do not submit” wording) which is underlined in the FOA. 11. Environmental Questionnaire You must complete the environmental questionnaire (EF-1 and PMC111.1). Do not submit the form online through the EERE Project Management Center website; it will not be reviewed as part of the application. Save the questionnaire in a single file titled “ControlNumber_LeadOrganization_Env.” However, I see a location in the online document download section for these files to be downloaded with the wording (REQUIRED: Environmental Questionnaire including both the EF-1 and PMC111.1*). Could you please clarify what is expected? Perhaps I’m missing something, is there a separate “EERE Project Management Center” website that is different from the “Funding Opportunity Exchange”?
Answer 33: If your application is selected for negotiations leading to award, you will be required to upload your environmental information to the NEPA Compliance Information section of the EERE Project Management Center database (https://www.eere-pmc.energy.gov/NEPA.aspx) at that time. This is a separate system from EERE-Exchange. For the purposes of applying to this FOA, the EF-1 and PMC111.1 must be combined into a single PDF file named "ControlNumber_LeadOrganization_Env" and uploaded to EERE-Exchange. All application documents must be uploaded to EERE-Exchange, as stated in the FOA. Any documents uploaded to any other system, submitted via email, or any interface other than EERE-Exchange, will not be counted as submitted and will not be reviewed. Incomplete applications will be excluded from further review.

Question 34: The FOA indicates that all pages need to be formatted to have 1” margins. However, I have noticed that different government forms do not fit this formatting (such as GO-EF1). Do these government forms need to be reformatted, or can they be submitted using their current formatting?
Answer 34: Please use the prescribed format for the EF-1 and all other DOE-provided application documents. All applicant-generated documents must follow the formatting guidelines as described in the FOA.

Question 35: Please provide the DOE HQ Program Manager name and phone number for FOA-0000686.
Answer 35: The Program Manager (acting) for DOE Office of the Biomass Program is Valerie Sarisky-Reed, 202-586-5188.

Question 36: Can you please confirm that the bibliography, statement of Project Objectives (SOPO), Business and Commercialization plan, and IP statement all count toward the 25 page limit for the narrative section under Topic Area 1.
Answer 36: As stated in the FOA: "The project narrative must not exceed 25 pages for a Topic Area 1 application or 35 pages for a Topic Area 2 application, including cover page, table of contents, charts, graphs, maps, photographs, and other pictorial presentations, when printed using standard 8.5” by 11” paper with 1 inch margins (top, bottom, left, and right), single spaced."
The project narrative must include: Merit Review Criterion Discussion; Roles of Participants; Facilities and Other Resources; Equipment; Bibliography and References, if applicable; Statement of Project Objectives (SOPO); Business and Commercialization Plan; and the IP Statement. All the components of your Project Narrative must be within the Narrative page limit specified. EVALUATORS WILL REVIEW ONLY THE FIRST 25 PAGES OF A TOPIC AREA 1 APPLICATION, OR THE FIRST 35 PAGES FOR A TOPIC AREA 2 APPLICATION.

Question 37: Does duckweed qualify as high impact feedstock?
Answer 37: As stated in the FOA, “successful applicants to this funding opportunity must also identify the type(s) of biomass or algae oil being utilized and describe how it meets the high-impact feedstock definition. A “High-impact Feedstock” is a feedstock that is domestically available and has the agronomically and ecologically sustainable ultimate availability potential of at least 50 million dry metric tonnes of biomass per year. Also note that aquatic plants, such as lemna minor/duckweed are lignocellulosic feedstocks, not algal biomass, and more than likely would not qualify as a high-impact biomass-derived feedstock. The purpose of this solicitation was not to develop new feedstocks but rather to demonstrate thermochemical liquefaction technologies on existing high-impact feedstocks.”

Question 38: I have uploaded a combined SF424A for our subawardees. However, there is no way I can put extra tabs and combine the subawardees in the budget justification file (PMC123). And it does not allow me to upload more than 1 file. Should I put the other one in additional files?
Answer 38: You may upload subaward budget files as "Additional Files". Please ensure the file name is easily identifiable and includes your control number. (e.g. - Control Number_Prime_Sub_File Type)

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