Opportunity Information: Apply for DE FOA 0001887

This notice is an advance heads-up from the U.S. Department of Energy's National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL), under its Carbon Storage Program, that it planned to release a forthcoming Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) focused on subsurface geomechanics and stress. The intent is not to solicit proposals yet, but to alert prospective applicants that a competitive funding opportunity was expected. The planned FOA is identified in the notice as DE-FOA-0001826, with the overall theme "Developing Technologies to Advance the Understanding of State of Stress and Geomechanical Impacts within the Subsurface." The notice also emphasizes that it is only a Notice of Intent: no applications would be accepted under this notice, and the agency did not want questions or responses directed to the Notice of Intent itself.

Technically, the planned FOA would target research and development that improves how the in-situ state of stress is measured and interpreted in deep geologic settings, and how stress changes and geomechanical effects can be predicted as fluids are injected underground. In carbon storage and other subsurface injection contexts, understanding the state of stress matters because it strongly influences whether injection could reactivate existing faults, induce seismicity, deform the reservoir or caprock, or alter permeability pathways. The notice highlights two broad technical thrusts: first, advancing capabilities to measure and understand in-situ stress (especially because stress is a key variable controlling geomechanical response), and second, building capabilities to predict pressure migration and the geomechanical impacts of that migrating pressure within a storage complex. In practical terms, this points to better field tools, analytical methods, and modeling approaches that reduce uncertainty in stress estimates and improve forecasts of how pressure changes propagate and interact with the surrounding rock.

Two Areas of Interest were anticipated. Area of Interest 1 centers on tools and methods for determining the maximum principal stress in the deep subsurface. This is a specific stress component often needed for fracture and fault-slip analyses, wellbore stability assessments, and geomechanical modeling. Area of Interest 2 focuses on methods for understanding the impact of vertical pressure migration due to injection on the state of subsurface stress. This reflects a concern that pressure does not always remain confined to the intended injection interval; it can move vertically through formations, along faults, or via legacy wells, potentially changing stresses in overlying or underlying units and affecting geologic containment. Work responsive to this area would likely involve coupled flow and geomechanics concepts aimed at explaining and predicting how vertically migrating pressure perturbs stress fields and what that means for integrity and risk.

From an administrative standpoint, the opportunity category is listed as discretionary, with cooperative agreements as the intended funding instrument type, which typically means DOE would expect substantial involvement during project execution (for example, coordinated technical direction, milestones, and reporting). The activity category is research and development in energy, science, and technology, and the CFDA number is 81.089. Eligibility is described as unrestricted, meaning it was broadly open to different types of entities (such as universities, private companies, national laboratories, non-profits, and others), subject to any additional eligibility language that would have appeared in the actual FOA text. The notice data also lists an expected number of awards of eight, and shows an award ceiling of 1 (as written in the source data), though that value is ambiguous without the full FOA context and may reflect a placeholder or a formatting artifact rather than a meaningful per-award maximum. The notice was created on February 2, 2018, and carried an original closing date of February 28, 2018, which in practice reflects the end of the notice period rather than a proposal deadline, since no submissions were permitted for the Notice of Intent.

Overall, the key takeaway is that DOE NETL was signaling an upcoming competitive FOA aimed at improving the measurement of subsurface stress and the prediction of injection-driven pressure migration and related geomechanical impacts, with particular emphasis on determining maximum principal stress at depth and understanding how vertical pressure migration alters subsurface stress conditions. The notice itself was informational only and did not accept applications or correspondence.

  • The Department of Energy, National Energy Technology Laboratory in the energy, science and technology and other research and development sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Notice of Intent to Issue Funding Opportunity Announcement entitled Developing Technologies to Advance the Understanding of State of Stress and Geomechanical Impacts within the Subsurface" and is now available to receive applicants.
  • Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 81.089.
  • This funding opportunity was created on Feb 02, 2018.
  • Applicants must submit their applications by Feb 28, 2018 This is a Notice of Intent to issue Funding Opportunity Announcement DE-FOA-0001826. Applications will not be accepted for the Notice of Intent.. (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 $1.00 in funding.
  • The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 8 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 0001887

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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

1) What is this announcement?

This is a Notice of Intent from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL), under DOE's Carbon Storage Program. It serves as an advance heads-up that DOE planned to release a forthcoming Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) focused on subsurface geomechanics and stress.

2) Is this a Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) that I can apply to right now?

No. The notice is explicitly informational only. It is not soliciting proposals, and DOE stated that no applications would be accepted under the Notice of Intent.

3) What is the planned FOA number and theme?

The planned FOA is identified as DE-FOA-0001826. The theme is "Developing Technologies to Advance the Understanding of State of Stress and Geomechanical Impacts within the Subsurface."

4) What is the main technical purpose of the planned FOA?

The planned FOA would target research and development (R&D) to improve how the in-situ state of stress is measured and interpreted in deep geologic settings, and how stress changes and geomechanical effects can be predicted as fluids are injected underground.

5) Why does DOE care about understanding subsurface stress for injection projects?

The notice explains that the in-situ state of stress strongly influences geomechanical outcomes during injection, including the potential to reactivate existing faults, induce seismicity, deform the reservoir or caprock, or alter permeability pathways. Better stress understanding helps reduce uncertainty and supports safer, more predictable subsurface injection and storage performance.

6) What kinds of impacts is the planned FOA trying to help predict?

Based on the notice, the planned FOA would emphasize predicting how injection-driven pressure changes propagate and how those migrating pressures interact with surrounding rocks to create geomechanical impacts. This includes pressure migration and its consequences for stress perturbations, containment integrity, and risk.

7) What are the two broad technical thrusts described in the notice?

The notice highlights two broad thrusts:

  • Advancing capabilities to measure and understand in-situ stress, since stress is a key variable controlling geomechanical response.
  • Building capabilities to predict pressure migration and the geomechanical impacts of that migrating pressure within a storage complex.

8) What are the anticipated Areas of Interest (AOIs)?

Two Areas of Interest were anticipated:

  • Area of Interest 1: Tools and methods for determining the maximum principal stress in the deep subsurface.
  • Area of Interest 2: Methods for understanding the impact of vertical pressure migration due to injection on the state of subsurface stress.

9) What is Area of Interest 1 focused on?

Area of Interest 1 focuses on tools and methods to determine the maximum principal stress in deep subsurface settings. The notice describes this stress component as important for fracture and fault-slip analyses, wellbore stability assessments, and geomechanical modeling.

10) What is Area of Interest 2 focused on?

Area of Interest 2 focuses on methods to understand how vertical pressure migration caused by injection changes the subsurface stress state. The notice points out that pressure may not remain confined to the intended injection interval and can migrate vertically through formations, along faults, or via legacy wells, potentially affecting containment and integrity.

11) What does "vertical pressure migration" mean in the context of this notice?

In this notice, vertical pressure migration refers to injection-driven pressure moving out of the intended injection interval into overlying or underlying units. The notice mentions possible pathways such as formations, faults, and legacy wells, and emphasizes that this migration can perturb stress fields beyond the injection zone.

12) What types of work does the notice suggest would be responsive to these areas?

The notice points toward improved field tools, analytical methods, and modeling approaches that reduce uncertainty in stress estimates and improve forecasting of how pressure changes propagate and interact with surrounding rock. For Area of Interest 2 in particular, the notice indicates work would likely involve coupled flow and geomechanics concepts to explain and predict stress perturbations from vertically migrating pressure.

13) Is this opportunity tied to carbon storage only?

The notice is issued under DOE NETL's Carbon Storage Program and discusses carbon storage and other subsurface injection contexts. The technical focus is broadly on injection-related stress and geomechanical impacts in deep geologic settings, as described in the notice.

14) What type of funding instrument was anticipated?

The notice lists cooperative agreements as the intended funding instrument type. The notice also explains that cooperative agreements typically mean DOE expects substantial involvement during project execution (for example, coordinated technical direction, milestones, and reporting).

15) What is the opportunity category and activity type?

The opportunity category is listed as discretionary. The activity category is research and development in energy, science, and technology.

16) What is the CFDA number associated with this planned opportunity?

The notice lists CFDA 81.089.

17) Who was expected to be eligible to apply once the FOA was released?

Eligibility is described as unrestricted, meaning it was expected to be broadly open to different types of entities (for example, universities, private companies, national laboratories, non-profits, and others), subject to any additional eligibility language that would have appeared in the actual FOA text.

18) How many awards were expected?

The notice data lists an expected number of awards of eight.

19) What was the award ceiling?

The notice shows an award ceiling of "1" as written in the source data, but the notice context indicates this value is ambiguous without the full FOA and may be a placeholder or formatting artifact rather than a meaningful per-award maximum.

20) What are the key dates mentioned in the notice?

The notice was created on February 2, 2018, and it carried an original closing date of February 28, 2018. The notice indicates this closing date reflects the end of the notice period rather than a proposal deadline, since submissions were not permitted for the Notice of Intent.

21) Can I submit an application, concept paper, or any materials in response to this Notice of Intent?

No. The notice states that no applications would be accepted under the notice.

22) Can I ask DOE questions about this Notice of Intent?

No. The notice states the agency did not want questions or responses directed to the Notice of Intent itself.

23) What is the practical takeaway for potential applicants?

The practical takeaway is that DOE NETL was signaling an upcoming competitive FOA aimed at (1) improving measurement and interpretation of subsurface stress and (2) improving prediction of injection-driven pressure migration and related geomechanical impacts, with particular emphasis on determining maximum principal stress at depth and understanding how vertical pressure migration alters subsurface stress conditions.

24) Where would the official application requirements be found?

This notice does not include application requirements because it is not accepting applications. The official requirements, eligibility details, submission instructions, and evaluation criteria would be expected to appear in the actual FOA (DE-FOA-0001826) once released.

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