INFUSE

Innovation network for fusion energy

RFA Requirements

Updated on 1/3/2024

Failure to meet the requirements below will result in rejection of the RFA with no further review. All RFAs are inspected and validated for complete and accurate information before review.

  1. All RFAs must be submitted electronically before the published deadline by the company and submitted as a package on the INFUSE SharePoint site. All submissions are timestamped and certified by the submitters AZURE account to be complete and accurate. E-mailed RFAs are not accepted.
  2. The company PI must be a technical staff member and employee of the U.S. company submitting the RFA.
  3. Foreign-controlled companies are welcome to participate; however, they must have a legal subsidiary with a U.S. address. All companies must have a valid SAM.gov Unique Entity ID and be registered in the U.S.
  4. A company must provide a minimum 20% cost share of the total project value as detailed in the required budget estimate worksheet.
  5. Only one partnering institute is permitted per RFA. However, a laboratory can collaborate with other labs through a Memorandum Purchase Order (MPO) or a university can subcontract with another university directly. The institute PI must be a technical staff or faculty member and employee of the partnering institution.
  6. For laboratory agreements: The U.S.-registered company must agree to terms and conditions within either a standard or SBIR DOE CRADA and execute a negotiated agreement before work can commence. For university agreements: A standard university-approved contract can be executed. A signed Intellectual Property Management Plan (IPMP) must be submitted with the application.
  7. Institution PIs must have the necessary expertise, time and resources to perform the work in an effective manner. The laboratory PI must perform a minimum 25% of the laboratory scope; whereas, the university faculty PI must perform a minimum 5% of the university scope with remainder performed by existing university staff.
  8. The participating institution cannot subcontract out more than 25% of the work.
  9. A record-of-discussion must be part of the RFA showing mutual agreement between the company and institute PIs regarding the scope of work signed by the PIs. If the RFA requires use of specialized, high-demand facilities, the institute PI’s supervisor must also sign indicating the resource will be available.
  10. Although national laboratories can subcontract with universities, universities are not permitted to subcontract with the labs. All subcontracts must be broken out in the cost estimate spreadsheet.

For any questions concerning the above requirements, companies are encouraged to contact [email protected] via e-mail before submitting an RFA.