Energy Frontier Research Centers (EFRCs)
- Posted
- February 18, 2026
- Closed
- July 1, 2026
- Award ceiling
- $18,000,000
- Award floor
- $12,000,000
- Cost sharing
- No
- Instrument
- Grant, Other
- Assistance listing
- 81.049
- Archives
- July 31, 2026
Program funding history
Awards made under Assistance Listing 81.049 across FY2024–FY2026, from public federal spending records.
- FY2024 obligated
- $1.7B
- FY2025 obligated
- $1.4B
- FY2026 (to date) obligated
- $994.7M
- Awards in window
- 6,130
Top recipients: Michigan State University, General Atomics, University of Wisconsin System, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, University of Illinois
Source: USAspending.gov · refreshed September 2026 · Program page: awards, recipients and the opportunities under this listing →
Synopsis
The DOE SC program in Basic Energy Sciences (BES) announces a re-competition of the Energy Frontier Research Center (EFRC) program. The purpose of this program is to bring together world-class teams of scientists from universities, DOE national laboratories, and other institutions to perform energy-relevant basic research with a scope and complexity beyond what is possible in single-investigator or small-group awards. These multi-investigator, multi-disciplinary centers accelerate transformative scientific advances for the most challenging topics in materials sciences, chemical sciences, geosciences, and biosciences. EFRCs integrate experiments, theory, computation, and AI/ML; develop innovative experimental and theoretical tools that illuminate fundamental processes in unprecedented detail; and create an enthusiastic, interdisciplinary, workforce of energy-focused scientists.
Who can apply
- Unrestricted (i.e., open to any type of entity above), subject to any clarification in text field entitled "Additional Information on Eligibility"
The official record
Grants.gov published the official terms and dates of this opportunity; this page keeps them as they were listed.
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