July 2026 | DOE | ASPECT
The DOE Accelerating Scale-up and Pre-piloting of Emerging Chemical Technologies (ASPECT) program will support the research, development, and scale-up of novel technologies that produce conventional or bio-advantaged chemicals from domestic alternative and waste feedstocks. Projects should strengthen U.S. chemical supply chains, reduce reliance on imports, lower production costs, improve chemical performance or safety, and advance promising technologies toward commercial deployment.
ASPECT is anticipated to support projects under two topic areas:
• Topic Area 1 – Bench ASPECT: Technologies moving beyond proof-of-concept through additional bench-scale development, process optimization, and potential pre-piloting of individual unit operations.
• Topic Area 2 – Pre-Pilot ASPECT: Technologies ready for unit-operation scale-up or the design, construction, and operation of an integrated pre-pilot system.
Proposals may be submitted by or include the following types of organizations:
• Domestic institutions of higher education, for-profit entities, nonprofit entities, state and local governments, and Indian Tribes.
• Universities serving as prime applicants or subrecipients under Topic Area 1.
• Universities participating as subrecipients only under Topic Area 2.
• DOE and non-DOE FFRDCs and federal research agencies participating as subrecipients only.
• Project teams that include at least one for-profit industry entity.
The anticipated application process will begin with a streamlined concept paper identifying the chemical product, feedstock, conversion pathway, participating organizations, and advantages of the proposed technology over the current standard. DOE has issued a Notice of Intent only and is not currently accepting applications.
Deadline: TBD; NOFO anticipated August 24, 2026
Estimated number of awards: TBD
Estimated total funding: $58 million