Collaborative Research on International and Domestic Spherical Tokamaks | DE FOA 0002259

Opportunity Information: Apply for DE FOA 0002259

The Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Science, through its Fusion Energy Sciences (FES) program, is soliciting grant applications for collaborative research focused on spherical tokamaks, with a major emphasis on work connected to the National Spherical Torus Experiment Upgrade (NSTX-U) at the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory. The opportunity is designed to support coordinated, team-based research efforts that make direct use of NSTX-U and/or other spherical tokamak facilities, including both U.S.-based and international machines. It is also framed as one of two spherical-tokamak-related funding opportunities available in Fiscal Year 2020, with applicants directed to a separate FOA (DE-FOA-0002255) for proposals that fit the other solicitation rather than this one.

At a program level, the purpose of this funding call is to strengthen the scientific basis for fusion energy by advancing the understanding of magnetically confined plasmas and by evaluating the potential of the spherical tokamak concept for future fusion facilities. Spherical tokamaks are of interest because their compact, high-beta configurations can offer attractive pathways for high-performance plasma operation, but they also bring distinctive physics challenges that must be understood and controlled. DOE is therefore looking for proposals that are not standalone experiments in isolation, but collaborative efforts that connect researchers, facilities, diagnostics, modeling, and theory in ways that accelerate progress on the most important questions for spherical tokamak performance and predictability.

Applications must align with the Spherical Tokamak program and address key scientific issues in one or more specified research areas. These topics include macroscopic stability (understanding and avoiding large-scale instabilities that can limit performance or disrupt plasmas), multi-scale transport physics (how turbulence and transport processes across different spatial and temporal scales determine confinement and plasma profiles), plasma boundary interfaces (the edge region where the plasma meets material surfaces and where heat, particles, and impurities are exchanged), plasma waves and energetic particles (how radiofrequency waves, fast ions, and other energetic populations interact with the bulk plasma and with instabilities), and advanced operating scenarios and control (developing improved regimes of operation and the control techniques needed to sustain them reliably). In practice, successful proposals would be expected to show how the team will use spherical tokamak experiments and/or supporting simulation and theory to produce results that are broadly valuable to the program, such as validated physics understanding, improved scenario development, or control methods relevant to next-step devices.

Administratively, this is a discretionary funding opportunity using a grant instrument under the DOE Office of Science. The Funding Opportunity Number is DE-FOA-0002259, with the activity category listed as science and technology and other research and development, and the CFDA number identified as 81.049. Eligibility is described as unrestricted (open to any type of entity), subject to any clarifications contained in the full announcement’s eligibility section. The FOA was created on February 13, 2020, with an original closing date of April 2, 2020. The stated award ceiling is $2,000,000, and DOE anticipated making approximately 20 awards, indicating an intent to support a sizable portfolio of projects rather than only a small number of large, single-team efforts.

Overall, the opportunity is essentially a targeted call for collaborative, facility-connected spherical tokamak research that directly contributes to FES priorities, especially work tied to NSTX-U and complementary domestic and international spherical tokamak programs, and that tackles one or more of the core physics and control challenges needed to assess and advance the spherical tokamak approach for fusion energy.

• The Department of Energy - Office of Science, Office of Science in the science and technology and other research and development sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Collaborative Research on International and Domestic Spherical Tokamaks" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 81.049.
• This funding opportunity was created on Feb 13, 2020.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Apr 02, 2020. (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 $2,000,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 20 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 0002259

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