Awards Will Go to Universities and National Laboratories on a Competitive Basis

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced up to $16 million in new funding to advance research and development (R&D) for isotope production—part of a key federal program that produces critical isotopes otherwise unavailable or in short supply for U.S. science, medicine, and industry.

The effort is aimed at sustaining longstanding U.S. leadership in the vital field of isotope production, research, and development.

“Isotopes are commodities of strategic importance for the Nation,” said Under Secretary for Science Paul Dabbar. “This research and development is essential to developing innovative production and processing techniques for scarce isotopes, which will lead to advancements in science, medicine, and industry as well as strengthen our economic and national security.”

National Laboratories, universities, and nonprofits will be eligible to submit applications for the two-year awards, which will be selected based on peer review. The DOE Isotope Program managed by the Office of Nuclear Physics in the Department’s Office of Science, which is funding the effort, envisions awards both for single investigators and small multi-institutional collaborations.

The Department anticipates that up to $8 million will be available for this program in Fiscal Year (FY) 2021, with an additional $8 million in funding anticipated in FY 2022, for a total of $16 million over the two-year grant period. All funding is contingent on congressional appropriations.

Final applications for this funding opportunity are due on June 15, 2020 by 5 p.m. Eastern time. Letters of intent are not required for this solicitation. The full text of the Funding Opportunity Announcement for universities and nonprofits, along with a parallel, companion announcement for DOE National Laboratories, can be found on the Nuclear Physics funding page.

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