HITEMMP | DE FOA 0001970

Opportunity Information: Apply for DE FOA 0001970

HITEMMP (High Intensity Thermal Exchange Through Materials and Manufacturing Process) is an ARPA-E funding opportunity from the U.S. Department of Energy focused on pushing heat exchanger technology into operating conditions that current commercial approaches cannot reliably handle. ARPA-E is specifically aimed at high-risk, high-reward energy R&D that is still too early for typical private investment, but could have major national benefits in energy security, emissions reduction, and efficiency if it works. Awards under this announcement are issued as cooperative agreements, meaning ARPA-E expects active involvement during the project rather than a purely hands-off grant.

The core goal of HITEMMP is to create new design approaches, materials, and manufacturing methods for heat exchangers that are simultaneously high temperature, high pressure, and highly compact. The program is motivated by the fact that better heat exchangers directly enable more efficient and more power-dense power cycles, which matters across multiple sectors: transportation (where size and weight are critical), electricity generation (where efficiency and cost drive adoption), and industrial energy use (where high-grade heat recovery can cut fuel consumption and emissions). While the immediate target is extreme-environment recuperator-type heat exchangers for advanced power cycles, ARPA-E also expects that breakthroughs in materials and manufacturing could spill over into other applications and less extreme conditions.

Technically, the challenge is extreme: the program targets heat exchangers that can operate above 800 degrees C and above 80 bar at the same time, and do so for tens of thousands of hours. In addition to simply surviving those conditions, the devices must deliver strong thermal performance while keeping pumping power low (so you do not give back efficiency gains by spending too much energy moving fluids). They also must be durable and cost competitive, with detailed performance and cost metrics spelled out in the FOA section on metrics (Section I.D). ARPA-E is explicit that hitting this combination of temperature, pressure, compactness, efficiency, lifetime, and cost is beyond what existing heat exchanger technologies can do today, which is why the program leans heavily on new materials, new geometries, and modern manufacturing.

HITEMMP emphasizes three intertwined innovation areas. First is materials: identifying or developing material systems that can tolerate the thermomechanical and chemical realities of these environments (creep, oxidation/corrosion, thermal fatigue, pressure-driven stresses) while still being manufacturable into complex, compact heat exchanger structures. Second is manufacturing: advancing additive and/or subtractive processes to produce small structural feature sizes and smooth surface finishes at reasonable cost, since micro-scale or highly structured flow paths can dramatically increase heat transfer but are hard to fabricate and qualify for high-pressure, high-temperature service. Third is design methodology: using advanced topology/design tools that fully account for the new material capabilities and real manufacturing constraints, rather than designing something that looks good in simulation but cannot be produced or reliably joined, sealed, and inspected.

ARPA-E frames the program around two “challenge problem” categories for recuperator-type heat exchangers. One category targets operation above 800 degrees C, generally aligned with metallic material systems, and the second targets operation above 1100 degrees C, aligned with ceramic or composite material approaches. Applicants are expected to pick one category and design toward the associated metric set. In both tracks, ARPA-E anticipates a development path that starts with analytical and computational design, then addresses key technical risks through small-scale module experiments, and ultimately culminates in a demonstration of a heat exchanger meeting the desired performance and durability at a 50 kW thermal (50 kWth) scale. That 50 kWth target is important because it pushes teams beyond coupon-level materials testing into an integrated component demonstration that better reflects real heat exchanger behavior, including manifolding, joining, leakage, pressure drop, and thermomechanical cycling.

From an applicant and funding standpoint, the opportunity is listed as open eligibility (unrestricted, subject to any clarifications in the FOA), with an anticipated total of about 10 awards and an award ceiling of up to $10,000,000 per project. The funding instrument is a cooperative agreement under DOE rules (2 CFR 200 as amended by 2 CFR 910). The FOA number is DE-FOA-0001970 under CFDA 81.135, and applications are handled only through ARPA-E’s eXCHANGE system (submissions through other methods are not reviewed). The posted timeline in the notice indicates an August 9, 2018 release date and a concept paper deadline of September 12, 2018, with applicants encouraged to submit ahead of the deadline to avoid last-minute technical issues.

In practical terms, the program is looking for multidisciplinary teams that can bridge materials science, mechanical/thermal design, manufacturing process development, and high-temperature testing/validation. The highest-value proposals are likely to be those that present an integrated approach: a credible material and joining strategy, a manufacturable compact topology, and a clear plan to validate performance, pressure integrity, durability, and cost trajectory against the FOA’s defined metrics, all the way through a 50 kWth demonstration relevant to advanced, high-efficiency power cycles.

• The Department of Energy, Advanced Research Projects Agency Energy in the science and technology and other research and development sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "HITEMMP" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 81.135.
• This funding opportunity was created on Aug 09, 2018.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Sep 12, 2018 Concept Papers are due by September 12, 2018. Applicants are strongly encouraged to submit their applications at least 48 hours in advance of the submission deadline.. (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 $10,000,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 10 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 0001970

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