Challenges and Opportunities for Vehicle Photovoltaics | DE FOA 0002790

Opportunity Information: Apply for DE FOA 0002790

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), through its Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), issued a federal opportunity titled "Challenges and Opportunities for Vehicle Photovoltaics" (Funding Opportunity Number DE FOA 0002790). The focus is on vehicle-integrated photovoltaic (PV) systems, meaning solar technologies that are built into or directly mounted on vehicles in a way that can meaningfully contribute electrical energy for propulsion, auxiliary loads, or battery charging. The Solar Energy Technologies Office (SETO), in coordination with the Vehicle Technologies Office (VTO), is seeking input on both the technical barriers and the commercial realities that are slowing adoption, as well as the most promising pathways to make vehicle PV more practical, scalable, and cost-effective.

This opportunity is categorized as discretionary funding and lists a cooperative agreement as the funding instrument type, which typically signals DOE involvement beyond simply providing funds, often including substantial technical collaboration, milestones, and active program management. The activity category is energy, and it is associated with CFDA number 81.087, a common DOE assistance listing used for many EERE-related technology development and deployment efforts. The administering agency is the Department of Energy, Golden Field Office, which frequently manages EERE awards and related clean energy initiatives.

In terms of who can participate, eligibility is described as unrestricted, meaning the opportunity is open to essentially any type of applicant (for example, companies, universities, national labs, nonprofits, and other organizations), subject to any additional eligibility clarifications that would normally appear in the full announcement text. The opportunity record notes an award ceiling of 2 (as presented in the source data), expected awards of 0, a creation date of July 14, 2022, and an original closing date of August 22, 2022. The expected awards value being listed as 0 can be a sign that the posting is primarily a request for information (RFI) or market research style solicitation rather than a conventional multi-award grant competition, even though the record includes typical grant fields like instrument type and ceiling. In practical terms, the core intent is to gather high-quality stakeholder feedback to shape DOE understanding and future program directions around solar-on-vehicle concepts.

Substantively, DOE is looking for information that clarifies what is holding vehicle photovoltaics back and where the highest-impact opportunities exist. On the technical side, this can include issues such as limited surface area on vehicles, suboptimal panel orientation and shading, real-world energy yield variability, durability under vibration and road debris, thermal cycling, car-wash and weather exposure, integration with curved surfaces, lightweight materials and encapsulants, power electronics and maximum power point tracking under partial shading, safety and electrical isolation requirements, and how PV interfaces with high-voltage vehicle architectures and battery management systems. On the commercial side, the agency is asking for perspective on manufacturing scalability, supply chain constraints, installation and service considerations, consumer value proposition, regulatory and warranty implications, business models (OEM integration versus aftermarket), cost targets, and the market segments where vehicle PV can realistically provide compelling benefits (for example, passenger EVs, delivery fleets, long-haul trucking auxiliary loads, refrigeration units, RVs, marine applications, or specialty and off-grid vehicles).

Overall, the opportunity is best understood as DOE and EERE SETO/VTO signaling strong interest in understanding the state of the art for vehicle-integrated solar and collecting concrete, experience-based input from industry and research stakeholders. The goal of that input is typically to inform future funding priorities, technical targets, and potential demonstration pathways that could accelerate practical adoption of vehicle PV where it makes sense and avoid investments where the energy and economic returns are unlikely to justify the added complexity.

• The Department of Energy, Golden Field Office in the energy sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Challenges and Opportunities for Vehicle Photovoltaics" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 81.087.
• This funding opportunity was created on Jul 14, 2022.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Aug 22, 2022. (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 $2.00 in funding.
• 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.

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