Notice of Intent: BOTTLE: Bio-Optimized Technologies to Keep Thermoplastics out of Landfills and the Environment | DE FOA 0002244

Opportunity Information: Apply for DE FOA 0002244

The Department of Energy (DOE), through its Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), announced its intent to release a Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) called "BOTTLE: Bio-Optimized Technologies to Keep Thermoplastics out of Landfills and the Environment" (Funding Opportunity Number DE-FOA-0002244). The planned FOA is jointly supported by two DOE offices, the Bioenergy Technologies Office (BETO) and the Advanced Manufacturing Office (AMO), and it sits under DOE's broader Plastics Innovation Challenge launched on November 21, 2019. At a high level, the opportunity is aimed at pushing plastics recycling beyond the limitations of many current approaches, especially for everyday thermoplastics used in items like grocery bags and beverage bottles, where existing recycling methods can be inefficient, expensive, and prone to "downcycling" (producing recycled materials with reduced performance and lower value).

The core problem the FOA is trying to address is that common mechanical recycling methods often degrade polymer quality over repeated cycles, making it difficult to turn recycled plastic back into products that match the performance and value of those made from virgin material. This loss of properties narrows the market for recycled content and can undermine the economics that would otherwise keep plastics circulating in a true closed loop. DOE highlights that better recycling and redesign strategies could make a substantial difference not only for waste reduction, but also for energy use and emissions. In particular, the notice points to an opportunity for new technologies that incorporate recycled materials in ways that could reduce manufacturing energy consumption for some prevalent plastics by as much as 50 percent, which signals the program's dual focus on environmental outcomes and energy efficiency.

From a technical standpoint, DOE lays out three major research directions it expects to support. First is the development of novel polymers intentionally engineered for "infinite recyclability," meaning materials designed from the start to be repeatedly recovered and remade without the usual performance drop-off. Second is the creation of innovative "deconstruction pathways" for plastics that are already widely used today, with an emphasis on breaking polymers down into valuable intermediates or end products rather than low-value outputs. This points toward chemical and biological approaches that can selectively depolymerize or transform plastics into high-value chemicals, fuels, or new polymer building blocks, improving the economics of recovery. Third is the establishment of a consistent evaluation framework to measure carbon efficiency and energy efficiency across different material flows and transformation pathways. That last element is important because recycling processes can look attractive in isolation but perform differently when evaluated across full systems; DOE is signaling interest in standardized, comparable metrics that can guide which pathways scale responsibly.

Administratively, this posting is a Notice of Intent rather than the FOA itself, meaning it was published to alert potential applicants that a formal solicitation was expected soon and that details could change. DOE also stated it would not answer questions about the Notice of Intent, but would provide a question-and-answer process after the FOA was officially released. The plan at the time was to issue the FOA in January 2020, and DOE directed applicants to the EERE Exchange portal (https://eere-exchange.energy.gov/) for the official announcement and for application submission. DOE also emphasized that applications would be accepted only through EERE Exchange, and that interested parties should register there to receive official updates.

The opportunity is listed as a discretionary funding program, with awards anticipated to be made through cooperative agreements, which typically means DOE expects substantial involvement during the project period (for example, technical coordination, milestones, and active project management beyond a standard grant). The activity category is energy, and the CFDA number is 81.087. Eligibility is described as unrestricted (open to any type of entity), subject to any additional clarifications that would appear in the FOA itself. The notice lists an award ceiling value of 2 (as provided in the source record) and shows "expected awards" as 0 in the notice data, which is common in preliminary postings where final funding levels and the number of awards are not yet set or not represented in the early record. Key dates in the record include a creation date of December 10, 2019 and an original closing date of February 21, 2020, though the notice repeatedly emphasizes that the contents and timing are subject to change once the actual FOA is issued.

In practical terms, the BOTTLE FOA is positioned as a research and development push to make plastics recycling more energy efficient, more carbon efficient, and more economically compelling by improving material design, improving the ability to break down existing plastics into higher-value outputs, and creating consistent ways to measure performance across competing approaches. The overall intent is to keep thermoplastics in circulation and out of landfills and the environment by making recycling pathways that can scale and compete with virgin production on both cost and quality, while aligning with DOE's energy and emissions priorities.

• The Department of Energy, Golden Field Office in the energy sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Notice of Intent: BOTTLE: Bio-Optimized Technologies to Keep Thermoplastics out of Landfills and the Environment" 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 Dec 10, 2019.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Feb 21, 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 $2.00 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.

Apply for DE FOA 0002244

[Watch] Creating a grant proposal using the step-by-step wizard inside the applicant portal: