Reducing Emissions of Methane Every Day of the Year (REMEDY) | DE FOA 0002504

Opportunity Information: Apply for DE FOA 0002504

The Reducing Emissions of Methane Every Day of the Year (REMEDY) opportunity is an ARPA-E funding program within the U.S. Department of Energy aimed at cutting methane emissions from major, hard-to-address sources tied to the oil, gas, and coal value chain. ARPA-E positions this as transformational applied research and development, meaning it is looking for high-impact technical approaches that can move beyond incremental improvements and realistically shift cost and performance enough to make large-scale adoption plausible. The program is structured as a time-bounded push to move promising ideas from concept to credible demonstrations, with an emphasis on disruptive potential and a clear path toward commercialization rather than purely academic research.

REMEDY is described as a three-year, approximately $35 million research program focused on reducing methane emissions from three specific sources that together account for at least 10 percent of U.S. anthropogenic methane emissions. The targeted emission points are (1) exhaust from natural gas-fired lean-burn engines, which are widely used for compressor stations and power generation and are increasingly relevant for marine repowering, (2) flares that are required for safe operation at oil and gas facilities but can still release uncombusted methane under certain operating conditions, and (3) coal mine ventilation air methane (VAM) released from active underground mines, which is typically extremely dilute and therefore technically challenging to treat. The overarching climate objective is not just to slow methane growth, but to help reverse the rate of methane accumulation in the atmosphere by enabling much deeper, reliable reductions from these persistent sources.

A central theme of the FOA is that ARPA-E is seeking system-level solutions that can be replicated broadly, not one-off site fixes. Proposed systems are expected to achieve very high methane destruction or conversion performance and to do so in a way that is measurable and operationally dependable across real-world conditions. The stated performance targets include an overall methane conversion of 99.5 percent, net life-cycle greenhouse gas reductions greater than 87 percent, and a levelized cost of carbon below $40 per ton of CO2-equivalent. In other words, the program is not only asking whether a technology can work in principle, but whether it can work consistently, prove substantial climate benefit when evaluated across the full system, and do so at a cost level that makes deployment realistic at scale.

Because the targeted methane streams can be lean or ultra-lean (especially coal mine ventilation air), REMEDY emphasizes technologies and integrated systems that can operate effectively at low methane concentrations. It also explicitly calls for incorporating sensors and/or control algorithms so that emissions reductions can be quantified and the system can maintain stable performance over variable operating conditions. This reflects a practical expectation: methane emissions sources often fluctuate, and solutions must be robust, verifiable, and capable of continuous operation rather than depending on idealized or tightly controlled inputs.

The program is organized into stages. Stage 1 functions as a screening phase for concepts, where teams must demonstrate the credibility of their technical approach and its potential to meet the program metrics. Projects that advance to Stage 2 are expected to confirm performance metrics through either a limited field test or a larger, extended laboratory-scale test that better simulates operational realities. This staged approach is meant to reduce risk for both the government and applicants by narrowing the portfolio to the most promising concepts before funding more demanding validation efforts.

REMEDY also clarifies how it fits into the broader methane and climate landscape. It is intended to complement, not duplicate, existing methane reduction initiatives such as EPA programs (including Natural Gas STAR and the Coalbed Methane Outreach Program), DOE flare reduction efforts, and industry-led initiatives like the Oil and Gas Climate Initiative. Importantly, the FOA allows for approaches that recover methane or convert it into higher-value products, but only if the proposals still meet the techno-economic and environmental performance thresholds. That framing signals ARPA-E is open to multiple technical pathways (abatement, conversion, utilization) as long as they deliver strong, verifiable climate outcomes and a plausible commercialization story.

From an administrative standpoint, applications are handled entirely through ARPA-E eXCHANGE, and concept papers submitted through other routes are not reviewed. Applicants must register in the eXCHANGE system and follow the platform guidance in the user guide. The specific FOA identifier provided is DE-FOA-0002504. The opportunity lists funding instruments that can include cooperative agreements, grants, or other mechanisms, and eligibility is described as unrestricted (open to any entity type, subject to any FOA-specific clarifications). The award ceiling shown in the provided listing is $5,000,000, and the concept paper deadline in the posting is May 21, 2021 at 9:30 a.m. Eastern, with a recommendation to submit at least 48 hours early. For help with the submission portal, the contact is ExchangeHelp@hq.doe.gov (with the FOA name and number in the subject line), while FOA questions are directed first to the ARPA-E FAQ and then to ARPA-E-CO@hq.doe.gov if unanswered.

Overall, REMEDY is a targeted methane abatement and conversion R&D program built around stringent, quantified performance and cost metrics, focused on three major emission sources where conventional solutions often fall short. It prioritizes scalable systems that can prove high methane conversion, deliver strong life-cycle greenhouse gas benefits, and integrate monitoring and controls that make emissions reductions credible and durable in real operating environments.

• The Department of Energy, Advanced Research Projects Agency Energy in the opportunity zone benefits, science and technology and other research and development sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Reducing Emissions of Methane Every Day of the Year (REMEDY)" 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 Apr 08, 2021.
• Applicants must submit their applications by May 21, 2021 The submission deadline for Concept Papers is May 21, 2021 at 930 a.m. Eastern Time. Applicants are strongly encouraged to submit 48 hours in advance of the 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 $5,000,000.00 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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