[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 215 (Friday, November 6, 1998)]
[Notices]
[Pages 59952-59956]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-29800]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY


Office of Nuclear Energy, Science and Technology (NE); Program 
Announcement LAB NE-99-1 Nuclear Energy Research Initiative

AGENCY: Oakland Operations Office, DOE.


[[Page 59953]]


ACTION: Notice of Nuclear Energy Research Initiative Program 
Announcement LAB NE-99-1.

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SUMMARY: The Office of Nuclear Energy, Science and Technology, U.S. 
Department of Energy, is interested in receiving field work proposals 
for innovative scientific and engineering research and development in 
the field of nuclear energy as part of the Nuclear Energy Research 
Initiative (NERI). NERI is designed to support innovative research that 
can address the principal technical and scientific obstacles to future 
use of nuclear power in the U.S. NERI is also intended to reinvigorate 
the vital nuclear scientific and engineering infrastructure within U.S. 
universities, industry and DOE national laboratories.
    This Program Announcement applies only to field work proposals from 
DOE National Laboratories that are the sole or lead performer 
organization of the proposed work. Where the laboratories are included 
in collaborative arrangements with other nonfederal organizations, but 
not as the lead performers, the proposals should be submitted in 
response to a separate Solicitation, DE-PS03-99SF21764, being issued 
simultaneously with this Program Announcement.

DATES: Potential applicants are encouraged to submit a Notice of Intent 
to Apply (Attachment A). Refer to the paragraph on the Designation of 
Field(s) of Proposed Work in this Program Announcement to identify the 
contemplated field of R&D in Attachment A. The notice should be faxed 
to Denise Berry, Department of Energy at (510) 637-2025 by November 13, 
1998. This Notice of Intent in no way obligates an organization to 
submit a field work proposal, and failure to submit the Notice of 
Intent in no way prevents an organization from submitting a field work 
proposal.
    Potential applicants are encouraged to submit a brief preproposal. 
All preproposals, responding to Program Announcement LAB NE-99-1 should 
be received by DOE by 4:30 P.M. P.S.T. November 20, 1998. A response 
encouraging or discouraging a formal field work proposal will be 
communicated to the applicant by December 11, 1998. Notification of a 
favorable preproposal is not an indication that an award will be made 
in response to the field work proposal.
    The deadline for receipt of the formal field work proposal is 4:30 
P.M. P.S.T. January 29, 1999.

ADDRESSES: All preproposals and field work proposals responding to 
Program Announcement LAB NE-99-1 should be sent to Denise Berry, U.S. 
Department of Energy, 1301 Clay Street, 700N, Oakland, California 
94612-5208, Attn: Program Announcement LAB NE-99-1.
    An original and five copies of the preproposal should be submitted 
by United States Postal Service including Express Mail or commercial 
mail delivery service, or should be hand carried by the applicant to 
the address stated above. Preproposals will not be accepted by fax or 
electronic mail.
    An original and seven copies of the field work proposal should be 
submitted by United States Postal Service including Express Mail or 
commercial mail delivery service, or should be hand carried by the 
applicant to the address stated above. Field work proposals will not be 
accepted by fax or electronic mail.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Eligibility

    This program announcement invites field work proposals from DOE 
national laboratories acting as the sole or lead performer 
organization.

Awards

    It is anticipated that awards will be made in Fiscal Year 1999. 
Field work proposals will be funded yearly, contingent upon the 
availability of funds. Up to a total of $19 million of Government 
Fiscal Year 1999 Federal funds are available for awards under this 
Program Announcement and the complementary grants and cooperative 
agreements Solicitation (to universities or other institutions of 
higher learning, industry, non-profit and R&D organizations, and DOE 
national laboratories that are not participating as the lead 
organization). Funding for individual research awards is expected to be 
up to $1 million per year with typical awards in the range of $100,000 
to $400,000 per year. Collaborative research projects involving two or 
more organizations may receive larger awards, if merited. The period of 
performance for individual projects is expected to be up to 3 years.
    DOE reserves the right to fund, in whole or in part, any, all, or 
none of the field work proposals submitted in response to this Program 
Announcement.

Background

    In January 1997, the President requested his Committee of Advisors 
on Science and Technology (PCAST) to review the current national energy 
research and development (R&D) portfolio, and provide a strategy to 
insure the U.S. has a program to address the Nation's energy and 
environmental needs for the next century.
    In its November 1997 report responding to this request, the PCAST 
Energy Research and Development Panel determined that assuring a viable 
nuclear energy option to help meet our future energy needs is 
important, and that a properly focused R&D effort should be implemented 
by the Department of Energy to address the principal obstacles to 
achieving this option. These obstacles include issues involving nuclear 
waste, proliferation, economics, and safety. The Panel recommended 
addressing technologies that include, but are not limited to, work on 
proliferation-resistant reactors or fuel cycles; new reactor designs 
for improved performance, reduced cost, and enhanced safety to compete 
in the global market; lower output power reactors for applications 
where larger reactors may not be advantageous; and nuclear waste. The 
PCAST report can be viewed on the NERI web page at http://
neri.ne.doe.gov.
    In response to these recommendations, the Department has proposed 
the Nuclear Energy Research Initiative (NERI), composed of projects 
selected from individual or collaborative applications or field work 
proposals from universities, DOE national laboratories, industry, R&D, 
and non-profit organizations. To assist in defining the NERI Program, a 
workshop was convened in Washington, D.C. on April 23-24, 1998, 
attended by over 120 researchers, scientists, and engineers 
representing these organizations. The workshop focused primarily on the 
nuclear R&D topics recommended by PCAST, and served to identify 
promising areas of R&D to implement these recommendations and related 
recommendations from the workshop. The workshop results, as reported on 
the NERI web page, http://neri.ne.doe.gov, have been of fundamental 
importance in developing the program defined in this Program 
Announcement. Respondents are encouraged to refer to the NERI Workshop 
Report prior to developing a field work proposal.

Objective

    The NERI program is intended to conduct R&D to meet the following 
objectives:
     Address and help overcome the principal technical and 
scientific obstacles to expanded future use of nuclear energy in the 
U.S., including the issues involving resistance to proliferation, 
unfavorable economics and nuclear waste disposition;
     Advance the state of nuclear technology to maintain a 
competitive

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position in overseas markets and a future domestic market.
     Promote and maintain a nuclear science and engineering to 
meet future technical challenges, and
     Improve the performance, efficiency, reliability, 
economics, and other attributes to enhance nuclear energy applications.

Scope of Work

    The Department of Energy is seeking field work proposals for new 
and innovative science and engineering research, development, concepts, 
and/or experimental projects in the nuclear energy and supporting 
fields that will contribute significantly to meeting the NERI program 
objectives. The following paragraphs identify areas for which field 
work proposals are solicited. However, researchers may propose projects 
in other related areas that are consistent with the NERI objectives. In 
formulating proposed projects, the current state of development in the 
areas to be investigated should be recognized, such as by citing 
references, to avoid repeating work already accomplished.

Proliferation Resistant Reactors and Fuel Technology

    Increased knowledge is required to enable incorporation of 
proliferation resistance in the design, development, and deployment of 
new reactor systems. Proposals are solicited in scientific and 
engineering research to improve the proliferation resistance of 
reactors and fuel systems. Possible research areas include, but are not 
limited to, investigation, and conceptual development to establish 
feasibility and attributes of reactor systems, fuel systems and/or 
alternative or modified reactor and fuel cycle concepts; material 
protection, and control; and techniques that minimize generation of 
plutonium and waste-by-products, restrict physical access to fuel 
materials while in the reactor, or increase the energy extraction from 
and utilization of plutonium and other actinides generated in the fuel.
    There is an inherent need for an increase in the understanding of 
the basic behavior of irradiated materials; for science and engineering 
research that impacts fuel preparations and recycle or alternate means 
of spent fuel treatment; and for basic materials research to support 
understanding of fuel structure changes during irradiation, as it 
relates to the advancement of proliferation resistant reactors and fuel 
cycles.

New Reactor Designs

    This program element involves scientific and engineering 
investigation and development, to the extent needed to establish 
feasibility and attributes, of promising reactor concepts in the 
following areas:
     Reactors to Achieve Improved Performance/Higher Efficiency 
and Reduced Costs
    Advances in understanding of reactor systems and components are 
required to achieve a significant improvement in performance and 
economics for the next generation of reactors. Innovative reactor and 
power conversion concepts are needed which offer the prospects of 
higher efficiency, improved performance, design simplification, 
enhanced safety, and low cost. Increased knowledge is required to 
support enabling technologies. Research areas of interest include, but 
are not limited to development of reactor design advancements and 
alternative reactor core concepts, passive safe systems and components, 
development of innovative reactor concepts for electrical, non-
electrical or co-generation purposes and advanced system or component 
design concepts, advanced instrumentation and controls, and work to 
evaluate direct energy conversion technologies such as thermoelectric 
conversion systems. Proposed projects should address, among other 
items, the characteristics, principal attributes, feasibility, safety 
features, proliferation resistance, economic competitiveness, and 
identification of other research that may be required.
     Low Output Power Reactors
    New concepts and supporting knowledge are required to support 
development of small, possibly compact, and easily deployable reactors 
either for uses in developing countries or for specialized 
applications. Potential applications include electrical power 
generation, process heating, medical isotope production, or nuclear 
research. Research in science and engineering is expected to focus on 
concepts, characteristics, principal attributes, feasibility, safety 
features, proliferation resistance and underlying technologies rather 
than on full reactor systems design.
    Science and engineering research of crucial importance to new 
reactor designs is dependent on the particular reactor application 
being explored. Examples include, but are not limited to, basic 
material degradation and corrosion sciences impacting both operation 
and applications; increased understanding of the behavior of fluid 
systems at elevated temperatures; modern high-temperature materials for 
reactor structural components; innovative non-destructive evaluation 
methods for system and component monitoring; development and 
application of risk-based design tools for pre-deployment predictions 
of performance and reliability; modern computational and modeling 
methods; incorporation of inherent safety features; automation of 
reactor system operation; radiation damage and metallurgy of long-lived 
fuels and other components; science and engineering effort to support 
alternative energy conversion methods.

Advanced Nuclear Fuels

    Research and development is needed to provide measurable 
improvements in the understanding and performance of nuclear fuel with 
respect to safety, waste production, proliferation resistance, and 
economics to enhance the long-term viability of nuclear energy systems. 
Appropriate topics include, but are not limited to innovative concepts 
for material preparation and production of nuclear fuels; enhanced fuel 
design safety; innovation in fuel composition or other attributes that 
maximize energy production, optimize fissile material utilization, or 
reduce production costs.
    Proposals are solicited in scientific and engineering research that 
encompass an evaluation over the entire nuclear fuel cycle utilizing 
knowledge gained over the past several decades on the technical 
characteristics of recycling systems, as well as in monitoring and 
controlling fissionable materials, but not being bound by technologies 
and facilities currently available. This work is basic to innovative 
reactor concepts, proliferation resistance, and advanced fuels. Results 
are expected to define gaps in current knowledge and hence identify 
areas requiring further work.

New Technologies for Management of Nuclear Waste

    Paramount to public acceptance of nuclear technology is development 
of concepts and supporting knowledge required for reliable approaches 
to management and storage of spent fuels and associated wastes. 
Appropriate research topics include, but are not limited to, new 
concepts for on-site or interim surface storage; chemistry and 
materials science to develop understanding of the behavior of spent 
fuel for time periods consistent with on-site surface storage 
requirements; strategies for reduction in high level waste volume; 
research in surface chemistry and physics to understand and ameliorate 
corrosion processes at all pertinent interfaces; engineering research 
to support beneficial use of spent fuel and associated wastes.
    Proposals in this area are expected to complement, and not 
duplicate,

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research activities supported by the Offices of Civilian Radioactive 
Waste and Environmental Management. Abstracts of work supported under 
the Environmental Management Science Program (EMSP) can be found at 
http://www.doe.gov/em52/science-grants.html, while information on the 
Civilian Radioactive Waste program and related efforts can be found at 
http://www.rw.doe.gov/links.htm.

Fundamental Science and Technology

    This element features research and development in science and new 
technologies that support one or more applications in the nuclear 
energy field, including but not limited to those identified for the 
preceding program elements. The proposed work should be based in part 
on a consideration of the value or benefits of this work to potential 
future applications that satisfy the program objectives. Scientific and 
engineering research is solicited in pertinent areas of materials and 
chemical sciences, automation engineering and computational sciences, 
thermodynamics, health physics, systems engineering and safety, human 
factors research to improve the man/machine interface, and other areas 
which addresses problems common to the technology topics described 
above.
    Field work proposals should identify the prospective applications 
associated with the proposed work, and the expected benefits from 
successful completion of this work.

Designation of Field(s) of Proposed Work

    To facilitate the merit review, preproposals and field work 
proposals should identify the nuclear technology areas and the related 
engineering research and/or basic science field(s) that most closely 
apply to the proposed research work. The nuclear technology areas 
include proliferation resistant reactor and fuel, reactors with higher 
performance/efficiency, low output reactors, advanced nuclear fuels, 
and management of nuclear waste, and fundamental science and 
technology. The engineering research category would include such fields 
as reactors; system and component design development; fuel systems 
development; instrumentation and control system development; 
radioactive waste; and other nuclear engineering fields of research. 
The basic science categories would include such fields as materials 
science, chemical science, computational sciences (including 
development of algorithms and software technology), and engineering 
sciences (including basic research on instrumentation and control 
systems, and diagnostic and transport processes).
    The requested identification of applicable fields of work is not 
intended to constrain or otherwise influence the proposed work in any 
way.

Collaborative Field Work Proposals

    Collaboration between science and engineering researchers is 
encouraged. U.S. universities, DOE national laboratories, private 
industry and R&D and non-profit organizations are encouraged to submit 
collaborative field work proposals. Under this Program Announcement, 
collaborative field work proposals should identify the national 
laboratory as the lead organization, and should identify the work scope 
responsibilities and cost for each participating organization. The DOE 
national laboratory should submit a single field work proposal which 
integrates the portion of the overall project work scope assigned to 
each participant.
    For successful field work proposals, the DOE laboratory will fund 
other non-federal participants by a subcontract arrangement. The DOE 
national laboratory will be funded directly by DOE. The private sector 
or academic organizations must include a Face Page and Budget Pages for 
its portion of the project in the field work proposal. Separate Budget 
Pages must be included for the DOE national laboratory portions. The 
collaborative field work proposal must be submitted as one package.
    Collaboration with international organizations is acceptable 
provided the collaboration is mutually beneficial and all DOE and other 
domestic funding is used for work performed in the U.S. Such 
collaborative arrangements are subject to approval by DOE and must 
comply with any Federal restrictions on foreign participation, and with 
any current DOE memoranda of understanding or other general agreements 
between DOE and the participating foreign entity.

Preproposals

    The submittal of preproposals prior to submission of field work 
proposals is encouraged to receive a preliminary DOE opinion regarding 
the significance of the proposed work in meeting program objectives. 
Preproposals should include a cover sheet and a brief (up to 3 pages) 
project description. The cover sheet should identify the name, 
telephone, fax and e-mail address for the project manager or principal 
investigator and for the organization(s) submitting the field work 
proposal, title of the project, and the field of R&D. A narrative 
project description should be included indicating the objectives, work 
to be accomplished and importance of successful completion, resources 
needed, and estimated cost. In the case of collaborative projects, the 
applicant should identify the work to be performed by each 
participating organization and the estimated cost to be borne by each 
party. The original and five copies of the preproposal should be 
submitted. DOE will review preproposals for technical and scientific 
merit and relevance of the proposed project to program objectives and 
respond to the applicants. This preliminary review neither prevents 
submittal of a full field work proposal nor indicates the likelihood of 
an award.

Format and Information To Be Included in the Field Work Proposal

(Reference DOE Order 5700.7C, ``http:/www.explorer.doe.gov:1776/
htmls/regs/doe/seriestable.html'')

    The Field Work Proposal (FWP) is to be prepared and submitted 
consistent with policies of the investigator's laboratory and the local 
DOE Operations Office. Additional information is also requested to 
allow for scientific/technical merit review.
    Applicants are expected to use the following format. Field work 
proposals must be written in English with all budgets in U.S. dollars. 
The field work proposals should clearly present the objectives, 
activities or tasks to be performed, schedule and costs, and the 
importance/significance of the proposed project. Where collaborative 
efforts are proposed, the individual responsibilities of participating 
organizations should be identified. As a minimum, the following 
information should be included:
     Field work proposal.
     Table of Contents.
     Project Abstract including identification of the field(s) 
of R&D for the proposed project (1 page).
     Project Description--narrative description of the proposed 
project including objectives, R&D plan including preliminary studies, 
research design and tasks, and the significance or benefits of the 
proposed project (no more than 20 pages; multi-investigator 
collaborative projects may use up to 40 pages).
     Project Schedule information.
     Organization & Qualifications--identification of the 
project organization, and qualifications and responsibilities of the 
participating organizations. Biographical sketches of project manager/
principal investigator and other key project personnel (no more than 2 
pages each).

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     Collaborative R&D (if applicable)--description of the 
collaborative arrangements defining responsibilities and tasks assigned 
to each participating organization (up to 2 pages).
     Facilities & Resources--information on the experience of 
the applicant's organization and the adequacy of required facilities 
and resources (no more than 5 pages).
     Budget for each year and a summary budget page for the 
entire project period.
     Budget explanation for each participating organization.
     Budget and budget justification for each collaborative 
subproject, if any.
     Additional information the applicant deems relevant may be 
included, subject to the page limitation.
    In addition to providing an original and seven copies of each 
proposal, applicants are required to also provide a 3.5-inch write 
protected diskette containing the field work proposal in electronic 
format. The label on the diskette must clearly identify the 
institution, principal investigator, title of field work proposal, and 
the computer system and program used to prepare the document. 
Unsuccessful field work proposals will not be returned to the 
applicant.

Field Work Proposal Evaluation

    All valid field work proposals will be evaluated in accordance with 
the requirements of Title 10, Code of Federal Regulations, Part 600.13.
     DOE will perform an initial review for conformance with 
the technical and administrative requirements stated in this Program 
Announcement, for funding availability, and for general relevance to 
NERI program objectives.
     For those field work proposals that successfully complete 
the initial review, an objective merit review (peer review) will be 
performed to evaluate technical and/or scientific merit, and cost 
aspects of the field work proposals, exclusive of NE programmatic and 
policy factors. This review will be in accordance with the evaluation 
criteria stated below. For this purpose, a group comprised of three or 
more professionally and technically qualified persons will be selected 
in such a manner as to assure the highest degree of independence and 
objectivity. The reviewers may include any mix of federal and non-
federal experts, except those persons involved in approving/
disapproving the field work proposals. Reviewers must comply with the 
requirements for avoiding conflict of interest as stated in 10 CFR 
600.14.
     Following the objective merit review, a relevance review 
will be performed by DOE on those field work proposals judged to be of 
the highest merit. The field work proposals will be evaluated with 
respect to NE programmatic and policy factors, including relevance of 
the proposed work to the NERI program objectives, and the balance among 
program elements to be supported.
    The following evaluation criteria apply to the objective merit 
review:
     Technical quality of the field work proposal:

--Contribution to the state of knowledge in the scientific/technology 
fields;
--Importance of the proposed work in meeting program objectives;
--Completeness and clarity of the technical proposal;
--Appropriateness/adequacy of the proposed methodology or approach;

     Extent to which proposed work is new, unique or 
innovative;
     Reasonableness of project cost and schedule, including 
allocations among multiple participating organizations where 
applicable.
     Capabilities and qualifications of principal investigator/
project manager and key personnel, adequacy of resources and facilities 
applied by participating organizations.

Intellectual Property Rights

    With respect to intellectual property, the patent and data 
provisions set forth in the national laboratories M&O contract shall be 
used.

Statutory and Regulatory Authority

    The Nuclear Energy Research Initiative will be conducted under the 
authority of the Energy and Water Development Appropriations Act of 
1999, Public Law 105-245; the Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance 
(CFDA) number 81.092; and the applicable DOE Financial Assistance 
Regulations at 10 CFR Part 600. The regulations and guidance documents 
can be accessed on the DOE Financial Assistance Home Page at ``http://
www.pr.doe.gov/fahome.html''.

Program Announcement Questions & Answers

    DOE does not intend to hold a preproposal conference. You may 
submit your written questions via e-mail to [email protected] by 
November 13, 1998. Responses to questions will be placed on the Oakland 
Operations Office Website at ``http://www.oak.doe.gov/financial/
sol__page.html''.

Information

    Information about the development, submission of field work 
proposals, eligibility, limitations, the selection process, and other 
policies and procedures may be found on ``http://www.oak.doe.gov/
financial/sol__page.html''.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Denise Berry, Contract Specialist, 
U.S. Department of Energy, 1301 Clay Street, 700N, Oakland, California 
94612-5208 (510) 637-1873, (510) 637-2025 FAX.

    Issued in Oakland, California, on October 29, 1998.
Joan Macrusky,
Director, Financial Assistance Center.

Attachment A

FAX: (510) 637-2025
TO: Denise Berry, Contract Specialist

Notice of Intent To Apply

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Name of DOE Laboratory

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Name of Collaborating Organization(s)

intends to submit a field work proposal under Program Notice No. LAB 
NE-99-1.

Title:-----------------------------------------------------------------

Scope of Work
Element/Area:----------------------------------------------------------

Engineering research
and/or basic science
field:-----------------------------------------------------------------
[FR Doc. 98-29800 Filed 11-5-98; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450-01-P