Glovebox Manufacturing Expansion Initiative | DE FOA 0003244

Opportunity Information: Apply for DE FOA 0003244

The Glovebox Manufacturing Expansion Initiative (Funding Opportunity Number DE FOA 0003244) is a discretionary funding opportunity from the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) intended to strengthen and expand domestic capability to produce nuclear gloveboxes. Awards are expected to be made as cooperative agreements, which typically means the government anticipates an active role in overseeing or collaborating on key aspects of the funded work. The program sits at the intersection of business and commerce, energy, and science and technology, reflecting its practical manufacturing focus alongside national security and nuclear enterprise needs. The posted closing date for submissions was April 5, 2024, and the opportunity lists an award ceiling of up to $5,000,000 per award with an expectation of around 10 total awards.

At its core, the funding is specifically limited to projects that expand or modernize glovebox manufacturing facilities. Expansion or modernization is defined in practical, capacity-driven terms: either significantly enlarging an existing facility or increasing the production capacity of an existing facility through material capital investment. In other words, the program is not aimed at minor process tweaks or routine maintenance. Proposals are judged on how substantial the investment is compared to what the applicant currently produces, so applicants need to show that the requested funds will meaningfully move the needle in throughput, capability, or facility scale relative to their baseline operations.

Eligibility is tightly focused on domestic nuclear glovebox manufacturers that can successfully perform the work under federal assistance rules (including 2 CFR Part 200). To qualify as a domestic entity, the applicant must be organized under U.S. state or territorial law, be majority domestically owned and controlled, and maintain a physical place of business in the United States. The opportunity also clearly excludes any entity that is barred from doing business with the federal government, including those that are debarred, suspended, or otherwise ineligible for federal programs.

The solicitation also builds in quality and supply chain requirements tied to nuclear work. Funding is available to glovebox manufacturers that can demonstrate they have fabricated gloveboxes certified to nuclear NQA-1 standards or certified under ISO 9001. In addition, the program can support manufacturers that are contributing to the nuclear security enterprise through a partnership with an existing NQA-1 nuclear glovebox manufacturer, which provides a pathway for capable firms that may not yet hold NQA-1 credentials themselves but are working closely with a qualified partner.

On the administrative side, applicants must be registered in SAM (System for Award Management) before applying and must keep that registration current. A valid Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) must be included in the application. Finally, the opportunity includes a cybersecurity expectation: applicants must have implemented, or be actively implementing, the requirements in NIST Special Publication 800-171, which is the common federal benchmark for protecting controlled unclassified information in non-federal systems. This means applicants should be prepared to demonstrate their cybersecurity posture and compliance trajectory as part of being considered a responsible recipient.

Overall, this initiative is designed to increase U.S.-based glovebox manufacturing capacity and resilience by investing in significant facility upgrades or expansions, while ensuring recipients meet domestic presence and ownership rules, are qualified to build to relevant nuclear or industrial quality standards, and can meet federal cybersecurity expectations.

• The NNSA in the business and commerce, energy, science and technology and other research and development sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Glovebox Manufacturing Expansion Initiative" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 81.258.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2024-02-29.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2024-04-05. (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.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 10 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Private institutions of higher education.

Apply for DE FOA 0003244

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