Funding Opportunity Announcement: Sensing Exports of Anthropogenic Carbon through Ocean Observation (SEA CO2) | DE FOA 0002989

Opportunity Information: Apply for DE FOA 0002989

The Department of Energy's Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) released this Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) called Sensing Exports of Anthropogenic Carbon through Ocean Observation (SEA CO2), numbered DE-FOA-0002989. The main purpose is to fund applied research and development that can dramatically improve how the ocean is monitored for carbon dioxide removal efforts, specifically marine carbon dioxide removal (mCDR). ARPA-E is positioning this program around a practical bottleneck: if mCDR is going to scale into a real negative-emissions industry, it needs credible Measurement, Reporting, and Validation (MRV) technologies that can quantify how much carbon is actually removed, how long it stays stored (permanence), and how large the remaining uncertainties are. Without that kind of MRV, carbon markets cannot judge credit quality and investors cannot price risk, which would stall deployment even if the underlying carbon removal approaches work.

SEA CO2 is built around the idea that current chemical oceanographic monitoring is too limited for the scale mCDR would require. Traditional approaches often rely on sparse, single-point sampling that cannot continuously capture conditions across large ocean regions. The FOA emphasizes the need for a "paradigm shift" toward persistent sensing across large areas and/or volumes of the ocean. In plain terms, ARPA-E is looking for technologies and systems that can move ocean carbon accounting away from occasional measurements at a few locations and toward monitoring that is sustained, scalable, and defensible enough to support high-stakes decisions about carbon credits, regulation, and financing.

From an administrative and eligibility standpoint, this is a discretionary federal funding opportunity open broadly to applicants (listed as "unrestricted," meaning any entity type may apply unless the full FOA adds constraints). The funding instruments include cooperative agreements and other assistance mechanisms, which usually implies ARPA-E expects to be substantively involved during project execution through active program management and milestone-based progress. The FOA falls under CFDA number 81.135. ARPA-E also makes clear it funds transformational, potentially disruptive applied R&D rather than basic research, and it frames its role as backing high-risk efforts that could create new performance-and-cost trajectories rather than incremental improvements along established technology roadmaps.

Key logistics are straightforward and strict. Applicants must use the ARPA-E eXCHANGE system to register and submit materials; ARPA-E will not review concept papers submitted through any other channel. The original submission deadline listed is April 4, 2023 at 9:30 a.m. Eastern Time, with a strong recommendation to submit at least 48 hours early. For technical issues with the submission portal, the contact is ExchangeHelp@hq.doe.gov and applicants are instructed to include the FOA name and number in the email subject line. For questions about the FOA itself, ARPA-E directs applicants first to its FAQ page and then to email ARPA-E-CO@hq.doe.gov for anything not already addressed.

In terms of scale, the FOA lists an award ceiling of $10,000,000 and anticipates about 12 awards. The activity category is described as science and technology and other research and development (and also references Opportunity Zone Benefits in the listing). The program rationale is tied to national and global climate goals: ARPA-E explicitly states mCDR is expected to be essential for keeping warming below 2 degrees C alongside emissions reductions, and the agency is using this FOA to push enabling infrastructure for that outcome, namely MRV that is robust enough to be trusted by markets and institutions.

Finally, ARPA-E situates SEA CO2 within its broader statutory mission under the America COMPETES Act and subsequent amendments, including the Energy Act of 2020. That mission includes reducing energy-related emissions, improving efficiency, and maintaining U.S. technological leadership. It also notes awards under the FOA are subject to federal assistance regulations at 2 C.F.R. Part 200 (as supplemented by 2 C.F.R. Part 910). For the complete FOA text and full requirements, ARPA-E directs applicants to the ARPA-E FOA website, which is also the gateway to the eXCHANGE submission portal and user guides.

• 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 "Funding Opportunity Announcement: Sensing Exports of Anthropogenic Carbon through Ocean Observation (SEA CO2)" 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 Feb 16, 2023.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Apr 04, 2023 Submissions to this FOA are due no later than 930 a.m. Eastern Time on 04/04/2023. Applicants are strongly encouraged to submit at least 48 hours in advance of the due date.. (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 $10,000,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 12 candidate(s).
• 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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