High-Performance Computing for Energy Innovation

HPC4EI / HPC4Mfg Spring Solicitation

Provides supercomputing access to small and medium manufacturers for industrial process optimization.

⚠ This may reflect a past cycle — verify the current call on the funder's site.

The Spring 2026 HPC4EI (High-Performance Computing for Energy Innovation) solicitation, issued under FOA HPC4EI-2026SP-RN-SOL, makes over $10 million available for U.S.-based small and medium-sized manufacturers (SMMs) to access DOE supercomputing resources at national laboratories. The program is jointly administered by DOE's Advanced Materials and Manufacturing Technologies Office (AMMTO) and Industrial Technologies Office (ITO), both within the Office of Critical Minerals and Energy Innovation (CMEI), with Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) serving as the program manager. Projects are supported in two focus areas: advanced materials and manufacturing technologies, and industrial process optimization and heating. Individual awards are capped at $400,000 per project. The program leverages artificial intelligence, machine learning, and digital simulation capabilities available at DOE national laboratories to accelerate materials development and improve industrial competitiveness.

All applicants must be U.S.-based SMMs applying in partnership with a national laboratory, university, institute, or nonprofit organization. The solicitation is structured in two stages: concept papers were due May 27, 2026 at 5:00 PM PT; full applications are due in August 2026. Because the concept paper deadline has passed, only teams that submitted a concept paper are eligible to proceed to the full application stage. Managed by LLNL, the program connects manufacturers with world-class computing infrastructure including supercomputers such as those at Oak Ridge, Argonne, and Livermore national laboratories.

Manufacturers with computationally intensive R&D challenges — such as materials design, process simulation, or AI-driven quality optimization — that lack internal HPC infrastructure are the target applicants. Teams should frame their concept around a specific industrial problem that national lab computing can accelerate. Because the program recurs each year (Fall 2026 solicitation anticipated), SMMs that missed the concept paper deadline should begin building national lab partnerships now to compete in the next cycle.