Request for Information (RFI) - Securing New Sources of Helium for Advanced Energy Applications | DE FOA 0003306

Opportunity Information: Apply for DE FOA 0003306

This notice is a Request for Information (RFI) from the U.S. Department of Energy's Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) titled "Securing New Sources of Helium for Advanced Energy Applications" (Funding Opportunity Number: DE-FOA-0003306). It is not a funding opportunity announcement and it is not accepting grant applications or offering financial assistance. Instead, ARPA-E is collecting technical and market input to help shape a possible future program, meaning the immediate purpose is to gather ideas, data, and perspectives from stakeholders rather than to select awardees or make awards.

The central topic is helium-4 supply security, with an emphasis on lowering the delivered cost of helium from production pathways that do not rely on natural gas extraction and processing. ARPA-E is signaling concern that much of today's helium supply is tied to natural gas operations, and that changes in energy markets and geopolitics could make helium harder to access or more expensive. The RFI is therefore aimed at identifying transformative technologies across the helium supply chain, from discovering resources to separating, recovering, and recycling helium, particularly in situations where natural-gas-linked helium is not available or not economical.

ARPA-E highlights two main areas where it is seeking potentially disruptive concepts. The first is new mapping and exploration methods to locate previously unknown or underutilized helium sources. This can include improved subsurface characterization approaches, sensing and monitoring methods, geochemical or isotopic techniques, and other innovations that could make helium prospecting more accurate, faster, or cheaper. The second is advanced production and separation technology, including new ways to extract helium from nontraditional feedstocks and improvements that increase helium recovery, purification, and recycling efficiency. The agency is explicitly interested in separation technologies designed for novel sources and also in approaches that enhance recovery and reuse, which suggests interest not only in upstream production but also in downstream capture and circular-use strategies.

The RFI frames helium as a critical input for a wide range of energy-relevant and high-tech applications. Examples called out include semiconductor and fiber optics manufacturing, quantum computing, neutron detection, cooling for fission and fusion reactors, and leak detection and analysis in gas processing facilities. The notice quantifies U.S. helium consumption at about 45 million cubic meters annually, with roughly half of domestic use tied to industrial and scientific purposes related to energy. The underlying message is that helium is not just a specialty gas for niche uses; it is an enabling material for multiple strategic technology areas that the U.S. considers important for competitiveness and energy innovation.

ARPA-E also provides its rationale for urgency by pointing to supply and demand trends. While the United States has historically been a major helium producer, its share of global production has dropped significantly in recent decades. Looking ahead, the RFI cites an anticipated global helium shortfall of roughly 70 to 110 million cubic meters by 2040, unless several large helium plants are successfully built in regions described as geopolitically unstable. At the same time, demand pressures are expected to increase due to continued growth in semiconductor manufacturing driven by electrification, and expanded use of superconductors in advanced energy technologies, both of which can increase reliance on helium. These trends collectively raise the likelihood of increased U.S. dependence on imports unless domestic options improve, which is why ARPA-E is exploring new pathways to ensure reliable availability.

From an administrative standpoint, the listing shows the agency as ARPA-E, the activity category as science and technology research and development, and eligibility as unrestricted, reflecting that ARPA-E is open to hearing from a broad range of parties. However, key grant-like fields such as award ceiling and expected awards are effectively zero because this is not an active funding competition. The posted closing date for input was March 15, 2024, and the full RFI text and instructions were made available at https://arpa-e-foa.energy.gov. The most important takeaway is that this RFI is a market and technology sounding exercise meant to inform whether ARPA-E will launch a future program focused on discovering and producing helium from non-natural-gas-dependent sources and on improving helium recovery and recycling to support next-generation energy and technology applications.

• The Advanced Research Projects Agency Energy in the oz, science and technology and other research and development sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Request for Information (RFI) - Securing New Sources of Helium for Advanced Energy Applications" 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 2024-01-31.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2024-03-15. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Eligible applicants include: Unrestricted.

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