Fiscal Year 2026 University Reactor Sharing and Outreach | DE FOA 0003542

Opportunity Information: Apply for DE FOA 0003542

The Fiscal Year 2026 University Reactor Sharing and Outreach funding opportunity (Funding Opportunity Number DE-FOA-0003542) is a discretionary grant program offered by the U.S. Department of Energy through the Idaho Field Office. It is categorized under the Energy funding activity area and is associated with CFDA number 81.121. The opportunity is designed to support university-based reactor sharing and outreach activities, which typically means helping institutions that operate research reactors make their facilities, expertise, and associated educational resources more accessible to a broader community of users. In practice, programs like this are generally aimed at expanding hands-on learning, research access, and workforce development opportunities tied to nuclear science and engineering, while also encouraging outreach that introduces students, educators, and other stakeholders to reactor-enabled training and experimentation.

Applicants must be institutions of higher education, including both public/state-controlled universities and private universities. This eligibility scope indicates that the program is intended for academic organizations that can administer grant-funded activities and either operate or coordinate access to research reactor capabilities and related educational programming. Because the title emphasizes both "reactor sharing" and "outreach," proposed projects would commonly involve structured access for external users (such as students and faculty from institutions that do not have their own reactor, or regional academic partners), along with programming that broadens awareness and engagement (such as laboratory modules, short courses, demonstrations, workshops, curriculum support, or other educational and public-facing activities that align with safe and responsible reactor operations).

The application deadline is listed as February 27, 2026 (Original Closing Date). The maximum award amount (award ceiling) is $200,000, and the program anticipates making about five awards. Taken together, that suggests a relatively competitive opportunity with modest-to-mid-sized awards that may be well-suited to discrete, clearly scoped efforts such as subsidizing reactor time for visiting users, developing or expanding outreach and training programs, improving access logistics for shared users, or covering operational and coordination costs directly tied to enabling broader use of university reactor facilities for education and research purposes. The funding instrument type is a grant, meaning selected applicants would receive financial assistance to carry out an approved project plan consistent with the program objectives and any applicable federal award requirements.

Administratively, this opportunity is listed under the Idaho Field Office, which can be relevant for applicants when tracking announcements, points of contact, and any Idaho Field Office-specific processes that accompany the Department of Energy's standard financial assistance procedures. Overall, the key takeaways are: this is a DOE discretionary grant opportunity for FY 2026 focused on expanding access to and educational impact from university research reactors; it is open to public and private higher education institutions; it has a deadline of February 27, 2026; it caps individual awards at $200,000; and it expects to fund roughly five projects under CFDA 81.121.

• The Idaho Field Office in the energy sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Fiscal Year 2026 University Reactor Sharing and Outreach" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 81.121.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2026-01-06.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2026-02-27. (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 $200,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 5 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Public and State controlled institutions of higher education, Private institutions of higher education.

Apply for DE FOA 0003542

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