Innovative Methods to Control Hydraulic Properties of Enhanced Geothermal Systems | DE FOA 0002498

Opportunity Information: Apply for DE FOA 0002498

The Department of Energy (DOE), through its Golden Field Office, released Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) DE-FOA-0002498 titled "Innovative Methods to Control Hydraulic Properties of Enhanced Geothermal Systems." This competitive, discretionary funding opportunity supports research, development, and potentially limited field deployment of new approaches for managing how fluids move through enhanced geothermal system (EGS) reservoirs. The funding instrument is a Cooperative Agreement, which generally means DOE expects to be substantially involved during the project (for example, through technical oversight, milestones, and collaboration during execution), rather than simply issuing a hands-off grant.

The core technical goal is to create methods that directly influence fluid flow inside the reservoir's fracture network, not just at the wellbore. In practical terms, many geothermal flow-control strategies focus on what happens at the borehole (how you inject and produce, valve settings, surface flow control, or near-wellbore interventions). This FOA shifts attention deeper into the reservoir, where the fracture network governs sweep efficiency, short-circuiting, thermal breakthrough, and overall heat extraction performance. DOE is looking for technologies and techniques that can intentionally modify fracture permeability in a targeted and controllable way, so operators can steer flow paths, reduce unwanted preferential channels, improve contact with hot rock, and maintain more stable production over time.

Projects are expected to deliver "reservoir fracture permeability modification systems" with several defining characteristics. First, the modifications should be targeted, meaning they can be applied where needed within the reservoir rather than indiscriminately changing permeability everywhere. Second, they must be controllable, implying the ability to tune the magnitude, timing, or spatial extent of the permeability change in response to reservoir behavior and operational goals. Third, DOE emphasizes long-term effects, suggesting the intervention should persist long enough to matter for geothermal operations rather than providing only a short-lived benefit. At the same time, the FOA explicitly calls for a pathway to reverse the effects, recognizing that reservoir conditions, operational strategies, and risk considerations can change. Reversibility is a notable requirement because it pushes applicants to think beyond one-way plugging or permanent alteration, and toward solutions that can be adjusted, undone, or reconfigured if monitoring shows an undesirable outcome.

If a proposed effort is mature enough and the project plan supports it, DOE indicates that these technologies and techniques may be deployed at a small-scale field-testing site. This signals interest in moving beyond lab-only proof of concept when feasible, with an eye toward demonstrating performance in realistic geothermal conditions. A small-scale field test can help validate whether a permeability-control method can be delivered to the right place, remain effective under temperature, pressure, and geochemical constraints, and behave predictably over time while maintaining safety and operational practicality.

From an administrative and funding standpoint, the FOA was created on April 30, 2021, with an original application closing date of June 15, 2021. The opportunity listed an award ceiling of $6,000,000 per award and anticipated around 10 awards, indicating DOE intended to support multiple teams and approaches rather than a single large project. The activity category is Energy, with CFDA number 81.087. Eligibility is described as unrestricted (open to any type of entity), subject to any additional clarifications in the full announcement, which typically means universities, national laboratories, private companies, nonprofits, and other organizations could apply provided they meet standard DOE requirements and any FOA-specific conditions.

Overall, this FOA is aimed at enabling EGS reservoirs to be managed more like engineered subsurface heat exchangers, where operators can actively shape and reshape flow paths within the fracture network to improve heat recovery and operational reliability. The emphasis on targeted, durable, and reversible permeability modification highlights DOE's interest in practical reservoir control tools that can be used repeatedly and adaptively, rather than one-time interventions that may create new risks or lock in suboptimal flow configurations.

• The Department of Energy, Golden Field Office in the energy sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Innovative Methods to Control Hydraulic Properties of Enhanced Geothermal Systems" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 81.087.
• This funding opportunity was created on Apr 30, 2021.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Jun 15, 2021. (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 $6,000,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 10 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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