Informational Webinar: Domestic Manufacturing Conversion Grants 1/5/2024

all right uh good afternoon everyone uh my name is Stephanie Jennings and I'm with the Department of energy and this afternoon we'd like to welcome you to the domestic manufacturing conversion grants for electrified vehicle uh it's a funding opportunity webinar a funding OPP opportunity announcement webinar hosted by the department of Energy's office of manufacturing energy Supply chains or mesk please note that this event is being recorded and may be made available for viewing in the next few weeks before we start I would like to explain how this event will be managed as a participant your video and audio are automatically turned off when you joined if youve difficulties related technology for example if you cannot hear a speaker or see the presentation slides we recommend you exit the event and re-enter the public chat and Q&A have been disabled closed captions are available for this event if you'd like to view the caption please enable them using the Clos captions icon at the bottom left of your WebEx your WebEx screen please Advance the slides I will quickly walk you through our agenda at the state of TOS at the start of today's webinar we will hear an introduction background overview on funding opportunity d f a3106 or the domestic manufacturing conversion grants next we will discuss the anticip ated scope and details of the full applications requested by the active funding opportunity announcement then we will discuss the timeline Milestones of the F active foa we will close instructions in the FAQ submission process please Advance the slide today's Workshop will be presented by Steven Boyd Stephen is the acting deputy director for ms20 which oversees projects impacting battery and critical material supply chains please take it away Steve great hi everyone and thank you Stephanie for the introduction I hope you all can see me okay I'll be walking through these slides and uh do my best to uh present some information here that's hopefully uh helpful to applicants uh for the uh the full application Phase that we're currently in for this FAA and so as a start just a couple slides here um to introduce the the foa uh this foa originates from the uh inflation reduction act section 5143 uh which provides grants for the domestic production of uh those electrified vehicle types listed there a hybrid plugin electric hybrid plugin plug-in electric drive and hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles this uh also uh is in accordance with Section 712 of epac 2005 there is two billion uh in competitive uh government grant funding available which does require 50% cost share uh as well as um Vehicle Assembly or component manufacturers converting existing facilities um has to be part of the program uh as detailed okay let's go to the next slide so the domestic conversion grants funding opportunity announcement uh as we mentioned is for applicants converting an existing facility to support electrified vehicle manufacturing uh with that cost share requirement uh eligible projects are specific to conversion uh of a facility in whole or in part for vehicle manufacturing or component manufacturing for the given vehicle types a priority is uh said to be given for the referment and retooling of manufacturing facilities that have recently seized operation or will seize operation in the near future and the receipt of a discouragement notification from the concept paper phase uh does not prohibit an organization from submitting a full application so so long as you submitted a concept paper you can submit a full application regardless of whether you received uh an encourage or discourage notification all right next slide uh this this slide um is a bit of a cartoon of the entire uh process process and a bit of the calendar and schedule for this program uh starting with a request for information that we released broadly uh from doe uh for this program uh then following uh this past June we released a notice of intent for doe releasing this funding opportunity uh which subsequently was released at the end of August um in 2023 we um we provided a similar webinar uh for potential applicants on on October 5th um that was detailing some of the information we were asking for in the concept paper phase and the concept paper uh due date was uh November 1st of 2023 we're holding uh this webinar today for those applicants submitting a full application the application due date is uh is this January the 23rd and uh we're we'll be working through those full applications this spring uh anticipating s announcements uh later in the spring and then following the announcements we will proceed with award negotiation uh over this summer uh 2024 certainly um you know these future dates uh and timelines are subject to change and uh there's a link there for the U the webinars associated with this program otherwise okay next slide this is a brief overview of the technical topics that are in this funding opportunity uh area and we're really just trying to uh show a bit of a view of how we're thinking about structuring the um the individual projects that would support this program across these three topic areas which are divided by the anticipated award sizes and so the first one on the far left there is the largest with the federal share um maximum of 500 million and that would be approximately two to four Awards uh for larger projects projects in the center area 2 uh with a maximum of 250 million Federal share uh slightly smaller projects um but also a larger number uh anticipated three to five and then on the right uh smaller project sizes limited to 100 million Federal U but again even more projects supporting that area uh there's um again more details available in the foa I'll keep saying that um and you'll see some of the the additional details in terms of the the aims of this program including uh retaining uh good high quality high-paying jobs uh retaining and strengthening collective bargaining agreements uh supporting the just transition um of workers and communities uh in the transition to electrified vehicles um expanding uh the the US um competitiveness and footprint in vehicle and component manufacturing decreasing us dependence on uh on competition uh for for the same the same areas and generally supplying uh uh providing the supply chains and supporting the buildout of uh domestic capabilities uh in these areas okay let's go to the next slide so for the uh the foa uh process here there's uh a couple things we're going to cover uh at first here again encouraging folks to reference the the foa for these types of details um these are some of the submission requirements that um that we put on um on all the submissions and as well as noting the uh concept paper notification that you will have received there as well we'll go to the next slide uh there is additional information available on the S3 exchange The Exchange is the uh sort of web-based portal that we use um for this uh funding oper opportunity announcement and the process and so um just wanted to turn folks there um for both information as well as um supporting details there uh we do uh encourage folks to uh to please um please note this submission deadline and um please allow sufficient time uh for uh for your submissions there all right let's go to the next slide uh again there are application forms and instructions available on the exchange and uh and there's a a screenshot there in terms of how you how you would go about submitting uh your your full proposal in exchange um and again noting that we will not accept late late submissions uh from the date and noting the file size there and please uh again allow sub sufficient time to complete your submission uh in the infrastructure exchange all right let's proceed to the next slide and um here we we're going to step through a few of the different sections that are in the uh in the full application um you'll see there's quite a list here uh in terms of um the different uh Fest sections and submissions and attachment ments that that go with uh this opportunity there are three different ones highlighted in this list that we're going to dive a bit deeper on because those really are um both significant for this funding opportunity as well as there are um uh some minor differences uh for some of these sections versus perhaps other doe funding opportunities that you may be familiar with and so we just want to cover those in a bit more detail and pull out some highlights okay let's go to the next slide uh so first up um there's the job quality and just transition plan um as mentioned this is sort of one of the highlights uh for this uh this funding opportunity under the under the umbrella of supporting the transition to um to electrified vehicles and so um we just want to note that you know this plan um should should be including a uh um the summary of commitments on job quality um that you can demonstrate to uh attract these um the the workforce as well as construction Workforce involved in the project and alternatively applicants uh can describe some of the other commitments that they may have um as part of the project let's go to the next slide this uh covers at a bit of a higher level uh some of the priority that we have uh for the job quality and just transition plan uh decreasing the use of temporary and misclassified workers as well as workplace INRI and safety violations and then increasing a number of the other priorities uh that that may be uh applicable for these projects including labor agreements uh hiring and the retention of skilled workers increasing wages and benefits increasing worker organizing and collective bargaining um increasing registered Apprentice par Apprentice participation and employer investments in Education and Training okay and one more slide on this one um again uh there are a number of resources to to help folks uh for the job quality and just transition plan and these are all areas that um we want to highlight in terms of uh detailed commitments that the project can provide um to support these uh these overall initiatives that are going to be uh important in this Trans in this transition uh to getting workers that can that can support vehicle electrification okay let's go to the next slide and uh we'll uh pivot to labor and the community benefits plan uh this is intended to set forth the applicant's approach to ensuring Federal Investments Advance these three goals community and labor engagement advancing um deia and contributing to the justice 40 uh ini initiative overall um the below sections um include some more detail on this there is a a template that folks can can reference and I believe the template is also referred to in the uh in the Q&A that goes along uh along with the spa or the FAQ document uh applicants are strongly encouraged to use this template and we ask that folks uh address all the elements uh in in their templet and submission let's go to the next slide here uh a similar slide as we had before uh in terms of some priorities here decreasing project risks uh as well as health and safety risks and then increasing participation of affected workers increasing opportunities for two-way communication increasing self- enforcement and legally enforceable Community benefits agreements increasing accountability for workers and communities increasing comprehensive collecting bargaining agreements and increasing benefits and and the broadly shared Prosperity uh that we know can come from these significant um investments in communities okay on the next slide um we we mentioned uh commitments previously and again here um the commitments that um that we're looking for in these types of Engagement plans and as well as the supporting details to show that um that those are high quality commitments let's go to the next slide um for for labor and Community benefits again um we're looking to decre decrease workplace discrimination harassment as well as uh decrease the use of checks for energy jobs increasing recruitment advancement and retention increasing quality free apprenticeship programs for workers increasing Supportive Services uh that can otherwise support and enable the workforce increasing Partnerships with msis and HBCU increasing participation of tribal entities and increasing funding to these other small Enterprises um that uh that we know are are really can be instrumental in supporting the projects okay next slide please um again uh detailed commitments are what really serve to uh put muscle behind uh the types of plans that we're looking for in these projects and so these here are some examples of uh detail commitments that uh can be used to reduce barriers to employment and provide advancement opportunities for uh underrepresented uh individuals uh through this type of work okay next slide please and and again uh some other priorities here for the justice 40 initiative decreasing energy burden and disadvantaged communities decreasing environmental exposure and burdens for disadvantaged communities increasing the parity in the clean energy uh technology transition increasing access to lowcost Capital in those disadvantaged communities increasing Clean Energy Enterprise creation and Contracting increasing clean energy jobs the jobs Pipeline and jobs training increasing energy resiliency and energy democracy uh in disadvantaged communities okay and uh one one final slide here um for the labor and Community benefits plan uh this uh these plans should include Milestones as uh part of their incorporation into the overall project plan and so we'll be looking for these types of specific uh commitments that can ensure accountability from the project there is a page limit for these plans of six pages um there's a a helpful link there for some other resources um that um that we think would be uh would help assist folks in pulling together these plans okay finally one more slide uh the the other section we mentioned uh there as part of the foa is the at risk facility justification this is unique for this funding opportunity um an applicant uh should submit this attachment for consideration if uh you'd like the proposed project for the existing fa facility to be considered as one that has recently seized operation or will seize operation in the near future and so we're looking for applicants to provide that justification of of why they think they meet that definition okay and that's a a separate attachment there all right let's go to the next slide thank you uh so I'm going to uh quickly summarize the full application review information these are the scoring criteria that will be used by reviewers for the to score uh this application so there's um a a pie chart graphic there across these six different criteria which will go through um in the following slides here so uh let's continue with criteria one criteria one is the technology Merit Innovation and supply chain impact criteria uh this focuses on the following factors of supply chain security and coverage the feasibility of the project and the technical impact of the project Workforce and operational impacts from the project and the retention of skilled Workforce as part of the uh the overall technical project plan okay let's go to the next slide for criteria two the financial and Commercial Market viability of the project this is uh criteria involves the consideration of the business viability Market viability uh other factors that can affect project viability Regional impacts Financial availability for the project and the reasonableness of of the the budget submitted with the project okay let's go to the next slide uh criteria three is uh the criteria that if we could go to um the criteria three slide and this is for the project work plan management team and uh partners that go along with the project not going to read through each of these um but certainly there's a detailed list here of the types of details we're looking for to support the overall work plan team and partners involved in the project next slide uh for criteria four and five criteria four is focused on the project cost share and evaluating those factors uh seen there um that would support the the project caare criteria five is the job quality and just transition plan that we detailed earlier and so you'll see some of those same uh same elements are um are part of the criteria that will be evaluated under the job quality and just transition plan and then uh last year criteria six the labor and Community benefits plan again um you'll see both labor and community and labor engagement as a uh a major criteria with sub criteria there uh for evaluation as well as the de uh subcategory and the Justice spy initiative category there all looking at the the criteria and initiatives and really some of those commitments and details uh that we asked for and detailed previously um and again um definitely refer folks to the supporting materials we have linked um that that can be helpful in in really detailing uh the types of things that um that we're looking for in projects and responses for this program okay uh next slide as we wrap up here this is um a little bit of a a look across this process uh and so quickly here we we did receive uh concept papers as we showed in the schedule at the beginning and we we've reviewed those and responded we're currently in that sort of second phase there of full applications where um we'll be looking to receive those here January 23rd and from there uh we'll we'll proceed to that third phase where we will um or excuse me still in the second phase we will review those full applications and then in the third phase um we'll we will take those reviews uh into consideration as part of federal consensus boards for each area each topic area and uh we'll present those uh for uh selection official consideration and briefings uh uh and then we'll eventually getting to uh to selections later uh this spring in 2024 and so you'll see there's a note that this is also detailed in the foa uh the foa document itself okay so um in wrapping up uh this webinar I just again want to point folks uh with questions to the uh the foa inbox there that's the email address you can use we've gotten a number of questions and provided a number of answers as well and so we um we appreciate uh folks uh using that portal as it gives us a good way to consistently resp fond and provide accurate answers on our part um and you can also um reference the um frequently asked questions document uh at that link there in the infrastructure exchange for this FAA which will uh which will provide those and and we hope that's helpful for everyone involved here okay so with that um really thank everyone for attending and I we hope this information was was helpful we're really looking forward uh to getting all your responses as we know um there is a lot of work on your part right now in pulling together uh all of the do documentation and doing the the authoring and um we're excited uh to get all that in the door so we can start our work here on our side and looking forward to uh project announcements in the spring um so thank you all for again connecting with us in the manufacturing and energy supply chain office and um hope you have a happy Friday