ONHS Report: DE-FOA-0003630

Unlocking New Levels of Output and Capacity for Key Subsurface Resources (UNLOCK)

Solicitation ID: DE-FOA-0003630

Agency: ARPA-E

Type: Cooperative Agreement

Deadline: 2026-11-20T00:00:00 ET

Eligibility: DOE Site Office Approval Required

Funding: Approximately $45 million total to be shared between two NOFOs (DE-FOA-0003630 and DE-FOA-0003631), with individual awards varying between $3 million and $5 million.

Doc Type: Other

Clearance: No

Program Manager: ARPA-E-CO@hq.doe.gov

Last Updated: 2026-10-22 16:03

Analyzed File: NOFO_DE-FOA-0003630_UNLOCK.pdf

Eligibility Reasoning

FFRDCs/DOE Labs are eligible to apply for funding as the lead organization for a project team or as a member of a project team that includes IHEs, companies, research foundations, or trade and industry research collaborations, but not as a standalone applicant. Any Federally Funded Research and Development Centers (FFRDC) involved as a member of a project team must provide the information requested in the “FFRDC Lab Authorization” and “Field Work Proposal” section of the Business Assurances & Disclosures Form.

Note: This is an AI-generated summary...

Summary

The Unlocking New Levels of Output and Capacity for Key Subsurface Resources (UNLOCK) program, issued by ARPA-E, seeks to fund the development of transformative technologies to dramatically improve resource recovery from low-permeability subsurface formations. The program's primary objective is to double the per-well recovery efficiency of energy and mineral resources, while maintaining or reducing per-unit costs and wastewater volumes compared to the state-of-the-art. The funding opportunity is structured into two categories: Category A focuses on Shale and Tight Oil & Gas, while Category B addresses Other Low-Permeability Subsurface Resources, such as enhanced geothermal systems (EGS) and in-situ mineral leaching. Key technical areas of interest include waterless/low-water stimulation techniques, advanced recovery fluids, engineered proppants, and advanced diagnostics and modeling. Projects must integrate stimulation and recovery methods, supported by sensing and modeling. A mandatory two-phase structure requires 18 months of laboratory validation followed by a competitive down-select for an 18-month field test at a pre-committed site. Applicants must provide a letter of commitment from a field site operator with their application and meet specific performance targets, such as achieving ≥40% oil or ≥50% gas recovery factors in Category A.

Overall Technical Areas

Subsurface Fracture MechanicsHydraulic Fracturing AlternativesEnhanced Geothermal Systems (EGS)Engineered Proppant TechnologiesAdvanced Subsurface Recovery FluidsIn-Situ Resource LeachingSubsurface Reservoir CharacterizationDownhole Sensor TechnologiesReservoir Simulation and ModelingGeochemical Fluid-Rock InteractionsSubsurface Water ManagementQuantum Sensing and ComputingDownhole Materials Science

Probable LBNL Areas

BSACSAEESAESAETAPSA

Focus Areas

Example Priorities:

Waterless or low-water fracturing or stimulation technologies that could improve resource access by creating more uniform, dense, durable, and controlled fracture networks
Energized gas injection (e.g., supercritical CO2, nitrogen)
Chemical stimulation
Electric discharge fracturing
Pulsed plasma fracturing
High-energy laser-based stimulation
Thermal and acoustic stimulations

Specific Technical Skills:

Reservoir EngineeringGeomechanicsFracture MechanicsRock PhysicsPlasma PhysicsSupercritical FluidsAcoustic EngineeringChemical StimulationPetroleum Engineering

Potential PIs for this Area:

Name	Score	Organization
Yves Guglielmi	0.78	EESA \| EG \| Geophysics Dept · Geomechanics
Tsubasa Sasaki	0.77	EESA \| EG \| Hydrogeology Dept · Geomechanics
Chun Chang	0.77	EESA \| EG \| Hydrogeology Dept · Reservoir Engineering
Preston Jordan	0.77	EESA \| EG \| Geophysics Dept · Petroleum Engineering
Aodhan McIlvenny	0.77	PSA \| ATAP \| BELLA Center · Plasma Physics
Stanislav Glubokovskikh	0.75	EESA \| EG \| Geophysics Dept · Rock Physics
Clayton Radke	0.74	EESA \| EG \| Hydrogeology Dept · Supercritical Fluids
Michael Sangid	0.74	ESA \| MSD \| Material Physics · Fracture Mechanics
Eric Masanet	0.74	ETA \| Energy Analysis \| Systems & Energy Tech Analysis · Acoustic Engineering
William Foxall	0.74	EESA \| EG \| Geophysics Dept · Chemical Stimulation

Example Priorities:

Advanced recovery fluids to improve resource mobility and flow conformance, including biologically derived, nanomaterial-enhanced, adaptive, and catalytic reagents
Supercritical, nanoparticle-enhanced, or microbe-assisted recovery fluids that can enhance permeability, alter interfacial properties, and selectively mobilize trapped resources
Engineered proppants that can improve fracture conductivity, reservoir connectivity, and production performance
Adaptive, responsive, or phase-changing fluids, such as temperature or pressure-activated gels
In-situ generated [proppants]
Multifunctional (e.g., sensing, scale-inhibiting) [proppants]

Specific Technical Skills:

Materials ScienceNanomaterial SynthesisPolymer ChemistryGeochemistryBiotechnologyCatalysisFluid DynamicsIn-situ Material GenerationSurface Chemistry

Potential PIs for this Area:

Name	Score	Organization
Piotr Zarzycki	0.79	EESA \| EG \| Geochemistry Dept · Geochemistry
Wenming Dong	0.79	EESA \| EG \| Geochemistry Dept · Geochemistry
F. Dean Toste	0.78	ESA \| CSD \| Catalysis · Catalysis
Kristin Persson	0.78	ESA \| MSD \| Material Physics · Materials Science
Brooks Abel	0.77	ESA \| MSD \| Material Physics · Polymer Chemistry
Aaron Lattanzi	0.76	CSA \| AMCR \| Applied Mathematics · Fluid Dynamics
Anandharaj Marimuthu	0.76	BSA \| DOE Joint Genome Institute \| JGI Technology Dept · Biotechnology
Haimei Zheng	0.76	ESA \| MSD \| Materials Instrumentation · In-situ Material Generation
Armand Alivisatos	0.76	ESA \| MSD \| Material Physics · Nanomaterial Synthesis
Slavomir Nemsak	0.75	ESA \| ALS \| ALS Photon Science Operations · Surface Chemistry

Example Priorities:

Advanced diagnostics and modeling for real-time subsurface monitoring
Distributed chemical sensing capable of tracking fluid composition variations
Quantum sensors with high sensitivity to reservoir changes
Swarm-based sensors that could enable detailed spatial mapping of fracture networks and fluid flow
Numerical models must be site-calibrated, validated with lab data, and capable of predicting field-scale performance.
Quantum computing

Specific Technical Skills:

Quantum SensingDistributed Fiber Optic SensingMicro-sensor DevelopmentGeophysical ModelingReservoir SimulationComputational Fluid DynamicsQuantum ComputingData AssimilationIntegrated Experimental Validation

Potential PIs for this Area:

Name	Score	Organization
Linqing Luo	0.79	EESA \| EG \| Geophysics Dept · Distributed Fiber Optic Sensing
David Alumbaugh	0.79	EESA \| EG \| Geophysics Dept · Geophysical Modeling
Anthony Ciavarella	0.77	CSA \| AMCR \| Computer Science · Quantum Computing
Aaron Lattanzi	0.77	CSA \| AMCR \| Applied Mathematics · Computational Fluid Dynamics
Evan Um	0.76	EESA \| EG \| Geophysics Dept · Geophysical Modeling
Ashok Ajoy	0.76	ESA \| CSD \| Condensed Phase - CPIMS · Quantum Sensing
Chun Chang	0.75	EESA \| EG \| Hydrogeology Dept · Reservoir Simulation
Angelos Ioannou	0.75	CSA \| AMCR \| Computer Science · Integrated Experimental Validation
Zachary Jones	0.75	BSA \| Biological Systems & Engineering \| Process Engr & Analytics · Micro-sensor Development
Lijing Wang	0.74	EESA \| EG \| Geophysics Dept · Data Assimilation

Potential LBNL PIs (Overall)

Note on PI Matching: These suggestions are generated through an AI-driven semantic analysis of LBNL staff profiles.

Name	Score	Organization
Chun Chang	0.79	EESA \| EG \| Hydrogeology Dept · Subsurface Reservoir Characterization
Preston Jordan	0.78	EESA \| EG \| Geophysics Dept · Engineered Proppant Technologies
Kevin G Knauss	0.77	EESA \| EG \| Geochemistry Dept · Geochemical Fluid-Rock Interactions
Edward Nichols	0.77	EESA \| EG \| Geophysics Dept · Downhole Sensor Technologies
Clayton Radke	0.76	EESA \| EG \| Hydrogeology Dept · Advanced Subsurface Recovery Fluids
George Moridis	0.76	EESA \| EG \| Hydrogeology Dept · Hydraulic Fracturing Alternatives
Niklas Mundhenk	0.76	EESA \| EG \| Geophysics Dept · Downhole Materials Science
Pramod Bhuvankar	0.76	EESA \| EG \| Hydrogeology Dept · Reservoir Simulation and Modeling
Teamrat Ghezzehei	0.76	EESA \| EG \| Hydrogeology Dept · Subsurface Water Management
Ashok Ajoy	0.76	ESA \| CSD \| Condensed Phase - CPIMS · Quantum Sensing and Computing

Fundamental Research Exemption (FRE)

Do not include information subject to export controls in any submissions, including Concept Papers, Full Applications, and Replies to Reviewer Comments, whether marked as subject to U.S. export control laws/regulations or otherwise. Such information may not be accepted by ARPA-E and may result in a determination that the application is non-compliant, and therefore not eligible for selection.