The Genesis Mission: Transforming Science and Energy with AI
The Department of Energy seeks interdisciplinary teams to use AI for advancing science, energy, and technology in areas like manufacturing, biotech, critical materials, and nuclear research.
Funder: Office of Science
Due Dates: May 1, 2026 (Phase I applications & Phase II LOIs) | May 19, 2026 (Phase II applications) | December 17, 2026 (Phase II applications from FY26 Phase I awards)
Funding Amounts: Phase I: $500,000–$750,000 for 9 months; Phase II: typically 3–5× Phase I per year, up to $16M/project, 3-year duration; total program funding up to $293.76M.
Summary: Supports interdisciplinary teams using novel AI models and frameworks to accelerate scientific discovery and R&D in energy, environment, and national security across DOE mission areas.
Key Information: Cost-sharing required for for-profit/industry partners; multi-institutional teams with specific partner categories are required for eligibility.
Description
This funding opportunity from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Science solicits applications from interdisciplinary teams to address national science and technology challenges through the development and deployment of novel artificial intelligence (AI) models, frameworks, and workflows. The program aims to accelerate scientific discovery and research and development (R&D) in key DOE mission areas—energy, environment, and national security—by leveraging AI to transform the pace and impact of research. Teams are encouraged to utilize the extensive scientific and data resources of the DOE, National Laboratories, U.S. industry, and academia. Successful AI models and workflows may be integrated into the American Science Cloud and broader Genesis Mission infrastructure.
The program is structured in two phases:
- Phase I (small teams): Focuses on designing and demonstrating research workflows that incorporate AI, with concrete evaluation of the potential for AI advantage.
- Phase II (large teams): Pursues promising directions identified in Phase I, with a higher level of effort and larger budgets.
A broad range of topics are eligible, including advanced manufacturing, biotechnology, critical materials, nuclear fission and fusion, quantum information science, semiconductors and microelectronics, discovery science, and energy. Each application must address a specific topic and focus area.
