REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS AND NOTICE OF PUBLIC MEETING: PREMIUM POWER COMPETITION 98-03 Department of Commerce Technology Administration National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Advanced Technology Program Administration Building 101, Rm. A407 Gaithersburg, MD 20899-0001 Date: REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS AND NOTICE OF PUBLIC MEETING: The NIST Advanced Technology Program (ATP) is soliciting proposals under its focused program competition 98-03, Premium Power, and announces public meetings (Proposers' Conferences) for all interested parties. A total estimated $82 million in first year funding is available for new awards for all of the fiscal year 1998 ATP competitions (approximately eight to ten). The actual number of proposals funded under each competition will depend on the quality of the proposals received and the amount of funding requested in the highest ranked proposals. Outyear funding beyond the first year is contingent on the approval of future Congressional appropriations and satisfactory project performance. The goal of this Premium Power program is to promote U.S. economic growth by supporting sustained, high-risk research and development (not product development), to accelerate progress in power technologies critical to changes occurring in information systems, telecommunications, and distributed electric power. Technologies within scope: advanced rechargeable batteries, photovoltaic (PV) arrays, fuel cells, ultracapacitors and flywheels. These power technologies should be especially enabling to the convergence in digital, broadband, multimedia communications and computing; to mobile electronics; to dispersed fiber or wireless low earth orbit satellite based transmission networks; and to distributed electric power, especially that needed by power quality sensitive industries. The program targets significant innovations in performance, cost effectiveness, and electric quality of portable and distributed power systems through advances in materials, processing, device structures and systems integration. Proposals within scope include (but are not limited to) those thataddress new high energy density batteries; solid-state fuel cells and PV power modules suited to residential, commercial or small portable uses; high efficiency, low cost and weight solar cells for space and terrestrial telecommunication uses; and high pulse power ultracapacitor devices based on new carbon and metal oxides. Technologies outside the scope are primary batteries, lead acid, nickel cadmium and low risk modifications of commercial rechargeable batteries; high power density technologies for electric or hybrid vehicle applications; liquid electrolyte fuel cells; current high cost geosynchronous orbit (GEO) space PV modules; technologies best suited to central utility applications over 250kW capacity; and proposals that solely emphasize power conditioning electronics. Business goals: 1) strengthen U.S. industry in advanced rechargeable energy storage production; 2) achieve a 10-fold cost reduction of space photovoltaic arrays; and 3) reduce cost of manufacturing a kW of distributed, integrated fuel cell capacity to $1500. Abbreviated proposals (pre-proposals) are allowed but are optional for this focused program competition 98-03. Pre-proposals are intended to provide intermediate feedback as to whether the proposer is on track in formulating and articulating some of the key information required for a successful project proposal. Responses to pre-proposals will have no effect on review of full proposals, but must follow the instructions included in the 98-03 program booklet. Pre-proposals under 98-03 are due no later than 3:00 p.m. Eastern time on Friday, February 27, 1998, at the address shown below. Written feedback can be expected from ATP within two weeks of receipt. No other form of pre-proposal debriefing will be provided. The due date for submission of 98-03 FULL proposals is 3 p.m. Eastern time on Wednesday, April 8, 1998. Should NIST be closed on the specified due date, ATP proposals will be due at 3 p.m. Eastern time on the next business day that the NIST facility is open. Proposals received after this deadline WILL NOT be considered. Send pre-proposals and full proposals to: Advanced Technology Program, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Administration Building 101, Rm. A407, Quince Orchard & Clopper Roads, Gaithersburg, MD 20899-0001. Mark envelope Focused Program 98-03. Pre-proposals or full proposals submitted by facsimile or electronic mail WILL NOT be accepted. If a proposer's full proposal is judged to be of high enough quality to be invited for an oral review, ATP reserves the right to submit questions to proposer that must be addressed at the oral review. The ATP operates under program procedures published at Part 295, Title 15, of the Code of Federal Regulations. The provisions of the 12/15/97 Federal Register notice announcing the availability of funding for ATP competitions, are incorporated by reference in this notice. The ATP Proposal Preparation Kit dated December 1997 (containing proposal cover sheets, other required forms, background material, and instructions forsubmission of proposals) and the 98-03 program booklet (containing a paper describing the focused program scope) may be requested by phone: 1-800-ATP-FUND; fax: 301-926-9524 or 301-590-3053; e-mail: atp@nist.gov; or letter at the above address. The Kit is also available on the ATP World Wide Web site http://www.atp.nist.gov under Publications. ATP is mailing the new Kit to all individuals whose names are currently on the ATP mailing list. Those individuals need not contact ATP to request a copy. The 98-03 program booklet is also available on ATP web site under the heading Competitions and printed copies are available upon request from ATP. Public meetings (Proposers' Conferences) for potential proposers and other interested parties will be held on following four dates and nine locations: Thursday, January 15, 1998, NIST, Administration Bldg. (101), Green Auditorium, Quince Orchard & Clopper Roads, Gaithersburg, MD 20899-0001 and will also be video teleconferenced to NIST Boulder, Building 1, Main Auditorium, 325 Broadway, Boulder, CO 80303. For further information on NIST Boulder meeting contact Jerry Hendrix, 303-497-5646. In case of severe weather, call NIST's Facilities Status Line, Gaithersburg, 301-975-6478; Boulder, 303-497-3000 for a prerecorded status message. If NIST is closed, the meeting will be rescheduled; Wednesday, January 21, 1998 at the Crowne Plaza Hotel, 1113 6th Avenue, Seattle, WA, 98101-3048, Phone: 800-521-2762; at the Austin Chariot Resort Inn, 7300 North IH 35, Austin, TX 78752-2606, Phone: 800-432-9202; and at the Adam's Mark Orlando, 1500 Sand Lake Road, Orlando, FL 32809, Phone: 407-859-1500; Friday, January 23, 1998, at The Quality Hotel -- Los Angeles Airport, 5249 W. Century Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90045, Phone: 310-645-2200; at the Holiday Inn O'Hare International, 5440 North River Road, Rosemont, IL 60018, Phone: 888-642-7344; and at the Sheraton Bradley Hotel, 1 Bradley International Airport, Windsor Locks, CT 06096, Phone: 860-627-5311; and Wednesday, January 28, 1998, at the Gaithersburg Holiday Inn, 2 Montgomery Village Avenue, Gaithersburg, MD 20879, Phone: 301-948-8900. The conference at each location will begin at 9:30 a.m. local time and end at approximately 2 p.m. except for the January 15 meeting. On that date, to accommodate a video teleconference, the meeting at NIST will be held from 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. local time and the meeting at NIST Boulder will be held from 8 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. local time. These meetings will provide general information regarding the ATP, tips on preparing good proposals, and an opportunity for audience questions. The format and content of each of the public meetings will be the same exception at the January 28, 1998, meeting which will include an afternoon session to answer specific questions on the scope, technical, and business goals of this 98-03 focused program.. Multiple locations for these meetings are for public convenience. Attendance is not required. No registration fee will be charged. To register for a meeting or for further information, contact ATP as noted above. WEB: Advanced Technology Program, atp.nist.gov. E-MAIL: Advanced Technology Program, atp@nist.gov.

Loren Data Corp. http://www.ld.com (SYN# 0596 19971218\SP-0006.MSC)