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DOE BES is the Basic Energy Sciences program of the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science. It funds fundamental research on matter and energy and builds and operates major scientific user facilities. This guide separates the three solicitation routes that the program’s funding page lists, explains which ones a university researcher can use, and says where the official pages stop and each announcement takes over. Everything below is as described on the official BES pages on 2026-10-29; solicitations and deadlines change, so confirm against the current announcement before you plan around any item. (In other contexts “BES” can mean something unrelated, such as best-evidence synthesis in evidence-synthesis methods; this page covers only the DOE program.)
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Suggested question: “What does DOE BES stand for?”
What DOE Basic Energy Sciences is and who runs it
BES is a program within the DOE Office of Science. Its stated purpose is to support fundamental research to “understand, predict, and ultimately control matter and energy at the electronic, atomic, and molecular levels,” providing the foundations for new energy technologies and supporting DOE missions in energy, environment, and national security. The program also plans, constructs, and operates major scientific user facilities that serve researchers from universities, national laboratories, and private institutions.
The BES home page lists three divisions: Materials Sciences and Engineering; Chemical Sciences, Geosciences, and Biosciences; and Scientific User Facilities. The office is in the Germantown Building in Washington, DC, and the program lists [email protected] as its contact address.
On scale, the official pages give two figures. The BES About page calls the program one of the nation’s largest sponsors of research in the natural sciences and says it funds fundamental science at more than 170 research institutions in the U.S., with approximately 40% of research activities sited at academic institutions. The BES home page says more than 160 research institutions. Treat the figure as “more than 160 to 170, depending on the page.”
What DOE BES funds
The research disciplines BES supports are condensed matter and materials physics, chemistry, geosciences, and aspects of physical biosciences. The About page describes these as the disciplines that discover new materials and design new chemical processes, touching energy production, conversion, transmission, storage, efficiency, and waste mitigation. Its own examples include superconductivity, alloy design for high-temperature applications, catalysts for fuels and chemicals, solar photoconversion, and subsurface fluid dynamics in porous and fractured rock.
If your work sits in one of these areas, the background guides on materials science and inorganic chemistry map the neighbouring fields and their funding routes.
Who can apply: eligibility and the official source
The official funding page does not give one blanket eligibility rule. It sorts opportunities by type, and eligibility depends on which type and which individual announcement you are reading:
- Funding Opportunity Announcements (FOAs): the page says these “may be open to one or more institution types.” Universities and other research institutions apply here.
- DOE National Laboratory Announcements: the page says these are “open only to DOE Laboratories.” Proposals from laboratories are subject to formal merit review (peer review).
- Federal agencies and national laboratories generally: the page tells DOE National Laboratories and other federal agencies to read each FOA carefully to see whether they are eligible for that solicitation.
Source: BES Funding Opportunities page, science.osti.gov/bes/Funding-Opportunities, checked 2026-10-29. Eligibility specifics beyond this are in each announcement, not on the program page.
The three solicitation routes at a glance
| Route | Who it is open to, as stated | What the page says about submission |
|---|---|---|
| Funding Opportunity Announcements for new grant applications | May be open to one or more institution types | The page points applicants to the Office of Science Portfolio Analysis and Management System (PAMS) and lists a PAMS helpdesk at [email protected] |
| Office of Science Financial Assistance Program continuation solicitation (DE-FOA-0003665, FY 2027) | Eligibility is set in the announcement; the listing says it was posted September 30, 2026 and stays open until September 30, 2027 “or until replaced by a successor NOFO” | Applications may be submitted any time in that period; individual topics may have scheduled review panels |
| DOE National Laboratory Announcements | Open only to DOE Laboratories | Formal merit review (peer review) of laboratory proposals |
The same page also lists time-limited announcements with their own letter-of-intent and application dates, and for those it names Grants.gov for applications and PAMS for letters of intent. Dates on those listings change quickly and are not repeated here.
Application and compliance steps
- Find the announcement that fits. Open the BES Funding Opportunities page and identify whether your institution type and topic match an open FOA, the continuation solicitation, or a laboratory announcement.
- Read the announcement itself. Eligibility, pre-application rules, and review-panel dates live in the announcement. The program page points you there rather than restating them.
- Check the pre-application rule. For the continuation solicitation, the page states a pre-application is required for consideration by certain review panels and optional for all other submissions.
- Submit letters of intent through PAMS and applications through the channel the announcement names. The page lists Grants.gov for applications on its time-limited listings.
- Plan for the program’s related requirements. The BES navigation links to Peer Review Policies and to Additional Requirements and Guidance for Digital Data Management; read both before you submit.
Typical timeline phases
The official pages describe phases rather than a fixed calendar. A new applicant should expect these stages, with dates set by each announcement:
- Letter of intent or pre-application, where an announcement asks for one.
- Application submission, either by a stated close date or, for the continuation solicitation, at any point while it remains open.
- Review panel. Individual topics in the continuation solicitation may have scheduled review panels with an acceptance date. The page says applications submitted after a panel’s acceptance date “may be held until the next review panel.”
Common mistakes
- Treating the program page as the rulebook. The page defers eligibility to each announcement. Read the announcement.
- Applying to a lab-only announcement from a university. The page says DOE National Laboratory Announcements are open only to DOE Laboratories.
- Submitting at the deadline. The page’s own reminder is to submit letters of intent, preapplications, and applications well ahead of stated deadlines.
- Missing a panel. A late application to a topic with scheduled panels may be held until the next one.
- Skipping a required pre-application. It is required for some review panels even though it is optional for others.
Related programs
| Program or page | What the BES pages say |
|---|---|
| Energy Frontier Research Centers | The BES home page’s “What’s New” lists a DOE announcement of $352 million for Energy Frontier Research Centers to accelerate science underpinning energy technologies |
| Early Career Research Program | The home page lists a DOE announcement of the Early Career Research Program for 2026, and the funding navigation links to a dedicated page. Compare it with the DoD and DOE early-career awards |
| EPSCoR | The home page lists a DOE announcement of the EPSCoR Notice of Funding Opportunity, and the funding navigation links to a dedicated EPSCoR page |
| Office of Science Financial Assistance Program | The funding page lists the FY 2027 continuation solicitation, DE-FOA-0003665 |
To see how DOE requirements differ from other agencies, see NSF vs. DOE grant requirements and NIH vs. DOE grant requirements.
FAQ
What does DOE BES stand for?
BES stands for Basic Energy Sciences, a program of the DOE Office of Science that supports fundamental research on matter and energy and operates scientific user facilities.
Is DOE Basic Energy Sciences the same as DOE Office of Science?
No. BES is one program within the Office of Science. The Office of Science also runs the Financial Assistance Program under which the continuation solicitation DE-FOA-0003665 is listed on the BES funding page.
Can a university apply to BES?
Yes, where an announcement is open to that institution type. The BES funding page groups “New Grant Applications from Universities and Other Research Institutions” under Funding Opportunity Announcements, which “may be open to one or more institution types.” Laboratory announcements are open only to DOE Laboratories.
Does BES take applications year-round?
The continuation solicitation DE-FOA-0003665 states applications may be submitted any time until September 30, 2027, or until a successor NOFO replaces it, but individual topics may have scheduled review panels and late submissions may wait for the next panel.
Where do I get help with PAMS?
The BES funding page lists a PAMS helpdesk at [email protected].
Sources
- U.S. DOE Office of Science, Basic Energy Sciences (BES) home: https://science.osti.gov/bes, checked 2026-10-29.
- BES About: https://science.osti.gov/bes/About, checked 2026-10-29.
- BES Funding Opportunities: https://science.osti.gov/bes/Funding-Opportunities, checked 2026-10-29.
