Opportunity Information: Apply for 26 518
The National Science Foundation (NSF), through its Directorate for Engineering (ENG), is offering grant funding under the Chemical, Bioengineering, Energy, and Transport Systems (CBET) opportunity. This program is aimed at supporting foundational, early-stage engineering research that expands fundamental knowledge and enables new capabilities across chemical and biochemical processing, bioengineering and biomedical systems, resource and energy management, and the science of transport phenomena. A central theme of this opportunity is a focus on intellectually ambitious work with the potential to be transformative, meaning projects can be high-risk or exploratory as long as they are grounded in strong scientific and engineering ideas. Importantly, proposals do not need to promise a near-term product, deployment pathway, or commercial outcome to be competitive, and they are not expected to cover later-stage development.
CBET is organized around four main research programs. The Chemical Process Systems (CPS) program supports fundamental engineering research in chemical and biochemical processes that underpin the production and transformation of chemicals, fuels, energy carriers, and materials. This can include core advances in process design, control, intensification, catalysis-informed systems concepts, reactive separations, and other approaches that deepen understanding of how complex chemical and biochemical processes can be modeled and improved. The Engineering Biological and Biomedical Systems (EBBS) program supports foundational engineering research that advances platforms, devices, organisms, tissues, and engineered processes that improve knowledge of biological function and the ability to measure, predict, and control it. This scope can cover areas such as bioinstrumentation, engineered living systems, biomanufacturing concepts, biomedical devices, and new system-level methods for interacting with biological processes.
The Energy, Water, and Resource Engineering (EWRE) program supports fundamental engineering research tied to the management and stewardship of critical resources, including energy, water, minerals, and materials. In practice, this can span new engineering principles and methods for resource recovery, sustainable processing, water treatment and reuse, and systems that improve efficiency and resilience in how society produces, uses, and recycles key resource streams. The Transport Phenomena (TP) program supports foundational research focused on understanding, modeling, and controlling the transport of mass, momentum, energy, and chemical species across multiple length and time scales. This includes work that strengthens the fundamentals of flow, diffusion, heat transfer, multiphase systems, interfacial phenomena, and coupled transport behavior in complex media, with an emphasis on generalizable knowledge rather than application-specific prototypes.
From an applicant and administrative standpoint, the opportunity is a discretionary grant program (Funding Instrument: Grant) within the NSF research and development activity category (CFDA 47.041). Eligibility is listed as unrestricted, meaning a broad range of applicant types may apply, consistent with NSF policies for research proposals. NSF anticipates making a sizeable number of awards under this umbrella, with an estimated 275 expected awards, though actual totals, budgets, and project durations are explicitly dependent on available funds and NSF portfolio decisions. The award ceiling is not specified in the provided listing, and NSF notes that it expects a mix of award sizes and durations rather than a single standard format.
Key identifiers in the listing include the Funding Opportunity Number 26 518 and the title Engineering (ENG): Chemical, Bioengineering, Energy, and Transport Systems (CBET). The listing shows an original closing date of 2076-08-17, which may reflect an open or long-running solicitation format commonly used for NSF core programs rather than a typical single-deadline competition. Overall, CBET is best understood as a core NSF ENG funding pathway for rigorous, foundational engineering research in chemical, biological, energy/resource, and transport sciences, prioritizing deep technical innovation and fundamental advances over short-term commercialization.Apply for 26 518
- The U.S. National Science Foundation in the science and technology and other research and development sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Engineering (ENG): Chemical, Bioengineering, Energy, and Transport Systems (CBET)" and is now available to receive applicants.
- Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 47.041.
- This funding opportunity was created on 2026-08-17.
- Applicants must submit their applications by 2076-08-17.
- The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 275 candidate(s).
- Eligible applicants include: Unrestricted.
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CBET (NSF ENG) Grant Opportunity FAQs
1) What is the CBET program?
CBET is a National Science Foundation (NSF) funding opportunity within the Directorate for Engineering (ENG) that supports foundational, early-stage engineering research. It targets work that expands fundamental knowledge and enables new capabilities across chemical and biochemical processing, bioengineering and biomedical systems, resource and energy management, and transport phenomena.
2) What kind of research is CBET designed to support?
CBET is designed for intellectually ambitious, foundational research that advances core engineering science. Projects can be exploratory or high-risk as long as they are grounded in strong scientific and engineering ideas and contribute generalizable knowledge rather than late-stage development.
3) Does my proposal need to promise a near-term product or commercial outcome?
No. Proposals do not need to promise a near-term product, deployment pathway, or commercial outcome to be competitive. CBET is not intended to require later-stage development or commercialization plans as a condition for competitiveness.
4) Is CBET appropriate for later-stage development or deployment work?
CBET is focused on early-stage, foundational research. The opportunity description emphasizes fundamental advances and explicitly notes that proposals are not expected to cover later-stage development.
5) What are the main research programs within CBET?
CBET is organized into four research programs:
- Chemical Process Systems (CPS)
- Engineering Biological and Biomedical Systems (EBBS)
- Energy, Water, and Resource Engineering (EWRE)
- Transport Phenomena (TP)
6) What types of topics fit under Chemical Process Systems (CPS)?
CPS supports fundamental engineering research in chemical and biochemical processes that underpin the production and transformation of chemicals, fuels, energy carriers, and materials. Example areas mentioned include process design, process control, process intensification, catalysis-informed systems concepts, reactive separations, and other approaches that improve modeling and understanding of complex chemical and biochemical processes.
7) What types of topics fit under Engineering Biological and Biomedical Systems (EBBS)?
EBBS supports foundational engineering research that advances platforms, devices, organisms, tissues, and engineered processes that improve knowledge of biological function and strengthen the ability to measure, predict, and control biological systems. The scope described includes bioinstrumentation, engineered living systems, biomanufacturing concepts, biomedical devices, and system-level methods for interacting with biological processes.
8) What types of topics fit under Energy, Water, and Resource Engineering (EWRE)?
EWRE supports fundamental engineering research related to management and stewardship of critical resources such as energy, water, minerals, and materials. The described scope includes new principles and methods for resource recovery, sustainable processing, water treatment and reuse, and systems improving efficiency and resilience in producing, using, and recycling key resource streams.
9) What types of topics fit under Transport Phenomena (TP)?
TP supports foundational research on understanding, modeling, and controlling the transport of mass, momentum, energy, and chemical species across multiple length and time scales. Topics mentioned include flow, diffusion, heat transfer, multiphase systems, interfacial phenomena, and coupled transport behavior in complex media, with an emphasis on generalizable fundamentals rather than application-specific prototypes.
10) What is the central theme or priority of this opportunity?
A central theme is support for intellectually ambitious work with the potential to be transformative. This includes projects that may be high-risk or exploratory, provided they are built on strong underlying scientific and engineering ideas.
11) Who is eligible to apply?
Eligibility is listed as unrestricted. This indicates a broad range of applicant types may apply, consistent with NSF policies for research proposals.
12) What type of funding instrument is used?
The funding instrument is a discretionary grant (Funding Instrument: Grant).
13) What is the NSF activity category and CFDA number for this opportunity?
The listing places the opportunity in NSF research and development activities and identifies CFDA 47.041.
14) What is the funding opportunity number and official title?
The Funding Opportunity Number is 26 518, and the title is Engineering (ENG): Chemical, Bioengineering, Energy, and Transport Systems (CBET).
15) How many awards does NSF expect to make?
NSF anticipates an estimated 275 awards under this umbrella. The listing also notes that actual totals depend on available funds and NSF portfolio decisions.
16) Is there a maximum award amount (award ceiling)?
The award ceiling is not specified in the provided listing.
17) Are award sizes and project durations standardized?
No. NSF indicates it expects a mix of award sizes and durations rather than a single standard format, and that budgets and durations depend on available funds and portfolio decisions.
18) What is the closing date shown, and what might it mean?
The listing shows an original closing date of 2076-08-17. The description suggests this may reflect an open or long-running solicitation format commonly used for NSF core programs rather than a typical single-deadline competition.
19) Is CBET best viewed as a one-time competition or an ongoing NSF pathway?
Based on the description, CBET is best understood as a core NSF ENG funding pathway for rigorous, foundational engineering research across the covered topic areas, rather than a short-term, single-deadline program focused on near-term commercialization.
20) What kinds of outcomes does CBET prioritize?
CBET prioritizes deep technical innovation, fundamental advances, and expanded understanding that can enable new capabilities. It explicitly emphasizes generalizable knowledge and foundational engineering science over short-term commercialization or application-specific prototype development.
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