Educate first responders
Voucher Opportunity 3 names first responder education as eligible support. Omitz courses cover the hazards, detection, suppression and emergency response provisions firefighters need before an incident, not after.
DOE Voucher Opportunity 3 · Apply by
Request hydrogen and battery storage safety training for your department
The DOE Voucher Program can provide live, in-person safety training from Omitz at no cost to your department. It takes one application on the EnergyWerx form, about 20 minutes.
- Contact and organization info. Name, address with ZIP+4, and your UEI if you have one.
- Technology area. Pick one: Hydrogen or Long-duration energy storage (BESS). You don’t need both.
- Capability Choice 1: VO3-3. VO3-3 is Omitz. Pick it first.
- Five short questions. Use our example answers as a starting point.
- Agree and submit by December 16 at 3:00 PM ET.
Step by step
Filling in the form, with example answers
These are templates, not answers. They work for fire departments, building and permitting offices, and local governments alike. Replace every [bracketed] part with your own details, delete what doesn’t apply, and rewrite any other words so each answer describes your organization, your projects, your people and your dates. DOE reads these answers to decide on and match requests, so your specifics matter more than our wording.
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Contact and organization info
- Enter a main point of contact (the person who would schedule training) and, ideally, an alternate.
- Use your organizationUse your department’s or jurisdiction’s official namersquo;s official name and address, the same way on every submission.
- ZIP+4 asks for the last 4 digits only. Find them with the USPS ZIP Code lookup.
- UEI: answer Yes, In Process, or No. You can apply without one.
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Technology area
Pick one: Long-duration energy storage for battery storage (BESS) sites, or Hydrogen for hydrogen production, storage or fueling. You don’t need both. A department with only a BESS project, or only a hydrogen project, qualifies the same way. VO3-3 covers either one.
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Capability Choice 1: VO3-3 (Omitz)
Open the Capability Choice 1 dropdown and select VO3-3 - Hydrogen and Energy Storage Systems Safety Trainings (Live, In-Person). That’s the Omitz training. You can leave Choices 2 to 5 blank.
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Five short questions
Each answer can be up to 250 words. Questions marked ** are shared with providers, so leave out anything confidential. Copy a template, then replace every bracket with your own details.
1. Prior relationship with the voucher provider
Form asks: “Describe any prior relationship(s) you have with the voucher provider(s) that you would like to receive support from.”
[Describe any prior relationship with Omitz, LLC, such as a past course or project, or write N/A if there is none.]2. Your technology
Form asks: “Please describe your technology briefly, including typical system size (e.g., MW and duration) and use cases.”
[Organization name] [reviews / permits / inspects / provides emergency response for / plans to host] [a battery energy storage system (BESS) / a hydrogen project / both] in [jurisdiction]. [Keep only the lines below that apply.] - [BESS: system size in MW and MWh or hours of duration, battery type, location, and use, such as storing solar generation or supporting the grid.] - [Hydrogen: system type, such as a fueling station, electrolyzer or storage, its size, location, and use.] Our role is [plan review / permitting / inspection / emergency response / project owner or operator].3. Background
Form asks: “Briefly describe your organization. Briefly describe past or current efforts that are relevant to the voucher support you request.”
[Organization name] is [a fire department / a building or permitting office / a city, county or tribal government / other] serving [population or area] in [county, state]. [Describe your staff: how many people and their roles, such as plan reviewers, inspectors, firefighters or permit staff.] [Name the codes you enforce or follow, such as your adopted edition of the International Fire Code, NFPA 855 or NFPA 2.] [Describe what you have done on these projects so far, such as meetings with developers, preliminary plan reviews or site visits.]4. Justification of need
Form asks: “Describe your organization’s needs as they relate to the voucher opportunity and capability(ies) you prefer. Include justification for the timing of the voucher support and why you are ready to receive support.”
[Project name or description] is expected to reach [permit review / construction / commissioning] by [month and year]. Before then, our [staff roles] need training on [the requirements of NFPA 855 and NFPA 2 / battery storage hazards and emergency response / hydrogen hazards and emergency response]. We would train about [number] people, including [roles and any partner agencies]. [Explain why you can’t meet this need now, such as budget or no local training.] [Explain why you are ready now, such as an upcoming review date or staff available for training.]5. Catalytic effects
Form asks: “Describe your near-term plans and how the voucher support you request will help you achieve them at an accelerated pace.”
With trained staff, we can [list your near-term outcomes, such as completing plan reviews in-house, writing pre-incident plans before a site goes live, or shortening permitting timelines]. [Describe the projects you expect over the next few years and how this training prepares you for them.] -
Agree and submit
- I am representing: fire departments and building or permitting offices usually pick Government - Authority Having Jurisdiction (State, Local, Tribal).
- DOE funding, past or pending: answer Yes or No, and explain briefly if either is Yes.
- How did you hear about EnergyWerx: check what’s true.
- Check I agree on all three agreement questions.
Note to Organizer (optional)
Form asks: “Note to Organizer”
We are requesting VO3-3, Hydrogen and Energy Storage Systems Safety Trainings (Live, In-Person), with Omitz, LLC as our provider.Press Submit before December 16, 2026 at 3:00 PM ET. After the deadline, DOE reviews requests and proposes matches, and you can accept or decline yours.
Why it fits
Training your staff before the first application arrives
Review plans with confidence
Plan reviewers, fire marshals and building officials learn what NFPA 2 and NFPA 855 require, what a complete submittal looks like and which questions to ask a developer.
Taught by a practitioner
Phil Clark, MS, CIH, CSP, has worked on hydrogen and energy storage safety at a U.S. Department of Energy research facility since 2013 and is a lead NFPA 2 instructor for the AIChE Center for Hydrogen Safety.
The opportunity at a glance
- Opportunity
- Voucher Opportunity 3, Energy Infrastructure Project Siting/Permitting Support (Recipients), Round 3
- Who can apply
- Authorities having jurisdiction and other entities seeking to host advanced energy projects, including hydrogen and long-duration energy storage
- Support
- In-kind services from pre-approved providers; the recipient receives no funds and pays nothing
- Estimated value
- Up to $100,000 per voucher, depending on the capability
- Deadline
- December 16, 2026 at 3:00 PM ET
- Information webinars
- November 18 and December 2, 2026, 2:00–3:00 PM ET
Summarized from the EnergyWerx opportunity page. Eligibility, review criteria and terms are set by DOE; the official page governs.
Phil Clark, MS, CIH, CSP
Questions about your application?
Tell Phil about your jurisdiction, the projects you expect and who would attend. He can help you work out what to write.