The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), under the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD), has issued Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) HR001125S0007 for the Microsystems Induced Catalysis (MICA) program. This program seeks to revolutionize catalysis through microsystems engineering, enabling on-demand, spatial, and temporal control of catalytic processes for applications in chemical synthesis, energy conversion, and biological interfacing. The goal is to develop new microsystem architectures that actively control and modulate catalysts in response to dynamic conditions.

The MICA program is structured into two Technical Areas (TAs):

TA1: Focuses on computational and experimental modeling to predict, simulate, and design catalysis control mechanisms.
TA2: Focuses on the development of physical microsystems that control catalytic activity.
The total program budget is approximately $40 million for both phases across both TAs. DARPA anticipates multiple awards per TA, with a down-selection process for Phase 2.

Funding is available through cost-reimbursement contracts or other transaction agreements (OTAs), depending on the scope of work and proposal requirements. Foreign-based collaborators may participate but must comply with export control regulations and Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI) guidelines.

Eligibility is open to all responsible sources, including for-profit organizations, academic institutions, and national labs. However, government labs, FFRDCs, and UARCs may only serve as vendors supplying materials or services and cannot act as performers, primes, subcontractors, or consultants.

The application process consists of two stages:

Abstract Submission: No limitations on the number of abstracts, but each must be significantly different.
Full Proposal Submission: Only one proposal per TA per organization is allowed as a prime.
The proposal deadline remains March 20, 2025. There will be Principal Investigator (PI) meetings, typically held at the performer’s facility, and End-of-Phase meetings will take place in-person in Washington, D.C..

For further inquiries, applicants can contact DARPA at HR001125S0007@darpa.mil. The BAA and supporting documents, including Q&As and slides from the Proposers' Day, are available on SAM.gov.