Information Request on Financing Support for Covered Technology Categories-Specific to Companies and Trade Associations, 59904-59907 [2024-16179]
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Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 142 / Wednesday, July 24, 2024 / Notices
Respondents are encouraged to
respond to any or all of the following
questions and topic areas. Responses
may include estimates, which should be
designated as such. Your responses may
include supporting data and examples.
We welcome submission of publications
or studies that support your responses
as attachments.
Questions
The questions section of this Federal
Register notice is split into four parts:
(a) General, (b) Financing, (c)
Experience with U.S. Government
Financing, and (d) Economic Outlook.
ddrumheller on DSK120RN23PROD with NOTICES1
General
1. What are your (i) geographical and
(ii) business sectoral coverage areas for
lending or private credit investment
efforts?
2. Do you finance companies that
largely produce, integrate, or otherwise
use equipment or services with a
purpose that aligns with any of the
Covered Technology Categories? Please
list each Covered Technology Category
and define the relationship.
3. What types of financing products
do you make available to companies in
Question #2?
4. Are there any debt financing gaps
in industries or assets related to the
Covered Technology Categories (e.g.,
capital expenditure, working capital,
acquisition financing, lease financing,
etc.)?
Financing
5. What terms are you offering the
market? Please break down (i) the
product type, (ii) the transaction size,
(iii) the interest rate and credit spread,
and (iv) the tenor range by Covered
Technology Category.
6. What fees do you typically charge
for various debt product types
associated with companies in Question
#2 (e.g., underwriting fees, draw fees,
prepayment fees, etc.)?
7. What are the key credit risk
categories that lead to a denial of
financing to companies within the
Critical Technology Categories relevant
to your firm (e.g., technology
commercialization risk, credit/financial
risk, customer concentration risk,
market/merchant risk, sector’s
cyclicality, etc.)?
8. How can the DoD Loan Program
partner with financing firms to crowd
capital into Covered Technology
Categories and their supply chains?
9. Do you believe the Covered
Technologies Categories identified in
Question #2 would benefit from credit
support from the DoD Loan Program? If
so, what are the most beneficial forms
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of credit support (e.g., Direct Loans,
Loan Guarantees, etc.) and why?
10. How should the DoD Loan
Program be designed to be
complementary to, rather than a
substitute for private sector debt
financing?
11. Do you believe Federal loans and
loan guarantees would help enhance the
terms you provide to the market? If so,
how and why?
12. What is the ideal loan guarantee
coverage percentage that would entice
you to lend to companies in a Covered
Technology Category? Please include
the (i) sector, (ii) the company size, and
(iii) the debt amount. Additionally,
please describe how this loan guarantee
coverage percentage enables your firm
to finance the companies discussed in
Question 2.
Experience With U.S. Government
Financing
13. Have you previously worked with
financing tools from the U.S.
Government? If so, please specify which
(i) government programs your firm
engaged in and (ii) what financing tools
you utilized (e.g., loans or loan
guarantees). If not, please specify why
(e.g., not relevant, fees too high, etc.).
14. What was the size of the financing
tools mentioned above? For example, if
the tool used was a loan, please indicate
its size (e.g., $0–5MM, $5–25MM, $25–
75MM, >$75MM).
15. What types of fees were associated
with these financing tools (e.g.,
underwriting fees, draw fees,
prepayment fees, etc.)?
16. What challenges (i) have you seen,
and/or (ii) do you foresee, with Federal
credit direct loans and loan guarantees
as it relates to Covered Technology
Categories?
Economic Outlook
17. What is your outlook on the fiveyear macroeconomic projection for the
Covered Technology Categories you
selected previously? Which, if any,
macroeconomic headwinds and
tailwinds are most impacting (i) your
ability to finance the Covered
Technology Categories and (ii) the
Covered Technology Categories
themselves?
Requirements for Written Comments
OSC encourages respondents, when
addressing the points above, unless
raising other challenges related to
financing Covered Technology
Categories not explicitly asked, to
identify which point they are
responding to by using the same
numbers and heading as set forth above.
For example, someone submitting
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comments responsive to (8), ‘‘How can
the DoD Loan Program partner with
financing firms to crowd capital into
Covered Technology Categories and
their supply chains?’’, would use that
same text as a heading followed by the
respondent’s specific comments
responding to it. This formatting will
assist OSC in more easily reviewing and
summarizing the comments received in
response to these specific points of
inquiry.
Anyone submitting business
confidential information should clearly
identify the business confidential
portion at the time of submission, file a
statement justifying nondisclosure and
referring to the specific legal authority
claimed, and provide a non-confidential
version of the submission. Users
submitting a form that contains business
confidential information will need to
submit a non-confidential version of the
same form that does not contain the
confidential business information. The
non-confidential version of the
submission will be placed in the public
file on https://www.regulations.gov. For
comments submitted electronically
containing business confidential
information, the file name of the
business confidential version should
begin with the characters ‘‘BC.’’ Any
page containing business confidential
information must be clearly marked
‘‘BUSINESS CONFIDENTIAL’’ on the
top of that page. The non-confidential
version must be clearly marked
‘‘PUBLIC.’’ The file name of the nonconfidential version should begin with
the character ‘‘P.’’ The ‘‘BC’’ and ‘‘P’’
should be followed by the name of the
person or entity submitting the
comments.
Dated: July 18, 2024.
Aaron T. Siegel,
Alternate OSD Federal Register Liaison
Officer, Department of Defense.
[FR Doc. 2024–16180 Filed 7–23–24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6001–FR–P
DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
Office of the Secretary
[Docket ID: DoD–2024–OS–0073]
Information Request on Financing
Support for Covered Technology
Categories—Specific to Companies
and Trade Associations
Office of Strategic Capital
(OSC), Office of the Under Secretary of
Defense for Research and Engineering,
Department of Defense (DoD).
ACTION: Notice; request for information
(RFI).
AGENCY:
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Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 142 / Wednesday, July 24, 2024 / Notices
The OSC is seeking
information from companies and trade
associations regarding strategic capital
needs for industries related to the
Covered Technology Categories to
inform the design and implementation
of the DoD Loan Program.
DATES: Comments must be received by
October 22, 2024. Written comments in
response to this RFI should be
submitted in accordance with the
instructions in the ADDRESSES and
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION sections of
this notice.
ADDRESSES: Interested parties may
submit comments on this transaction
electronically on www.regulations.gov.
To submit a comment, enter
‘‘Information Request on Financing
Support for Covered Technology
Categories—Specific to Companies and
Trade Associations’’ under the heading
‘‘Enter Keyword or ID’’ and select
Search. You can also search by the
Docket ID, DoD–2024–OS–0073. Follow
the instructions provided at the ‘Submit
a Comment screen’.
Comments can also be sent by mail to
Department of Defense, Office of the
Assistant to the Secretary of Defense for
Privacy, Civil Liberties, and
Transparency, 4800 Mark Center Drive,
Mailbox #24, Suite 08D09, Alexandria,
VA 22350–1700.
Please include your name, company
name (if any) and ‘‘Information Request
on Financing Support for Covered
Technology Categories’’ on any attached
document.
Comments sent by any other method,
to any other address or individual, or
received after the end of the comment
period, may not be considered.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For
questions about this notice, please
contact David Vidal, Office of Strategic
Capital Director of Credit Programs, at
Federal.Register.Notice@osc.mil, Tel.
No. 703–545–1903. Please direct media
inquiries to the OSC Press Team at
engagements@osc.mil.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
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SUMMARY:
Background
In December 2022, the Secretary of
Defense established OSC to attract and
scale private capital to technologies
critical to the national security of the
United States. Furthermore, in 2024,
Congress authorized OSC as part of the
National Defense Authorization Act
(NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2024. The
NDAA states that OSC shall:
(a) develop, integrate, and implement
capital investment strategies proven in
the commercial sector to shape and
scale investment in critical technologies
and assets,
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(b) identify and prioritize promising
critical technologies and assets that
require capital assistance and have the
potential to benefit the DoD, and
(c) make eligible investments in such
technologies and assets, such as supply
chain technologies not always
supported through direct investment.
Covered Technology Categories
The NDAA designates the following
31 categories as a ‘‘Covered Technology
Category.’’
• Advanced bulk materials (including
dielectrics, alloys, polymers, and
composites)
• Advanced manufacturing (including
upgrades for increasing the efficiency
or quality of existing production
processes or for enabling
commercialization of new
technologies)
• Autonomous mobile robots
• Battery storage (including lithium ion,
advanced lead acid, and alternate
batteries, as well as fuel cells)
• Biochemicals
• Bioenergetics
• Biomass (including conversion-ready
feedstock)
• Cybersecurity
• Data fabric (including integration
across disparate domains)
• Decision science (including ensemble
learning methods for portfolio
optimization)
• Edge computing
• External communication
• Hydrogen generation and storage
• Mesh networks (including off-grid
communications)
• Microelectronics assembly, testing, or
packaging
• Microelectronics design and
development
• Microelectronics fabrication
• Microelectronics manufacturing
equipment
• Microelectronics materials
• Nanomaterials and metamaterials
• Open RAN
• Optical communications (including
free space and optical fiber)
• Sensor hardware
• Solar (including power system and
management components)
• Space launch
• Spacecraft
• Space-enabled services and
equipment (including in-space
operations and associated ground
equipment)
• Synthetic biology
• Quantum computing
• Quantum security
• Quantum sensing
The NDAA authorizes OSC to provide
capital assistance, defined as a ‘‘loan,
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loan guarantee, or technical assistance’’
for eligible investments. Eligible
investments are those made in a
technology that is (a) in a Covered
Technology Category and (b) not solely
utilized in defense applications. OSC is
seeking public comment on the capital
needs of industries and assets related to
the Covered Technology Categories to
inform the design of DoD loan program.
Specific Requests for Information
The following statements and
questions cover the major topic areas for
which OSC seeks comment. They are
not intended to limit the topics that may
be addressed. Responses may include
any topic believed to inform the U.S.
Government’s efforts in developing
recommendations for supporting the
design of the DoD Loan Program,
regardless of whether the topic is
included in this document.
Respondents are encouraged to
respond to any or all of the following
questions and topic areas. Responses
may include estimates, which should be
designated as such. Your responses may
include supporting data and examples.
We welcome submission of publications
or studies that support your responses
as attachments.
Questions
The questions section of this Federal
Register notice is split into four parts:
(a) General, (b) Financing, (c) Economic
Outlook, and (d) Competition.
General
1. From the Covered Technology
Categories referenced in the Background
of this SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION
section, please select at least one
Category that best represents your
company.
2. What is the 6-digit North American
Industry Classification System (NAICS)
code for your business? If your business
has more than one NAICS code, please
list those associated with the Covered
Technology Categories noted in your
response to Question 1.
3. Does your company largely
produce, integrate, or otherwise use
equipment and/or services for a purpose
that aligns with any of the Covered
Technology Categories enumerated in
the Background section? Please list each
Covered Technology Category and
define the relationship.
4. What are the primary technology
asset(s)/equipment utilized in your
sector for production or provision of
services? What is the typical useful life
of these technology equipment/assets?
5. Is there a secondary market for the
technology equipment/asset(s) noted in
Question 4? If so, how is the secondary
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Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 142 / Wednesday, July 24, 2024 / Notices
market value typically established (e.g.,
public benchmark, appraisals, etc.)?
6. If applicable, how are these
technology equipment/asset(s)
transported from the source of origin to
your facilities (airship, sea ship, rail,
trucks)? If shipped via sea, are you/or
your supplier able to transport them on
a U.S.-flagged vessel?
7. How long has your company been
in business? How many years has your
firm operated in the specified Covered
Technology Category?
8. What was your company’s annual
revenue over the past five years? (Please
list each year and the respective annual
value).
9. What were your company’s
earnings before interest and taxes
(EBIT), and EBIT margins from the past
five years? (Please list each year and the
respective annual value).
10. What is your company’s actual or
implied Credit Rating Agency rating
(e.g. BB+, Ba1, etc.)?
11. What is the current size of your
company by employee count?
12. In which city, state, and countries
are your company’s headquarters, and
manufacturing plants located?
13. In which geographies are your
suppliers most concentrated? Please
specify the state(s) or country(ies) if
foreign.
14. In which geographies are your
customers most concentrated? Please
specify the state(s) or country(ies) if
foreign.
15. Who are the major lenders in your
market segment (e.g., banks, specialty
firms, private credit)? Please specify the
institutions.
16. What percentage of your annual
revenue has been spent on Research and
Development (R&D) over the past five
years? (Please list each year and the
respective annual value).
17. What percentage of your annual
revenue has been spent on capital
expenditures (CapEx) over the past five
years? (Please list each year and the
respective annual value).
18. How often is capital expenditure
(CapEx) funding usually needed (e.g.,
once every three years)?
ddrumheller on DSK120RN23PROD with NOTICES1
Financing
19. Have you previously used any
form of U.S. Government funding? If so,
please specify which funding tool(s)
your company used and how (e.g.,
loans, loan guarantees, etc.). If not,
please specify why.
20. Have you ever accessed or
attempted to obtain Federal credit (e.g.,
direct loans or loan guarantees) in the
past, or are you considering it in the
future? If so, please specify the Federal
credit programs or institutions.
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21. Have Federal credit programs been
able to successfully address the funding
needs in your market segment? Please
explain.
22. Which types of debt financing are
currently available to your company for
the purposes of working capital, capital/
equipment lease or purchases, and
acquisition?
23. What are the sources of debt
financing in your market segment (e.g.,
Banks, Credit Unions, Non-Bank
Lenders, Funds, etc.)?
24. On average, how long does it take
a company in your market segment to
secure the needed debt funding for
working capital, capital/equipment
purchases or leases, acquisitions, etc.?
How critical is the speed of funding
availability in your line of business?
25. What are the typical terms for
such debt instruments (e.g., debt/equity
ratio, repayment tenor, fund availability
period, grace period, amortization
structure, security/collateral package,
covenants, interest rates, credit spreads,
etc.)?
26. What are the limitations with
existing forms of debt capital available
to your company or sector (e.g., type,
cost, availability, covenants, eligibility,
etc.)?
27. What are the typical debt
instruments used to fund the
procurement of the technology assets/
equipment in your sector?
28. What forms of working capital
funding are available to companies in
your market?
29. Have you deferred production
expansion due to lack of access to
capital or the cost of capital?
30. What is the seniority level of the
typical debt instrument in your market?
Are there any covenant restrictions
preventing additional borrowing that is
pari-passu or senior to existing debt on
your balance sheet (if any)?
31. What are some of the limitations
or challenges in accessing funding in
your sector?
32. Are there any niche areas in your
sub-sector that struggle with accessing
the needed debt capital? Please describe
the reasons for this.
33. Would you benefit from OSC
offering any of the following types of
loan or loan guarantees: working capital
loans or lines of credit, asset-backed
loans, equipment financing, or
acquisition financing?
34. Subject to the criteria and
eligibility requirements to be
determined by OSC, what factors should
OSC consider important when
reviewing applications for the DoD Loan
Program?
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Economic Outlook
35. What is your outlook on the fiveyear macroeconomic projection for your
industry? What macroeconomic
headwinds/tailwinds are most
impacting you?
Competition
36. Who are the main competitors in
your space? Where are they located
geographically? Please list the city and
state, if known. If the competitor is
located overseas, please list the city and
country.
37. Do you have foreign competition
in your industry? Foreign competition is
defined as a competing firm with
headquarters outside of the United
States. If yes, please list the firm(s) as
well as the country they are
headquartered in.
38. Are you aware of or facing
competition backed by foreign
government financing? If so, please
identify the competition and the type of
foreign government financing provided.
Requirements for Written Comments
OSC encourages respondents, when
addressing the points above, unless
raising other challenges related to
financing Covered Technology
Categories not explicitly asked, to
identify which point they are
responding to by using the same
numbers and heading as set forth above.
For example, someone submitting
comments responsive to (9), ‘‘What is
your company’s actual or implied Credit
Rating Agency rating (e.g. BB+, Ba1,
etc.)?’’, would use that same text as a
heading followed by the respondent’s
specific comments responding to it.
This formatting will assist OSC in more
easily reviewing and summarizing the
comments received in response to these
specific points of inquiry.
Anyone submitting business
confidential information should clearly
identify the business confidential
portion at the time of submission, file a
statement justifying nondisclosure and
referring to the specific legal authority
claimed, and provide a non-confidential
version of the submission. Users
submitting a form that contains business
confidential information will need to
submit a non-confidential version of the
same form that does not contain the
confidential business information. The
non-confidential version of the
submission will be placed in the public
file on https://www.regulations.gov. For
comments submitted electronically
containing business confidential
information, the file name of the
business confidential version should
begin with the characters ‘‘BC.’’ Any
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Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 142 / Wednesday, July 24, 2024 / Notices
page containing business confidential
information must be clearly marked
‘‘BUSINESS CONFIDENTIAL’’ on the
top of that page. The non-confidential
version must be clearly marked
‘‘PUBLIC.’’ The file name of the nonconfidential version should begin with
the character ‘‘P.’’ The ‘‘BC’’ and ‘‘P’’
should be followed by the name of the
person or entity submitting the
comments.
Dated: July 18, 2024.
Aaron T. Siegel,
Alternate OSD Federal Register Liaison
Officer, Department of Defense.
[FR Doc. 2024–16179 Filed 7–23–24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6001–FR–P
DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
[Docket No.: ED–2024–SCC–0093]
Agency Information Collection
Activities; Comment Request;
Education Stabilization Fund—
Governor’s Emergency Education
Relief Fund (GEER I and GEER II)
Recipient Data Collection Form
Office of Elementary and
Secondary Education (OESE),
Department of Education (ED).
ACTION: Notice.
AGENCY:
In accordance with the
Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) of
1995, the Department is proposing an
extension without change of a currently
approved information collection request
(ICR).
DATES: Interested persons are invited to
submit comments on or before
September 23, 2024.
ADDRESSES: To access and review all the
documents related to the information
collection listed in this notice, please
use https://www.regulations.gov by
searching the Docket ID number ED–
2024–SCC–0093. Comments submitted
in response to this notice should be
submitted electronically through the
Federal eRulemaking Portal at https://
www.regulations.gov by selecting the
Docket ID number or via postal mail,
commercial delivery, or hand delivery.
If the regulations.gov site is not
available to the public for any reason,
the Department will temporarily accept
comments at ICDocketMgr@ed.gov.
Please include the docket ID number
and the title of the information
collection request when requesting
documents or submitting comments.
Please note that comments submitted
after the comment period will not be
accepted. Written requests for
information or comments submitted by
postal mail or delivery should be
ddrumheller on DSK120RN23PROD with NOTICES1
SUMMARY:
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addressed to the Manager of the
Strategic Collections and Clearance
Governance and Strategy Division, U.S.
Department of Education, 400 Maryland
Ave. SW, LBJ, Room 6W203,
Washington, DC 20202–8240.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For
specific questions related to collection
activities, please contact Britt Jung,
(202) 453–6046.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The
Department, in accordance with the
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA)
(44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A)), provides the
general public and Federal agencies
with an opportunity to comment on
proposed, revised, and continuing
collections of information. This helps
the Department assess the impact of its
information collection requirements and
minimize the public’s reporting burden.
It also helps the public understand the
Department’s information collection
requirements and provide the requested
data in the desired format. The
Department is soliciting comments on
the proposed information collection
request (ICR) that is described below.
The Department is especially interested
in public comment addressing the
following issues: (1) is this collection
necessary to the proper functions of the
Department; (2) will this information be
processed and used in a timely manner;
(3) is the estimate of burden accurate;
(4) how might the Department enhance
the quality, utility, and clarity of the
information to be collected; and (5) how
might the Department minimize the
burden of this collection on the
respondents, including through the use
of information technology. Please note
that written comments received in
response to this notice will be
considered public records.
Title of Collection: Education
Stabilization Fund—Governor’s
Emergency Education Relief Fund
(GEER I and GEER II) Recipient Data
Collection Form.
OMB Control Number: 1810–0748.
Type of Review: Extension without
change of a currently approved ICR.
Respondents/Affected Public: Private
Sector; State, Local, or Tribal
Governments.
Total Estimated Number of Annual
Responses: 3,326.
Total Estimated Number of Annual
Burden Hours: 40,612.
Abstract: The Department awards
GEER grants to Governors (States) and
analogous ESF—Governor grants to
Outlying Areas for the purpose of
providing local educational agencies
(LEAs), institutions of higher education
(IHEs), and other education related
entities with emergency assistance as a
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59907
result of the coronavirus pandemic. The
Department has awarded these grants to
States (Governors offices) based on a
formula stipulated in the legislation.
The grants are also awarded to Outlying
Areas based on the same formula: (1)
60% on the basis of the States or
Outlying Areas relative population of
individuals aged 5 through 24. (2) 40%
on the basis of the States relative
number of children counted under
section 1124(c) of the Elementary and
Secondary Education Act of 1965
(ESEA). Data collected through this
information collection will inform
Department monitoring and oversight,
and public reporting.
This information collection requests
approval for an extension to a
previously approved collection that
includes annual reporting requirements
to comply with the requirements of the
GEER/ESF—Governor program and to
obtain information on how the funds
were used.
The information will be reviewed by
U.S. Department of Education
(Department) employees to ensure that
GEER/ESF—Governor funds are used in
accordance with applicable
requirements under the CARES Act and
CRRSA Act and will be shared with the
public to promote transparency
regarding the allocation and uses of
funds. Furthermore, the information
collected will be analyzed to provide
aggregate statistics on SEA and LEA use
of Education Stabilization Fund (ESF)
funds to address the impacts of the
COVID–19 virus on students and
schools. The collection was used for a
similar purpose in the first three years
of its administration, with reporting
made public in 2021, 2022, and 2024.
Dated: July 18, 2024.
Kun Mullan,
PRA Coordinator, Strategic Collections and
Clearance, Governance and Strategy Division,
Office of Chief Data Officer, Office of
Planning, Evaluation and Policy
Development.
[FR Doc. 2024–16187 Filed 7–23–24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4000–01–P
DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
[Docket No.: ED–2024–SCC–0094]
Agency Information Collection
Activities; Comment Request;
Education Stabilization Fund—
Emergency Assistance for Non-Public
Schools (EANS) Program Recipient
Annual Reporting Data Collection
Form
Office of Elementary and
Secondary Education (OESE),
Department of Education (ED).
AGENCY:
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]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 142 (Wednesday, July 24, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 59904-59907]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-16179]
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DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
Office of the Secretary
[Docket ID: DoD-2024-OS-0073]
Information Request on Financing Support for Covered Technology
Categories--Specific to Companies and Trade Associations
AGENCY: Office of Strategic Capital (OSC), Office of the Under
Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering, Department of
Defense (DoD).
ACTION: Notice; request for information (RFI).
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[[Page 59905]]
SUMMARY: The OSC is seeking information from companies and trade
associations regarding strategic capital needs for industries related
to the Covered Technology Categories to inform the design and
implementation of the DoD Loan Program.
DATES: Comments must be received by October 22, 2024. Written comments
in response to this RFI should be submitted in accordance with the
instructions in the ADDRESSES and SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION sections of
this notice.
ADDRESSES: Interested parties may submit comments on this transaction
electronically on www.regulations.gov. To submit a comment, enter
``Information Request on Financing Support for Covered Technology
Categories--Specific to Companies and Trade Associations'' under the
heading ``Enter Keyword or ID'' and select Search. You can also search
by the Docket ID, DoD-2024-OS-0073. Follow the instructions provided at
the `Submit a Comment screen'.
Comments can also be sent by mail to Department of Defense, Office
of the Assistant to the Secretary of Defense for Privacy, Civil
Liberties, and Transparency, 4800 Mark Center Drive, Mailbox #24, Suite
08D09, Alexandria, VA 22350-1700.
Please include your name, company name (if any) and ``Information
Request on Financing Support for Covered Technology Categories'' on any
attached document.
Comments sent by any other method, to any other address or
individual, or received after the end of the comment period, may not be
considered.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For questions about this notice,
please contact David Vidal, Office of Strategic Capital Director of
Credit Programs, at [email protected], Tel. No. 703-545-
1903. Please direct media inquiries to the OSC Press Team at
[email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
In December 2022, the Secretary of Defense established OSC to
attract and scale private capital to technologies critical to the
national security of the United States. Furthermore, in 2024, Congress
authorized OSC as part of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA)
for Fiscal Year 2024. The NDAA states that OSC shall:
(a) develop, integrate, and implement capital investment strategies
proven in the commercial sector to shape and scale investment in
critical technologies and assets,
(b) identify and prioritize promising critical technologies and
assets that require capital assistance and have the potential to
benefit the DoD, and
(c) make eligible investments in such technologies and assets, such
as supply chain technologies not always supported through direct
investment.
Covered Technology Categories
The NDAA designates the following 31 categories as a ``Covered
Technology Category.''
Advanced bulk materials (including dielectrics, alloys,
polymers, and composites)
Advanced manufacturing (including upgrades for increasing the
efficiency or quality of existing production processes or for enabling
commercialization of new technologies)
Autonomous mobile robots
Battery storage (including lithium ion, advanced lead acid,
and alternate batteries, as well as fuel cells)
Biochemicals
Bioenergetics
Biomass (including conversion-ready feedstock)
Cybersecurity
Data fabric (including integration across disparate domains)
Decision science (including ensemble learning methods for
portfolio optimization)
Edge computing
External communication
Hydrogen generation and storage
Mesh networks (including off-grid communications)
Microelectronics assembly, testing, or packaging
Microelectronics design and development
Microelectronics fabrication
Microelectronics manufacturing equipment
Microelectronics materials
Nanomaterials and metamaterials
Open RAN
Optical communications (including free space and optical
fiber)
Sensor hardware
Solar (including power system and management components)
Space launch
Spacecraft
Space-enabled services and equipment (including in-space
operations and associated ground equipment)
Synthetic biology
Quantum computing
Quantum security
Quantum sensing
The NDAA authorizes OSC to provide capital assistance, defined as a
``loan, loan guarantee, or technical assistance'' for eligible
investments. Eligible investments are those made in a technology that
is (a) in a Covered Technology Category and (b) not solely utilized in
defense applications. OSC is seeking public comment on the capital
needs of industries and assets related to the Covered Technology
Categories to inform the design of DoD loan program.
Specific Requests for Information
The following statements and questions cover the major topic areas
for which OSC seeks comment. They are not intended to limit the topics
that may be addressed. Responses may include any topic believed to
inform the U.S. Government's efforts in developing recommendations for
supporting the design of the DoD Loan Program, regardless of whether
the topic is included in this document.
Respondents are encouraged to respond to any or all of the
following questions and topic areas. Responses may include estimates,
which should be designated as such. Your responses may include
supporting data and examples. We welcome submission of publications or
studies that support your responses as attachments.
Questions
The questions section of this Federal Register notice is split into
four parts: (a) General, (b) Financing, (c) Economic Outlook, and (d)
Competition.
General
1. From the Covered Technology Categories referenced in the
Background of this SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section, please select at
least one Category that best represents your company.
2. What is the 6-digit North American Industry Classification
System (NAICS) code for your business? If your business has more than
one NAICS code, please list those associated with the Covered
Technology Categories noted in your response to Question 1.
3. Does your company largely produce, integrate, or otherwise use
equipment and/or services for a purpose that aligns with any of the
Covered Technology Categories enumerated in the Background section?
Please list each Covered Technology Category and define the
relationship.
4. What are the primary technology asset(s)/equipment utilized in
your sector for production or provision of services? What is the
typical useful life of these technology equipment/assets?
5. Is there a secondary market for the technology equipment/
asset(s) noted in Question 4? If so, how is the secondary
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market value typically established (e.g., public benchmark, appraisals,
etc.)?
6. If applicable, how are these technology equipment/asset(s)
transported from the source of origin to your facilities (airship, sea
ship, rail, trucks)? If shipped via sea, are you/or your supplier able
to transport them on a U.S.-flagged vessel?
7. How long has your company been in business? How many years has
your firm operated in the specified Covered Technology Category?
8. What was your company's annual revenue over the past five years?
(Please list each year and the respective annual value).
9. What were your company's earnings before interest and taxes
(EBIT), and EBIT margins from the past five years? (Please list each
year and the respective annual value).
10. What is your company's actual or implied Credit Rating Agency
rating (e.g. BB+, Ba1, etc.)?
11. What is the current size of your company by employee count?
12. In which city, state, and countries are your company's
headquarters, and manufacturing plants located?
13. In which geographies are your suppliers most concentrated?
Please specify the state(s) or country(ies) if foreign.
14. In which geographies are your customers most concentrated?
Please specify the state(s) or country(ies) if foreign.
15. Who are the major lenders in your market segment (e.g., banks,
specialty firms, private credit)? Please specify the institutions.
16. What percentage of your annual revenue has been spent on
Research and Development (R&D) over the past five years? (Please list
each year and the respective annual value).
17. What percentage of your annual revenue has been spent on
capital expenditures (CapEx) over the past five years? (Please list
each year and the respective annual value).
18. How often is capital expenditure (CapEx) funding usually needed
(e.g., once every three years)?
Financing
19. Have you previously used any form of U.S. Government funding?
If so, please specify which funding tool(s) your company used and how
(e.g., loans, loan guarantees, etc.). If not, please specify why.
20. Have you ever accessed or attempted to obtain Federal credit
(e.g., direct loans or loan guarantees) in the past, or are you
considering it in the future? If so, please specify the Federal credit
programs or institutions.
21. Have Federal credit programs been able to successfully address
the funding needs in your market segment? Please explain.
22. Which types of debt financing are currently available to your
company for the purposes of working capital, capital/equipment lease or
purchases, and acquisition?
23. What are the sources of debt financing in your market segment
(e.g., Banks, Credit Unions, Non-Bank Lenders, Funds, etc.)?
24. On average, how long does it take a company in your market
segment to secure the needed debt funding for working capital, capital/
equipment purchases or leases, acquisitions, etc.? How critical is the
speed of funding availability in your line of business?
25. What are the typical terms for such debt instruments (e.g.,
debt/equity ratio, repayment tenor, fund availability period, grace
period, amortization structure, security/collateral package, covenants,
interest rates, credit spreads, etc.)?
26. What are the limitations with existing forms of debt capital
available to your company or sector (e.g., type, cost, availability,
covenants, eligibility, etc.)?
27. What are the typical debt instruments used to fund the
procurement of the technology assets/equipment in your sector?
28. What forms of working capital funding are available to
companies in your market?
29. Have you deferred production expansion due to lack of access to
capital or the cost of capital?
30. What is the seniority level of the typical debt instrument in
your market? Are there any covenant restrictions preventing additional
borrowing that is pari-passu or senior to existing debt on your balance
sheet (if any)?
31. What are some of the limitations or challenges in accessing
funding in your sector?
32. Are there any niche areas in your sub-sector that struggle with
accessing the needed debt capital? Please describe the reasons for
this.
33. Would you benefit from OSC offering any of the following types
of loan or loan guarantees: working capital loans or lines of credit,
asset-backed loans, equipment financing, or acquisition financing?
34. Subject to the criteria and eligibility requirements to be
determined by OSC, what factors should OSC consider important when
reviewing applications for the DoD Loan Program?
Economic Outlook
35. What is your outlook on the five-year macroeconomic projection
for your industry? What macroeconomic headwinds/tailwinds are most
impacting you?
Competition
36. Who are the main competitors in your space? Where are they
located geographically? Please list the city and state, if known. If
the competitor is located overseas, please list the city and country.
37. Do you have foreign competition in your industry? Foreign
competition is defined as a competing firm with headquarters outside of
the United States. If yes, please list the firm(s) as well as the
country they are headquartered in.
38. Are you aware of or facing competition backed by foreign
government financing? If so, please identify the competition and the
type of foreign government financing provided.
Requirements for Written Comments
OSC encourages respondents, when addressing the points above,
unless raising other challenges related to financing Covered Technology
Categories not explicitly asked, to identify which point they are
responding to by using the same numbers and heading as set forth above.
For example, someone submitting comments responsive to (9), ``What is
your company's actual or implied Credit Rating Agency rating (e.g. BB+,
Ba1, etc.)?'', would use that same text as a heading followed by the
respondent's specific comments responding to it. This formatting will
assist OSC in more easily reviewing and summarizing the comments
received in response to these specific points of inquiry.
Anyone submitting business confidential information should clearly
identify the business confidential portion at the time of submission,
file a statement justifying nondisclosure and referring to the specific
legal authority claimed, and provide a non-confidential version of the
submission. Users submitting a form that contains business confidential
information will need to submit a non-confidential version of the same
form that does not contain the confidential business information. The
non-confidential version of the submission will be placed in the public
file on https://www.regulations.gov. For comments submitted
electronically containing business confidential information, the file
name of the business confidential version should begin with the
characters ``BC.'' Any
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page containing business confidential information must be clearly
marked ``BUSINESS CONFIDENTIAL'' on the top of that page. The non-
confidential version must be clearly marked ``PUBLIC.'' The file name
of the non-confidential version should begin with the character ``P.''
The ``BC'' and ``P'' should be followed by the name of the person or
entity submitting the comments.
Dated: July 18, 2024.
Aaron T. Siegel,
Alternate OSD Federal Register Liaison Officer, Department of Defense.
[FR Doc. 2024-16179 Filed 7-23-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6001-FR-P
