ADEPT Highlights

ARPA-E focuses on next-generation energy innovation to create a sustainable energy future. The agency provides R&D support to businesses, universities, and national labs to develop technologies that could fundamentally change the way we access, use, and store energy. Since 2009, ARPA-E has provided over $2 billion in support to more than 950 energy technology projects.

Recent advances in wide band-gap (WBG) semiconductor materials, such as silicon carbide (SiC) and gallium nitride (GaN) are enabling a new generation of power semiconductor devices that far exceed the performance of silicon-based devices. Past ARPA-E programs (ADEPT, Solar ADEPT, and SWITCHES) have enabled innovations throughout the power electronics value chain, especially in the area of WBG semiconductors.

POWERCHIP TO POWER THE WORLD UPDATED: JUNE 22, 2016 PROJECT TITLE: PowerChip: Advanced Technologies for Integrated Power Electronics PROGRAM: Agile Delivery of Electric Power Technology (ADEPT) AWARD: $4,414,003 PROJECT TEAM: MIT (Lead), Dartmouth College, University of Pennsylvania, Georgia Tech PROJECT TERM: September 1, 2010 – December 31, 2013 PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR (PI): Prof. David Perreault

ZINC-AIR GRID ENERGY STORAGE UPDATED: FEBRUARY 24, 2016  PROJECT TITLES: DEVELOPING POWERFUL AND EFFICIENT ELECTRIC POWER CONVERTERS PROGRAM: ADEPT AWARD: $3,914,527 PROJECT TEAM: Arkansas Power Electronics International (APEI) (Lead), Cree Power and RF (now Wolfspeed); Oak Ridge National Laboratory; Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing North America; University of Arkansas

ULTRA FAST SWITCHING TECHNOLOGY FOR MOTOR DRIVES AND DC/AC INVERTERS UPDATED: March 29, 2016PROJECT TITLE: High Performance GaN HEMT Modules for Agile Power ElectronicsPROGRAM: ADEPTAWARD: $2,950,000PROJECT TEAM: Transphorm Inc. (Lead), UC Santa Barbara, Virginia TechPROJECT TERM: September 2010 – February 2013

U.S. Secretary of Energy Steven Chu today announced 43 cutting-edge research projects that aim to dramatically improve how the U.S. uses and produces energy.

At the inaugural ARPA-E Energy Innovation Summit today, U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu announced $100 million in Recovery Act funding will be made available to accelerate innovation in green technology, increase America’s competitiveness and create new jobs.

The objectives of this workshop were to gain a deeper understanding of those areas and technologies that have the highest potential to meet DOE's goal of developing the technical foundations necessary to improve the utilization of energy in power technologies.

Learn how Cree, with the help of ARPA-E funding, has developed a Silicon Carbide (SIC) transistor which can be used to create solid state transformers capable of meeting the unique needs of the emerging smart grid.