ARPA-E held a one-day, pre-Summit workshop focused on helping scientific researchers, technology entrepreneurs, and corporate and venture investors gain strategic insights into ARPA-E’s program directions and other Department of Energy programs. Participants: (i) were briefed about existing and future program priorities, (ii) learned the key criteria used in evaluating proposals, (iii) met and asked questions directly of ARPA-E Program Directors, and (iv) gained insights into energy technology commercialization. The event provided participants with an opportunity to:

• Learn about the Agency’s existing and potential future funding programs
• Understand what ARPA-E Program Directors are looking for in winning research proposals
• Learn more about SBIR funding opportunities, technology transfer, and commercialization

Proceedings from the meeting are summarized below.  

ARPA-E: Past and Present

An overview of ARPA-E’s vision and strategy by ARPA-E Director Arun Majumdar

Panel discussion with ARPA-E’s current Program Directors on how ARPA-E conducted its first funding opportunity and is planning its future programs:

• Arun Majumdar, Director, ARPA-E (moderator)
• Shane Kosinski, Deputy Director for Operations, ARPA-E
• David Danielson, Program Director, ARPA-E
• Mark Hartney, Program Director, ARPA-E
• Eric Toone, Program Director, ARPA-E

Session 1: Energy Technology Commercialization   The basics of commercializing breakthrough energy technologies, with a view of the full life cycle of commercialization, including how to find good entrepreneurs and how to start a company.

• Srini Mirmira, Program Director, ARPA-E (moderator)
• Ric Fulop, Co-Founder, A123 Systems
• Neal Hunter, Co-Founder and former CEO, Cree Inc.
• Jesko von Windheim, CEO, Nextreme Thermal Solutions
• Peter Barris, Managing General Partner, New Enterprise Associates

Session 2: How to Take Advantage of SBIR (and other DOE Funding Opportunities):

Overview of the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR ) Program at DOE (as well as other DOE funding opportunities available for energy innovators.

• Kristina Johnson, Under Secretary of Energy, U.S. Department of Energy

Afternoon Workshop: Breakout with ARPA-E’s Program Directors

Discussion of the outcome of recent ARPA-E workshops conducted by ARPA-E Program Directors and other staff in four technology areas.   Session 3: Grid Scale Energy Storage Program

• Mark Johnson, Program Director, ARPA-E
• David Danielson, Program Director, ARPA-E

Session 4: Building Efficiency Technologies

• Ravi Prasher, Technology Development Manager, Intel Corporation
• Colin McCormick, Building Technologies Program, U.S. Department of Energy

Session 5: Power Electronics

• Rajeev Ram, Professor, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Session 6: Energy Recovery from Wastewater

• Mark Shannon, Professor, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Session 7: Best Practices in Technology Transfer: Moving Ideas (and Idea-Makers) Out of the Lab

Best practices in moving technologies (and researchers) out of national laboratories and universities for commercialization. For entrepreneurs and investors: how can you access exciting technologies (and inventors) in the national labs and in universities?:

• Scott Blake Harris, General Counsel, U.S. Department of Energy (opening overview)
• Karina Edmonds, Director, Technology Transfer, Jet Propulsion Laboratory/California Institute of Technology (and incoming Technology Transfer Coordinator, U.S. Department of Energy) (moderator)
• Mike Davis, Associate Laboratory Director for Energy and Environment, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
• Vern Norviel, Partner, Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati
• Paul Gottlieb, Assistant General Counsel for Technology Transfer and Intellectual Property, U.S. Department of Energy

Session 8: Next Generation Energy Entrepreneurs

This panel will feature the inspirational stories of some of the next generation of U.S. energy entrepreneurs who are creating companies to move their disruptive energy technologies to the market.

• David Danielson, Program Director, ARPA-E (moderator)
• Riccardo Signorelli, Founder and President, FastCAP Systems
• Bunmi Adekore, Founder and CTO , LumenZ, Inc.
• Chris Rivest, Co-Founder, SunPrint, Inc.

Technology Showcase

Showcase of over 100 exciting energy technologies, featuring awardees and top-ranking applicants from ARPA-E’s first solicitation as well as a select set of additional technologies.   Summit Opening Reception and Technology Showcase   Reception around the Technology Showcase of over 100 exciting technologies.