Dr. Apoorv Agarwal serves as a Technology-to-Market Advisor at the Department of Energy’s Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) where he supports technology development and commercialization efforts for energy storage and transportation programs. Dr. Agarwal has extensive experience in the energy commercialization space and is passionate about clean energy, sustainable mobility, alternative fuels, and waste-to-clean energy technologies.

Dr. Agarwal began his professional career at the Research & Advanced Engineering organization of Ford Motor Company as a technical specialist focusing on engine combustion and friction modeling.  Over a 15-year career, he developed innovative engine technologies like a dual fuel engine and was among the first wave of Six Sigma Black Belts trained by Ford.  Dr. Agarwal also worked in the electrified powertrain division and helped develop powertrain strategy for Ford’s full hybrid, plug-in hybrid, and battery electric vehicles.  He has been active with the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) and the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME). Dr. Agarwal has published more than a dozen peer reviewed technical papers, given multiple technical presentations and holds one US patent.

In 2014, Dr. Agarwal become the General Manager of Organic Transit, a North Carolina based start-up that designed, manufactured, and sold a novel solar-human powered vehicle.  Prior to joining ARPA-E, Dr. Agarwal served as a technical and commercialization consultant for several years on projects related to use of alternative fuels and development of decentralized sanitation systems.

Dr. Agarwal received his undergraduate degree in Mechanical Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi, where he graduated at the top of his class.  He earned a Master’s degree from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and a Ph.D. (both in Mechanical Engineering) from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.  He also holds an MBA from the Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan and has served as a mentor for several cohort companies of Third Derivative and the Breakthrough Energy Fellows program.