TERRA Highlights

ARPA-E recently welcomed Dr. Nick Goeser as the federal Tech-to-Market (T2M) advisor for our agriculture technology portfolio. We sat down with Dr. Goeser ahead of ARPA-E’s upcoming carbon farming workshop to discuss his perspectives on the current state of domestic agriculture, and how ARPA-E can play a role in transforming the industry to better meet the needs of our society.

We sat down with ARPA-E Program Director, Dr. Rachel Slaybaugh, as she reflected on her experience attending the very first ARPA-E Energy Innovation Summit Student Program back in 2010.

To hear about more ARPA-E projects and their stories, check out the newly released ARPA-E Impacts: A Sampling of Project Outcomes, Volume III. 

ACCELERATING SORGHUM BREEDING WITH UNMANNED AERIAL VEHICLES UPDATED: December 16, 2017PROJECT TITLE: Consortium for Advanced Sorghum Phenomics (CASP)PROGRAM: Transportation Energy Resources from Renewable Agriculture (TERRA)AWARD: $7,033,003

LOW-COST ROBOT FOR CROP IMPROVEMENT UPDATED: January 29, 2018PROJECT TITLE: TERRA Mobile Energy-Crop Phenotyping Platforms (MEPP)PROGRAM: Transportation Energy Resources from Renewable Agriculture (TERRA)AWARD: $5,100,000PROJECT TEAM: University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (Lead), Cornell University, and Signetron, Inc.PROJECT TERM: October 2015 – December 2019

They say everything is big in Texas, and at this year’s EarthX event, it certainly felt that way. ARPA-E joined a trio of its awardees for this year’s conference, a massive expo in Dallas focused on energy, the environment, and new technology to solve some of our most pressing problems. ARPA-E’s mission has innovation at its core, so EarthX was a prime opportunity to showcase some of the agency’s most exciting energy projects while helping the public better understand ARPA-E’s mission and the role of energy in Americans’ everyday lives.

AUTOMATED SORGHUM PHENOTYPING PLATFORMS UPDATED: December 21, 2017PROJECT TITLE: Automated Sorghum Phenotyping and Trait Development PlatformPROGRAM: Transportation Energy Resources from Renewable Agriculture (TERRA)AWARD: $6,662,287PROJECT TEAM: Purdue University, IBM, University of QueenslandPROJECT TERM: August 2015 – August 2018PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR (PI): Mitch Tuinstra

Every year, DOE’s Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) welcomes thousands of energy innovators, entrepreneurs, investors, and government professionals to its Energy Innovation Summit. Among all the world-class speakers, panelists, and networking opportunities, the can’t-miss star of the Summit is the Technology Showcase, where nearly 300 exhibitors show the world the future of American energy innovation.

LOW-COST ROBOTICS FOR CROP IMPROVEMENT UPDATED: December 14, 2017PROJECT TITLE: Biofuel Organism Observation Science and Technology (BOOST)PROGRAM: Transportation Energy Resources from Renewable Agriculture (TERRA)AWARD: $6,149,998TEAM: Clemson University, Carnegie Mellon University, Near Earth Autonomy, Donald Danforth Plant Science CenterTERM: September 2015 – September 2018

At the 2016 ARPA-E Energy Innovation Summit, the Technology Showcase featured more than 280 breakthrough energy technologies – ranging from solar powered motorcycles (with a top speed of 70 mph!) to self-piloting drones designed to detect methane leaks from natural gas facilities. This year’s Technology Showcase promises to be a hit again. Now organized by tech area (e.g. building efficiency, grid storage, etc.) the Showcase floor will be an ideal avenue to network with energy entrepreneurs and investors. Attendees will be able to view and learn about nearly 300 advanced energy technologies, many of which will be on public display for the first time.