OPEN 2015 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 people access, use, and store energy. Since 2009, ARPA-E has provided over $2.6 billion to support more than 1,000 energy technology projects.

As Dr. Atkinson’s term as an ARPA-E Program Director comes to a close, we sat down with him to reflect on his ARPA-E experience, the NEXTCAR program and the future of powertrain technologies, and what’s next for him.

Severe weather, cyber intrusions, and physical attacks can damage America’s critical energy infrastructure and cause power outages that affect families and businesses alike. This transformation is driving ARPA‑E to support promising early-stage energy technologies that could make the U.S. electric grid more reliable, flexible, and resilient.

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. 

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.

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.

A BRAND NEW CLASS OF LIGHT-DUTY VEHICLE ENGINES UPDATED: November 30, 2017PROJECT TITLE: Gasoline Compression Ignition Light Duty Multicylinder Opposed Piston Engine DemonstrationPROGRAM: OPEN 2015AWARD: $9,002,985TEAM: Achates Power, Inc.(Lead); Argonne National Laboratory; Delphi PowertrainTERM: April 2016 – November 2018PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR (PI): Fabien Redon

LOW NICKEL, HIGH TEMPERATURE METAL ALLOYS WITH SUPER-CORROSIVE RESISTANCE UPDATED: January 3, 2018 PROJECT TITLE: New, High Temperature, Corrosion-Resistant Cast Alloys for Operation in Industrial Gaseous EnvironmentsPROGRAM: OPEN 2015AWARD: $3,900,000PROJECT TEAM: Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee, Metaltek International, Duraloy Technologies, ArcelorMittal

Since 2009, ARPA-E has developed more than 40 focused technology programs to push the boundaries of science and technology and fundamentally change how we get, store, and use energy. As a complement to its focused programs, ARPA-E periodically releases “open” funding solicitations.

U.S. Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz announced today at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars that the Department of Energy’s Advanced Research Projects Agency – Energy (ARPA-E) is issuing its third open funding opportunity announcement, OPEN 2015, for up to $125 million. OPEN 2015 will support energy research and development projects from America’s top innovators for disruptive new technologies in transportation and stationary applications.