This topic seeks to support entrepreneurial energy discoveries, by identifying and supporting disruptive concepts in energy-related technologies within small businesses and collaborations with universities and national labs. These projects have the potential for large-scale impact, and if successful could create new paradigms in energy technology with the potential to achieve significant reductions in U.S. energy consumption, energy-related imports, or energy-related emissions.

Two cohorts of selections were awarded for a range of technologies across ARPA-E’s mission spaces through the SEED topic.

Potential topics of focus through the first cohort of SEED selections included:

- Advanced bioreactors
- Approaches and tools to create enhanced geothermal systems
- Non-evaporative dehydration and drying technologies Approaches to significantly enhance the rate and/or potential scale of carbon mineralization
- Separation of CO2 from ambient air (direct air capture) High-rate separation of dissolved inorganic carbon from the ocean to produce a CO2 stream
- Advanced trees and other engineered biological systems for carbon sequestration
- Innovative deep ocean collector designs for mining polymetallic nodules
- Environmental sensors capable of operation in deep ocean environments for mining polymetallic nodules
- Non-carbothermic smelting technologies

Potential topics of focus through the second cohort of SEED selections included:

- Transformative, efficient technologies for controlled comminution (grinding, crushing, etc.)
- Nontraditional smelting approaches that significantly reduce the energy intensity of primary metals production or scrap metal recycling
- Advanced trees (or other plants) as high-performance, durable structural materials (far beyond existing technologies like mass timber) and/or as permanent carbon sequestration solutions
- Novel, scalable, highly energy-efficient industrial drying technologies for, e.g., lumber, pulp and paper, textile, grain, etc.
- Novel building climate control technologies, including cooling topologies, energy efficient ventilation approaches, and isothermal dehumidification technologies
- Approaches to significantly enhance the rate and/or potential scale of carbon mineralization, either in situ or ex situ, as a means of long-term CO2 storage
- Scalable, disruptive, economically viable separation of CO2 from ambient air (direct air capture), with a focus on the potential to scale to Gt-levels of CO2 capture.
- Scalable, disruptive, economically viable separation of dissolved inorganic carbon from the ocean (direct ocean capture) to produce a CO2 stream, with a focus on the potential to scale to Gt-levels of CO2 capture.
- Novel technologies to cost-effectively repurpose or recover energy or materials from emerging technologies at end-of-life (e.g., photovoltaics, wind turbine blades, EV batteries, fuel cells, related e-waste)
- Technologies to efficiently recover high-value resources from mine tailings

Awards under this topic are working to support research and establish potential new areas for technology development, while providing ARPA-E with information that could lead to new focused funding programs. The focus of these projects is to support exploratory research to establish viability, proof-of-concept demonstration for new energy technology, and/or modeling and simulation efforts to guide development for new energy technologies. 

Take a look at specific projects ARPA-E has funded under this opportunity across the broad range of technical areas outlined below.

Supporting Entrepreneurial Energy Discoveries - Cohort 1

BRIMSTONE ENERGY – BERKELEY, CA

CO-GENERATION OF LOW-ENERGY, CO₂-FREE HYDROGEN AND ORDINARY PORTLAND CEMENT FROM CA-RICH BASALTS - $500,000

Brimstone Energy is advancing next-generation reactor technologies related to cement production. These processes could potentially reduce U.S. energy consumption by 0.4 quads/year, carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions by 90 megatons/year, and industrial expenditures by $1.8 billion/year across the cement industry.

SEQUOIA SCIENTIFIC, INC. – BELLEVUE, WA

REAL-TIME, IN-SITU SENSING OF SEDIMENT PROPERTIES FOR ENVIRONMENTAL MONITORING OF DEEP-SEA POLYMETALLIC NODULE MINING - $499,767

Sequoia Scientific will develop a monitoring system to assess the concentrations and properties of sediment stirred up during deep-sea mining activities. The technology uses novel laser-light scattering and high‑resolution video imagery and processing to measure the concentration, size, and settling speed of the sediment in situ. The technology will help determine the environmental impact of deep-sea mining activities.

CAMBRIDGE CROPS, INC. – SOMERVILLE, MA 

ENABLING TECHNOLOGY - REDUCING GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS AND ENERGY DEMANDS VIA SCALING ADVANCED 3D CULTURE BIOREACTORS - $500,000

Cambridge Crops will develop two advanced bioreactor systems to assess scaling and outcomes for the production of complex, value-added biomaterials as a method for reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The technology will determine the feasibility of scaling complex 3D cultures and provide data on suitable mass and energy balances to predict greenhouse gases and energy savings.

DEEP REACH TECHNOLOGY, INC. – HOUSTON, TX 

IMPROVED NODULE COLLECTOR DESIGN TO MITIGATE SEDIMENT PLUMES - $497,397

Seabed mining may be the best option to fill the impending gap in terrestrial supplies for nickel, cobalt, and rare earth elements, which are increasingly used to manufacture electric vehicles and large lithium-ion batteries. Deep Reach Technology will design a novel nodule collector to minimize the impact of sediment plumes, which may disperse and cover the seabed beyond the mining area. The project uses augmented screening and seabed electrocoagulation to achieve this goal. The proposed technology has the potential to fast-track deep sea mining.

MOGENE GREEN CHEMICALS, LLC – ST. LOUIS, MO 

PHOTOSYNTHETIC MICROORGANISM-BASED CONSORTIA TO CAPTURE CARBON AND BUILD SOIL ORGANIC MATTER - $250,000

MOgene Green Chemicals will develop a novel photosynthetic microorganism-based consortia to capture carbon and build soil organic matter. Intensive agriculture practices, including the removal of residual crops, use of synthetic fertilizer and herbicides, and tillage practices, have led to lost organic matter, increased greenhouse gas emissions, and reduced capacity of the soil to store carbon. If successful, the team’s technology could increase organic matter production, help soil store additional carbon, and create more utilizable nitrogen.

HYPERJET FUSION CORPORATION – CHANTILLY, VA

PLASMA GUNS FOR MAGNETIZED FUEL TARGETS FOR PJMIF - $500,000

HyperJet Fusion is advancing a potentially faster and cheaper approach to fusion energy. In plasma jet driven magneto-inertial fusion (PJMIF), an array of discrete supersonic plasma jets is used to form a spherically imploding plasma liner, which then compresses a magnetized plasma target to fusion conditions. Under this project HyperJet Fusion proposes to advance development of the PJMIF magnetized plasma target by adding a bias field coil to the previously developed plasma liner gun. If successful, the team will produce a plasma target with an embedded magnetic field. The concept could potentially help advance an innovative and highly attractive reactor technology.

COMMUNITY ENERGY, INC. – RADNOR, PA

CHEMICALLY ENGINEERED PROCESS FOR ENHANCED CARBON MINERALIZATION POTENTIAL - $500,000

Carbon mineralization, a promising carbon management technology, is the reaction of CO₂ gas with minerals containing magnesium and/or calcium. The reaction forms a stable, solid carbonate, which can be used in building materials. Community Energy will use minerals from the waste produced at mining facilities to enhance the rate of carbon mineralization, increase the amount of available minerals used to capture CO₂, and produce building materials, such as aggregate for making cement, which can offset some of the carbon footprint associated with the cement industry.

UHV TECHNOLOGIES, INC. – LEXINGTON, KY

HIGHLY EFFICIENT VACUUM SMELTING OF ALUMINUM - $500,000

UHV Technologies will develop and demonstrate an innovative aluminum smelting technology that will significantly increase the range of aluminum alloys that can be manufactured from recycled scrap aluminum. This will reduce the need for primary aluminum with corresponding energy and environmental benefits. Using UHV’s patented high-throughput sorter, aluminum alloys will be pre-sorted, then melted in an energy-efficient vacuum furnace to avoid the typical 5% metal loss from molten metal oxidation, allowing for lower-cost production of high-value aluminum alloys. Currently ~60% of total U.S. aluminum usage comes from recycling. The proposed technology can be used as a point-of-use smelter at various foundries resulting in almost 50% energy savings during the melting of recycled aluminum to make products.

HIGHT-TECH – ROCKVILLE, MD

ADVANCED CATALYST MANUFACTURING ENABLED BY DIRECT JOULE HEATING - $500,000

Ammonia synthesis reactions, enabled by the Haber–Bosch process, account for approximately 3% of the world’s total energy use. HIGHT-TECH proposes a novel, direct joule (electric current) heating process to enable synthesis of high-entropy alloy nanoparticles with various catalyst compositions. When used in a cascade reactor with a sequence of non- platinum group metals catalyst compositions tailored to a specific stage of the synthesis reaction, this method will produce ammonia synthesis catalysts that deliver more ammonia per pass and require significantly less capital cost and energy to operate.

ULTRASONIC TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS – KNOXVILLE, TN

EXTREMELY FAST AND EFFICIENT DIRECT CONTACT ULTRASONIC DRYING FOR ROLL TO ROLL MANUFACTURING - $500,000

Direct contact ultrasonic drying is a novel, non-evaporative dewatering process that uses no heat to significantly lower the energy required for industrial drying. The technology mechanically removes water by shaking the object rapidly, on the micron scale, using piezoelectric transducers. The technology can achieve 5X higher efficiency and 2-3X faster drying rates than traditional dryers on typical textiles. UTS will develop and demonstrate a proof of concept prototype expanding the technology’s application from a batch into a continuous process, enabling easy integration into roll to roll manufacturing production lines. The technology could have wide application in the textile, pulp and paper, chemical, carbon fiber, and food industries.

OTHERLAB – SAN FRANCISCO, CA

SEASTAR: SELECTIVE THALASSIC AMBULATORY RETRIEVER- $500,000

The abyssal plain contains concentrated deposits of polymetallic nodules (critical minerals), an untapped resource of relevant minerals. Current prototype polymetallic nodule collectors propose to function as indiscriminate vacuums, strip-mining the sea floor and transporting everything to the surface to be filtered, with significant ecological and economic costs. Otherlab proposes to develop the “SeaSTAR” nodule collector, a large platform attached to a vacuum funnel ringed by robot arms. The arms would walk the collector across the abyssal plain while selectively picking up nodules and depositing them into a vacuum for transport to the surface. This selectivity will reduce the environmental impact and cost of deep-sea mining operations.

CELADYNE TECHNOLOGIES, INC. – AUSTIN, TX 

NANOIONICS ENABLED PROTON CONDUCTING IONOMERS - $500,000

Celadyne Technologies will develop an innovative elevated temperature proton conducting ionomer material. The team improves upon existing technology relying on acid-base chemistry in favor of an approach driven by defect chemistry and interfacial nanoionic interactions. The technology could improve efficiency in proton exchange membrane fuel cells and electrolyzers and reduce CO₂ emissions.

NOON ENERGY, INC. – PALO ALTO, CA 

RECHARGEABLE CARBON-OXYGEN BATTERY: A NEW CLASS OF ULTRA LOW-COST, LIGHTWEIGHT ENERGY STORAGE TECHNOLOGY - $500,000

Noon will create a rechargeable battery that turns solar and wind electricity into on-demand power. The battery uses ultra-low-cost storage media and stores energy by splitting CO₂ into solid carbon and oxygen. Noon’s technology could provide a low-cost storage option compared with existing batteries.

LECTROLYST LLC – NEWARK, DE

TRANSFORMATION OF CARBON EMISSIONS TO HIGH-VALUE PRODUCTS THROUGH A TWO-STEP ELECTROCHEMICAL PLATFORM - $500,000

Carbon dioxide utilization can help reduce carbon emissions, but gaps remain in the value chain from initial capture to high-value products. Lectrolyst LLC will develop an electrochemical platform centered on selective two-step conversion of CO₂ to acetic acid and ethylene, to fill this need. Preliminary life cycle assessment and techno-economic analyses indicate ~200 million metric tons of CO₂ emissions reduction when targeting these products at global scale while also competing on a cost basis without considering carbon pricing. Development of this platform is intended to lead to full commercialization.

ULTRA-LOW LOSS TECHNOLOGIES – SANTA BARBARA, CA

SPACE DIVISION MULTIPLEXING WITH MULTI-CORE FIBER FOR ENERGY EFFICIENT INTEGRATED PHOTONIC NETWORKING TECHNOLOGIES - $500,000

To further the development of energy efficient networking technologies for data centers and high-performance computing (HPC) systems, Ultra-low Loss Technologies (ULL) proposes to revolutionize chip-to-chip interconnects through leveraging multi-core fiber (MCF)-based space division multiplexing (SDM) enabled by a novel integrated photonics platform. Success of this technology is projected to bring orders of magnitude reduction in losses compared with competing technologies, directly translating to lower power consumption in computing networks and data centers.

PHYTODETECTORS, INC. – FORT COLLINS, CO

FUNCTIONAL ENGINEERING OF A PHOTOSYNTHETIC DESALINATION PUMP CIRCUIT - $249,733

Phytodetectors will design and engineer a synthetic biological pump circuit to increase the volume of water produced via photosynthetic desalination. This project builds off previous technology designed by Phytodetectors: a mangrove-inspired ultra-filter that allows plants to purify salt water as well as secrete water with properties comparable to bottled water. The partnership seeks to demonstrate the commercial viability of photosynthetic desalination.

VERDOX, INC. – WINCHESTER, MA

ELECTRO-SWING ADSORPTION FOR HIGH EFFICIENCY DIRECT AIR CAPTURE - $500,000

Verdox will develop a scalable, proof-of-concept direct air capture (DAC) prototype used for capturing carbon. The technology uses electrochemical cells to facilitate carbon capture upon charging and releases carbon upon discharging (the “electro-swing”). The proposed project involves development of new materials and electrochemical cells and the fabrication and testing of a prototype.

Supporting Entrepreneurial Energy Discoveries - Cohort 2

NITRICITY INC. – SAN FRANCISCO, CA

NON-EQUILIBRIUM PLASMA FOR ENERGY-EFFICIENT NITROGEN FIXATION - $500,000

EQUIOPPS – SAN FRANCISCO, CA

A TRANSFORMATIVE LOW-COST APPROACH FOR DIRECT AIR MINERALIZATION OF CO2 VIA REPEATED CYCLES OF AMBIENT WEATHERING OF METAL OXIDES - $476,811

One promising method for reducing atmospheric CO2 is a repeated enhanced weathering process, in which a natural reaction between CO2 in air and magnesium- and/or calcium-rich minerals is accelerated to form a solid carbonate that can be processed to regenerate the minerals for reuse and create a captured CO2 stream. The proposed technology combines enhanced weathering innovations with an engineered system that passively exposes these reactive minerals to the air. The approach may significantly reduce the cost of permanent, high-quality carbon removal, and the resulting pure CO2 can be permanently stored or sold for use. The process has the potential to remove 1 gigaton of CO2 by 2035, at a cost of $50/tCO2.

LIVING CARBON – SAN FRANCISCO, CA

INCREASING CARBON DRAWDOWN AND RETENTION IN TERRESTRIAL BIOMASS USING BIOENGINEERED TREES - $500,000

The rate of photosynthetic assimilation and decay of lignocellulosic biomass currently limits carbon drawdown and retention in terrestrial biomass. Living Carbon is developing innovative methods to reduce the susceptibility of vegetative biomass to decay by lignin-eating fungi, thereby reducing the rate of release of carbon dioxide back to the atmosphere through fungal respiration. Living Carbon’s trees resist fungal decay through absorbing small amounts of nickel and copper from the soil and depositing these metals in their xylem (wood) tissue as they grow, which offers a biological strategy to mimic the pressure treatment process that forces copper-based preservatives into lumber to increase its longevity. If these results translate at scale, these trees will improve carbon drawdown on the gigaton scale when planted in managed forests, and lumber from these trees may not require costly and emissions-intensive pressure treatment.

MICRO NANO TECHNOLOGIES – GAINESVILLE, FL

THERMALLY DRIVEN INDUSTRIAL SEMI-OPEN ABSORPTION HEAT PUMP DRYER - $499,997

Micro Nano Technologies (MNT) proposes a proof-of-concept, thermally driven industrial semi-open absorption heat pump drying system to address current drying technology limitations and increase energy efficiency by 40% over state of the art. Because it is heat source flexible, this efficient, compact, and cost-effective drying system will permit the use of the lowest cost fuel per location, reducing operating costs, saving energy, and lowering greenhouse gas emissions at the grid/system level.

NOMIS POWER GROUP LLC – NEWTONVILLE, NY

6.5 KV, 100 A SIC POWER MODULE TECHNOLOGY TO MEET 21ST CENTURY ENERGY DEMANDS - $498,297

NoMIS Power Group (NoMIS) aims to bring to market within two years silicon carbide (SiC) power semiconductor devices and modules at less than half the cost of today’s commercial-off-the-shelf-solutions. The team will achieve this by sourcing chips from U.S. suppliers, in-house development of an innovative SiC module design, and outsourced module manufacturing in the U.S. The team will rigorously test the devices at leading U.S. research institutions. In the process, NoMIS will help develop an indigenous U.S.-based supply chain for this critical technology, such as electric vehicle fast chargers, solid-state transformers, and direct current (DC) protection equipment, high-voltage DC converters, and locomotive traction motor drives.

ADROIT MATERIALS – APEX, NC

KV-CLASS GAN-BASED JUNCTION BARRIER SCHOTTKY DIODES USING ION IMPLANTATION - $500,000

Adroit Materials aims to grow and fabricate gallium nitride (GaN)-based Junction Barrier Schottky (JBS) diodes using a novel ion implantation process. These JBS diodes are targeted for use in adjustable speed drive (ASD) motor systems, replacing silicon and silicon carbide (Si and SiC)-based diodes. Compared with existing Si diode-based systems, the energy loss in the diode front end rectifier system could be reduced by about 50%. The team will perform selective area doping via implantation of magnesium ions in combination with high pressure, high temperature activation annealing.

ADROIT MATERIALS – APEX, NC

ION IMPLANTATION-ENABLED FABRICATION OF ALN BASED SCHOTTKY DIODES - $500,000

Adroit Materials will grow and fabricate aluminum nitride (AlN)-based Schottky diodes with electrical properties that will drastically reduce forward conduction (energy) losses compared with existing high-power diodes. The team will achieve this objective through implanting silicon ions in AlN, a wide bandgap semiconductor, combined with sophisticated point defect control processes to achieve controlled low doping. These breakthroughs enable a paradigm shift for the feasibility of AlN in next-generation power electronics.

BLUE SKY MEASUREMENTS – HOUSTON, TX

OPTICAL NIR FIXED-POSITION PASSIVE SCANNER FOR METHANE DETECTION AND MEASUREMENT - $499,500

Blue Sky Measurements will develop a near-infrared passive scanner using sunlight to detect and measure methane emissions at an oil or gas production well pad or drilling site. The proposed system will provide continuous daily measurements for less than the annualized cost of currently mandated twice-a-year surveys. This fixed-position sensor system will enable operators to continuously monitor their operations for fugitive emissions and enable owners to take corrective action when a leak occurs, minimizing the time between when a leak develops and when it is fixed. This enabling technology promises to help the oil and gas industry achieve the aggressive EPA-targeted 45% reduction in related methane emissions by 2025, a value equivalent to the emissions from one-third of coal-fired power plants.

OCO INC. – WOODINVILLE, WA

HIGH ASPECT RATIO CO2 REDUCTION ELECTROLYZER VIA NOVEL GAS DIFFUSION ELECTRODE - DESIGN - $467,468

OCO Inc. (OCO) proposes to build a tall (1800 cm2 ) electrochemical cell, addressing a critical scale-up issue for many processes seeking to convert carbon dioxide into useful products. The cell will be used to convert carbon dioxide, water, and renewable electricity into formic acid. The project will integrate multiple innovative electrolyzer components and materials into a first-of-its-kind single design. If successful, the new process will reduce the cost of formic acid 33%, be based exclusively on renewable energy and feeds, and avoid the use fossil-based inputs. Formic acid has several commercial uses today and could be a building block for future chemical routes based on “recycled” carbon dioxide. This project could open up new options for converting carbon dioxide into many useful products.

FROST METHANE LABS CO. – OAKLAND, CA

DESIGN OF SMART MICRO-FLARE FLEET TO MITIGATE DISTRIBUTED METHANE EMISSIONS - $451,676

Flares are widely used address methane emissions, eliminating a safety issue and reducing greenhouse gas impacts up to 90%. There are many technical and economic challenges for designing small flares that operate reliably with high destruction efficiency, however. Frost Methane Labs proposes to develop a “micro-flare,” capable of handling emissions from sources from 10-200 tonnes of methane per year per site. The micro-flare consists of a combustion chamber, pilot light or electronic ignition source, upstream flow and methane concentration monitoring, controls electronics, and remote communications. The system will have low capital and operating costs. Commercialization of this technology could offset approximately 290 megatonnes of CO2 equivalent per year worldwide, equivalent to removing 60 million cars from the road.

GINER, INC. – NEWTON, MA

DIRECT AIR CAPTURE UTILIZING HYDROGEN-ASSISTED CARBONATE ELECTROLYSIS - $500,000

Direct capture of CO2 from ambient air is necessary to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the atmosphere. Due to the dilute nature of the CO2, capturing it in ambient air is challenging and requires different strategies than carbon capture from concentrated CO2 waste streams. Giner, Inc., (Giner) proposes a novel process that uses a liquid solvent, regenerated electrochemically, to capture dilute CO2 from air to produce a purified, concentrated CO2 stream. The stream can be redirected for use as a feedstock for a wide variety of applications, including chemical manufacturing and syngas formation. This process has the potential for large scale-up, with no environmental limitations and virtually no chemical waste generated.

MOSAIC MATERIALS, INC. – ALAMEDA, CA

INTEGRATION OF ULTRAHIGH CAPACITY SORBENTS INTO DIRECT AIR CAPTURE SYSTEMS - $499,968

Direct air capture (DAC) of carbon dioxide (CO2) is a promising technology in reversing greenhouse gas emissions. DAC is possible through liquid and solid-sorbent technologies, but the lower energy costs for solid-sorbent technology can facilitate widespread, rapid deployment of DAC systems. Current DAC sorbents are limited in how much CO2 they can remove for a given amount of material, requiring large amounts of sorbent, increased system sizes, and higher cost. Mosaic Materials has developed an ultrahigh capacity sorbent using materials known as metal-organic frameworks (MOFs). Mosaic Materials’ MOF sorbent  technology significantly outperforms other sorbents with respect to CO2 capacity, selectivity, and removal under extremely low CO2 concentrations. In this project, Mosaic Materials will integrate its MOF sorbent technology into an optimized air contactor to prove their technology’s ability to lower DAC costs.

INVENTWOOD LLC – COLLEGE PARK, MD

WOOD HONEYCOMBS FOR LIGHTWEIGHT, ENERGY EFFICIENT STRUCTURAL APPLICATIONS – $500,000

InventWood proposes to develop and manufacture lightweight 3D wood corrugated honeycomb structures to replace metal counterparts. Compared with widely used aluminum, 3D wood has similar mechanical strength, possesses one-third the density and one-fourteenth the cost, and reduces CO2 emissions by 90% in its manufacture. Project goals include: (1) improving 3D corrugated wood performance to achieve a mechanical strength of up to 500 MPa; (2) improving 3D wood performance to meet structural material requirements, including bending, compression, fatigue resistance, and thermal-cycling and water stability; (3) developing scalable processes for manufacturing the 3D wood honeycomb structure; and (4) conducting life-cycle assessment and modeling of 3D wood’s environmental impact, cost, and energy consumption. 

ORIGEN HYDROGEN – PALO ALTO, CA

ENGINEERING OF SCALABLE PLATINUM-FREE ELECTRODES FOR PURE-WATER AEM WATER ELECTROLYSIS - $396,000

Green hydrogen, which is produced with renewable energy and electrolysis, can reduce emissions for the ammonia fertilizer, refineries, chemicals, and steel industries that use hydrogen as a feedstock. Existing water electrolysis technologies are expensive due to high materials cost or complex balance-of-plant systems required when using conventional alkaline electrolysis. The ARPA-E IONICS program developed highly conductive, chemically stable anion exchange membranes that are now commercially produced. Origen Hydrogen aims to develop high-performance, platinum-free electrodes to compliment these breakthrough materials for pure-water electrolysis operation. The team will use engineered low-cost, scalable electrodes that are resistant to the most common degradation pathways.

ELECTRIFIED THERMAL SOLUTIONS – SOMERVILLE, MA

FIREBRICK RESISTANCE-HEATED ENERGY STORAGE (FIRES) - $500,000

Electrified Thermal Solutions is developing Firebrick Resistance-heated Energy Storage (FIRES), a new energy storage technology that converts surplus renewable electricity into heat. Once stored, the renewable heat can be used to (1) replace fossil fueled heat sources in industrial processes such as steel and cement production or (2) run a heat engine to produce carbon-free, on-demand renewable electricity at a fraction of the cost of Li-ion batteries. FIRES is based on a novel joule-heated system built from electrically conductive ceramics designed at MIT.

BIG BLUE TECHNOLOGIES LLC – WESTMINSTER, CO

CARBON NEGATIVE MAGNESIUM METAL PRODUCTION USING A CYCLIC BATCH HIGH TEMPERATURE CONDENSER – $500,000

Big Blue Technologies (BBT) proposes the world’s most efficient method to produce magnesium (Mg), a light metal with a high energy and carbon footprint whose demand is increasing due to its application in vehicle and aircraft light-weighting and portable electronics. BBT will demonstrate a continuous production system with best-in-class material and energy efficiency by extracting crude Mg from ore in a 50-kW electric arc furnace and purifying it using a dual high-temperature condenser. If successful and scaled, BBT will produce Mg at the globally competitive cost of <$2/kg, reduce total process energy consumption (<15 kWh/kg), and establish a path for net-zero process emissions, providing a cleaner, cheaper, domestic source of this critical metal.

PHOENIX TAILINGS, INC. – WOBURN, MA

NOVEL TECHNIQUE FOR DOMESTIC RARE EARTH OXIDE SEPARATION AND RARE EARTH METAL REDUCTION - $499,855

Rare earth metals (REMs) are crucial for a domestic clean energy future, as they are key to several emerging technologies from wind turbines to electric vehicles. Currently, high energy requirements, hazardous waste generation, and the associated costs inhibit domestic commercial viability of rare earth separation and metallization processes, so rare earth material is sent to China for processing. Phoenix Tailings (PT) has developed novel techniques to separate rare earth oxides (REOs) without the use of hazardous chemicals and reduce them to REMs using 35-45% less energy. PT will separate REOs through selective halogenation and use mixed halide salts to reduce them. The result is a new domestic rare earth supply chain that removes cost-preventative energy requirements and environmentally unacceptable solvents.

SUBLIME SYSTEMS - WESTON, MA 

ELECTROCHEMICAL SYNTHESIS OF LOW-CARBON CEMENT - $498,253

Cement is responsible for 8% of global CO2 emissions. Currently, the only economical way to make Portland cement’s key ingredient, lime, is by thermally decomposing limestone. This reaction contributes ~75% of cement’s emissions. Sublime Systems (Sublime) will build an electrochemical system to produce lime using off-peak renewable electricity and calcium sources that do not release CO2. The lime produced may possess exceptional purity, consistency, and reactivity, enabling next-generation low-carbon cements. If successful and scaled, Sublime’s electrochemical synthesis of lime would reduce energy-related emissions in the U.S. from lime and cement making while simultaneously providing ancillary grid services, enabling proliferation of renewables. 

XFLOW ENERGY COMPANY – SEATTLE, WA

LOW-COST WIND ENERGY THROUGH DENSE VAWT ARRAYS: FATIGUE LOADS AND POWER PERFORMANCE RISK MITIGATION - $500,000

The proposed technology will boost the power production and increase the density of utility wind farms, resulting in at least a 23% reduction in levelized cost of energy (LCOE) from the wind. The flow dynamics of vertical-axis wind turbines (VAWTs) enable constructive interactions between rotors in a wind farm, increasing power up to 30% over non-interacting turbines, and increasing VAWT density per unit land-area an order of magnitude compared with state-of-the-art wind farms. XFlow Energy Company (XFlow) will perform simulations to examine the impacts of close turbine spacing on rotor fatigue and power performance coupled with experimental studies to validate and refine the simulation models.

SITRATION, INC. – CAMBRIDGE, MA

LOW-COST RECYCLING OF LITHIUM FROM BATTERIES VIA CONDUCTIVE MEMBRANE NANOFILTRATION - $320,000

The demand for lithium, a critical component of lithium-ion batteries, is expected to soar over the coming decades. As favorable sources are depleted, a new source must be tapped: recycling end-of-life lithium-ion batteries. SiTration is developing a new type of filtration membrane that is well suited to selectively extract lithium in the existing battery recycling process flow. Today’s commercial membranes are either incompatible with the harsh chemical environments of battery recycling or not selective enough to extract lithium from a complex solution. SiTration’s nanofiltration technology provides significant advantages in these areas. It can be dropped into the existing recycling process, ultimately extracting lithium more efficiently and at a lower cost.

This topic seeks to develop a set of publicly available planning tools for identification, evaluation, and prioritization of energy storage-related technology developments whose deployment would significantly reduce GHG emissions from the rail freight sector. Projects will be informed by, and consistent with, the economic and logistical constraints of the rail freight system and will enable analyses to ensure that energy storage development for rail freight addresses critical technical and logistical issues required for complete decarbonization of this transportation sector. Teams will focus on development of tools specifically for Class 1 freight rail systems, as well as commuter railroads and/or shorter haul freight routes that intersect with Class 1 operations.

The U.S. freight Class 1 rail system is an efficient means of transporting goods throughout the country, accounting for 40% ton-miles of freight movement while consuming 2% of total US transportation energy. While it is efficient, emissions from freight movement are still significant, accounting for an estimated 40 million tons CO₂ per year. Incremental improvements in logistics and locomotive technologies over time have contributed to making freight one of the more efficient modes of transportation of goods, but there remains a need to develop new propulsion, energy storage and charging/fueling infrastructure to further move rail systems towards decarbonization. LOCOMOTIVES teams will address this need by developing tools to aid the transportation sector in identifying new, viable low-carbon energy storage and conversion systems for future locomotive systems

North Carolina State University – Raleigh, NC

Multi-Decadal Decarbonization Pathways for U.S. Freight Rail - $1,500,000

The freight rail industry faces pressure to reduce its greenhouse emissions. Currently there is no tool to rigorously identify realistic decarbonization pathways. NC State will quantify the potential of battery-electric, hybrid, and hydrogen-fuel motive power to achieve deep decarbonization over a 30-year planning horizon. The team will develop the Achieving Sustainable Train Energy Pathways (A-STEP) open-source software tool to account for train dynamics, propulsion, energy storage, multi-train interactions, energy delivery, and storage infrastructure. They will consider substitutions, capacity expansion of the power system, levelized cost, and freight demand across a range of scenarios. NC State will apply A-STEP to a national sample of key rail corridors.

Penn State University – University Park PA

Synthesis of Consists as Rolling Energy micro-grids (SCORE) - $1,000,000

Penn State team is developing a fully open-source toolset for exploring and optimizing Energy Storage and Power (ES&P) systems for rail transportation. The core of the toolset will be an Energy-Longitudinal Train Dynamics (E-LTD) model that represents the train as a complex rolling micro-grid of power sources and sinks, determining the optimal power flow policy for each. The E-LTD will model power demands and calculate greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and fuel consumption, power, acquisition, operations and support, and infrastructure costs. A Route Generation Toolset will ingest publicly available rail line, node, operating restriction, and traffic data and guide users in creating a route database. The resulting, publicly available SCORE toolset will enable evaluation and identification of ES&P technologies that reduce GHG emissions and railroad operations and acquisition costs. 

Northwestern University – Evanston, IL

LOwering CO₂: Models to Optimize Train Infrastructure, Vehicles, and Energy Storage (LOCOMOTIVES) - $500,000

New propulsion and energy storage (ES) systems technologies, as well as the charging/fueling infrastructure, must be developed to fully decarbonize U.S. rail freight greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Northwestern will develop and apply analysis, evaluation, and decision tools to assess the effectiveness of technologies and deployment strategies to significantly reduce GHG emissions from the rail freight sector. The tools will provide the capability to examine trade-offs between various costs, benefits and other impact components of the different technologies and policies that may impact their deployment. These tools will help support railroad firm decision-making and agency policy formulation and evaluation.

National Renewable Energy Laboratory – Golden, CO

ALTRIOS - Advanced Locomotive Technology and Rail Infrastructure Optimization System - $1,500,000

This project will develop a unique, fully integrated, Python-based open-source software tool to evaluate strategies for deploying advanced locomotive technologies and associated infrastructure for cost-effective decarbonization. ALTRIOS will simulate energy conversion and storage dynamics, locomotive and train dynamics, meet-pass planning (detailed train timetabling), and freight-demand-driven train scheduling in a Pareto optimization. Because new locomotives represent a significant long-term capital investment and new technologies must be thoroughly demonstrated before deployment, this tool will provide guidance on the risk/reward tradeoffs of different technology rollout strategies. An open, integrated simulation tool will be invaluable for identifying future research needs and making decisions on technology development, routes, and train selection.

This topic seeks to supplement ARPA-E’s HITEMMP (High Intensity Thermal Exchange through Materials and Manufacturing Processes) program by supporting the development of new approaches and technologies for the design and manufacture of high-temperature, high-pressure, and compact heat exchangers. Teams will develop improvements in HITEMMP heat exchanger designs to enable superior thermomechanical performance and increased power density, life cycle durability, and cost effectiveness through the combined utilization of the twin technologies of topology optimization (TO) and additive manufacturing (AM) which, when combined, have the potential to expand the design space and enable transformative designs.

Heat exchangers are critical to efficient thermal energy exchange in numerous industrial applications and everyday life, and have significant applications in electricity generation, transportation, petrochemical processing, waste heat recovery, and a range of other sectors. Heat exchangers present unique challenges in materials and manufacturing due to the difficulty of finding the optimum balance between enhanced heat transfer rates without excessive pressure drop penalties while meeting the thermo-mechanical and cost requirements, and life cycle durability. Topology teams will utilize TO integrated with advanced manufacturing techniques such as additive manufacturing to fully tap the combined benefits of the two technologies, yielding superior thermal performances, lower fabrication cost, and reduced post-processing requirements for HITEMMP heat exchanger designs.

Raytheon Technologies Research Center – East Hartford, CT

Multi-Material Topology Optimization for High Performance Heat Exchangers- $999,821

Raytheon Technologies Research Center (RTRC) proposes to develop a multi-material and multi-physics topology optimization (TopOpt) design framework to efficiently design novel high temperature (capable of operations up to 800°C) and pressure (up to 25 MPa) heat exchangers (HX) with superior power density and structural durability. The result will increase heat duty for a similar heat exchanger weight and improve durability while remaining cost competitive. The proposed framework combines novel TopOpt methods incorporating multi-physics considerations and additive manufacturing constraints based on the approach selected. The proposed unified, multi-physics conceptual design approach will enable power generation systems for hybrid aviation and ground power systems that can reduce energy consumption by more than one quad per year.

Siemens Corporation - Siemens Technology – Princeton, NJ

Multi-Physics Topology Optimization for Dual Flow Heat Exchangers- $627,747

Siemens Corporation (Siemens) aims to develop a multi-physics, multi-material topology optimization approach to rapidly generate improved HX designs that can operate at high temperature and high pressure. Siemens will address the comprehensive multi-physics structural, fluid dynamics, and thermal aspects of HXs; parameterize the design with a multi-phase interpolation scheme that handles four material phases; and account for additive manufacturing (AM) constraints to ensure that the final HX design can be manufactured via the chosen AM technique. Siemens will apply machine learning techniques to accelerate the optimization. The proposed approach could potentially reduce the certification time and cost of developed HXs by at least 50%.

University of Connecticut – Storrs, CT

Topology Optimization Of Additively Manufactured Heat-Exchanger Plates For Enhanced Performance (TOP-HEX) - $961,954

High-temperature and high-pressure heat exchangers are needed to enable efficient energy production systems. The University of Connecticut will formulate and demonstrate a computational methodology to design the fin structures in a plate heat exchanger (HX) to maximize its heat transfer efficiency and guarantee its structural integrity. The plate structures will be fabricated via the Scalable and Expeditious Additive Manufacturing (SEAM) process using an oxide dispersion-strengthened alloy. The methodology focuses on fin structure design for plate HXs operating under high-pressure (25 MPa) and very high-temperature (up to 1,100°C) conditions. The team will employ topology optimization techniques that represent the fin and the overall HX structure as the combination of individual geometric primitives described by a small number of parameters. When combined, these primitives can produce designs with different material distribution topologies and shapes. The proposed computational method uses commercial computational fluid dynamics and finite element analysis software to simulate the HX’s heat transfer and mechanical behavior.

Boeing Research & Technology – Huntington Beach, CA

Multidisciplinary Topology Optimization of Extreme Environment Heat Exchangers- $867,644

Boeing Research & Technology (BR&T) will develop a multidisciplinary topology optimization (MDTO) algorithm that couples fluid dynamics, heat transfer, and structural analysis to design,  manufacture via additive manufacturing techniques, and demonstrate a high-performance, extreme environment heat exchanger (EEHX) capable of operating at up to 900°C with a 17 MPa pressure differential with supercritical carbon dioxide. The key to delivering this EEHX technology is a revolutionary and computationally efficient MDTO capability that leverages a powerful open-source level-set topology optimization code coupled with the development of a high-speed graphics processing unit-accelerated multi-physics solvers for coupled fluid flow, heat transfer, and structural mechanics simulation. The use of an open-source topology optimization platform will reduce development costs and accelerate market adoption.

This topic seeks to develop technologies for medium-voltage (>10 kV) power distribution cables, connectors, and circuit breakers for fully electric aviation applications. Future all-electric, twin-aisle aircraft will require more than 50 MWs of power distribution capability; therefore, the targeted outcome of this topic is to enable megawatt scale distribution with minimal impact on weight while maintaining the high reliability and safety requirements of aviation.  Projects will develop functioning prototypes tested to relevant aviation standards in order to broadly address the following critical technical challenges in this space:

• identifying appropriate wiring materials with optimum gravimetric power densities and minimum electrical losses, and evaluating corresponding vacuum or cryogenic systems if necessary

• identifying insulating materials with high dielectric strength, good thermal conductivity, low specific weight, conformality, malleability, and air-void minimization

• assessing connector designs

• developing circuit breakers for aviation applications

• addressing partial discharge related reliability issues that arise from low air pressure environments in aviation

Air travel remains a growing contributor to U.S. Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions, with recent estimates placing commercial air travel at nearly 3% of total domestic GHG emissions. In response to this, in 2020, ARPA-E launched two focused programs, REEACH and ASCEND, that may enable the mitigation of GHG emissions in the space through the adoption of electric aviation technologies. REEACH works to develop chemical energy conversion systems to convert Carbon Neutral Liquid Fuels (CNFLs) to electric power for aircraft propulsion; while ASCEND encourages the development of lightweight and ultraefficient integrated electric motors, drives and thermal management systems to facilitate net-zero carbon emissions. CABLES teams will further complement these programs and their goal of developing electric aviation solutions by addressing another challenge existing within all-electric aircraft, power distribution.

General Electric Company, GE Research – Niskayuna, NY

Megawatt Any-Altitude Gas Insulated Cable system for aircraft power distribution (MAAGIC) - $3,448,797

GE Research will develop a safe, lightweight, and altitude-capable megawatt power cable system with electromagnetic interference shielding capability for large aircraft. The proposed 10 MW cable system is expected to achieve ten times greater power density than conventional technology without degradation by partial discharge and is fire safe and oil resistant. This cable system will enable all-electric distributed propulsors for future large aircraft to achieve zero emissions by using aluminum conductors insulated and cooled with CO₂, both of which are readily available, manufacturable materials. The proposed cable technology can also be used in other applications requiring high cable power density with a relatively small footprint including electric ships, submarines, and offshore wind turbine platforms.

Illinois Institute of Technology – Chicago, IL

Superconducting Momentary Circuit Interrupter: Fault Protection with Ultralow Loss and Ultrafast Response for Future Electric Aviation - $779,374

Fault protection must be provided for future turboelectric aircraft’s medium-voltage direct current power systems, but not necessarily from conventional circuit breakers. Illinois Institute of Technology will develop a 10 kV/150A superconducting momentary circuit interrupter (SMCI) to provide fault protection with ultralow power loss (<1 W), ultrafast response (<10 μs or ten millionth of a second), and high-power density. The architecture comprises an SMCI with a fast mechanical disconnect switch. Under normal operation, the SMCI conducts a DC load current through a high-temperature superconducting winding of a pulse transformer. Under a fault condition, the SMCI injects a high transient voltage via the transformer, drives the fault current to zero quickly, and holds the current as a small AC ripple current, allowing the mechanical switch to open safely and isolate the fault.

Virginia Tech – Blacksburg, VA

High Power Density Cost-Effective MV DC Aircraft Cable- $1,171,829

To make the power density of electric aircraft closer to conventional aircraft, an electric power system (EPS) with high power delivery and low system mass is necessary. As an essential component of aircraft EPS, cables are necessary to transmit power from one node to another. Virginia Tech will develop a high-power density, cost-effective ±5 kV cable for twin-aisle all-electric aircraft. Innovations include conductors with increased current-carrying capacity; a multilayer, multifunctional insulation system made of exceptionally high thermal conductivity materials; and a new insulation solution for higher voltages with superior mechanical strength and electrical reliability. Designed for DC voltage, the new insulator will allow fewer partial discharge events and provide improved electromagnetic interference protection.

University of Tennessee – Knoxville, TN

Ultra-Light Tightly-Integrated Modular Aviation-Transportation Enabling Solid-State Circuit Breaker (ULTIMATE-SSCB)- $1,400,000

A medium voltage direct current (MVDC) system provides lower distribution losses, higher power carrying capacity, and reduced conductor material compared with its low voltage alternative current counterpart. These benefits are critical to meet stringent weight and size requirements for aviation applications. The University of Tennessee will develop a lightweight, reliable, efficient, and flexible protection solution for future electrified aircraft propulsion systems that are expected to use a 1 kV to 10 kV MVDC distribution system. The team will develop a modular architecture with a highly integrated customized module, use advanced solid-state semiconductor devices cooled at cryogenic temperatures, and integrate protection intelligence to achieve project objectives.

Advanced Conductor Technologies LLC – Boulder, CO

Lightweight, High-power Density, Self-protecting Superconducting Power Cables and Connectors for Electric Aircraft Applications - $1,600,000

Advanced Conductor Technologies will develop two-pole, high-temperature, superconducting DC power cables and connectors with a power rating of up to 50 MW to enable twin-aisle aircraft with distributed electric propulsion to reduce carbon emissions. The cables and connectors will contain insulation independent of the cryogenic medium used as coolant and allow an operating voltage of 10 kV. Because they have intrinsic fault current limiting capabilities, the cables can protect the power distribution network from over-currents. This intrinsic capability will reduce the complexity of the power distribution network while improving its reliability.

Hyper Tech Research Inc. – Columbus, OH

Power Transmission Cable for Electric Aircraft using Bio LNG for Cooling and Thermal Management - $1,600,000

There are two key engineering challenges in the development of 10 kV, 10 MW electric power distribution cables for double-aisle passenger aircraft. One is providing sufficient electrical insulation at high voltages and the second is transferring heat away from the conductors. Hyper Tech Research will decrease the resistivity of copper-clad aluminum conductors by a factor of three by maintaining the temperature of the conductors at around 120 Kelvin. The goal of the technology is to reduce the conductor size, cryostat size, and cable volume and weight to significantly lower the mass-per-unit length of the cable. The team proposes to use available carbon neutral fuel, such as bio-liquefied natural gas (Bio-LNG), for electrical insulation and as a heat transfer medium. After cooling the cable, the Bio-LNG fuel will be consumed in an onboard turbogenerator or fuel cell.

This topic seeks to develop technologies for the recovery and reclamation of critical materials (CMs) and other valuable elements from Municipal Solid Waste Incineration (MSWI) ashes. Projects will explore real-time, cost-effective elemental identification techniques for MSWI ash, economically feasible methods of concentrating and extracting elements that may initially be in low concentrations in the MSWI ash, and refining technologies for upcycling scrap metals within waste processing facilities.

The global demand for CMs and other rare metals such as gold, copper, silver, and nickel continue to increase, while production sources for primary ore remains limited. These metals are crucial to the development of technologies across economic sectors, having wide applications particularly in the energy and defense industries. Nearly 2 billion tons of municipal solid waste (MSW) is generated yearly, and some estimates place this feedstock as one of the leading sources for potential recovery of CMs and other metals. While some research has shown that the concentration of CMs and rare earth elements (REEs) to be too low within landfills for significant commercial value, the combustion and gasification processes of incineration of MSW concentrates CMs and REEs high enough to leave a potential for cost-effective reclamation. Teams will focus on both the extraction and concentration process to enable this reclamation process. 

Georgia Institute of Technology – Atlanta, GA

CHARACTERIZATION AND RECOVERY OF CRITICAL METALS FROM MUNICIPAL SOLID WASTE INCINERATION ASHES - $728,376

Lack of diverse supplies for critical materials, such as rare earth elements (REEs), have prompted researchers to explore new sources and develop environmentally friendly technologies for critical metal extraction, processing, and manufacturing. Municipal solid waste (MSW), a large solid waste stream that may constitute the largest resource for REEs and other critical materials, offers an alternative. MSW incineration ashes, however, pose operational and financial challenges. Georgia Institute of Technology will develop a closed-loop, integrated, scalable, and environmentally friendly waste management and resource recovery system. The system allows for maximum recovery of REEs and other critical metals, production of additional salable products, minimal production of secondary waste, and high immobilization of heavy metal contaminants.

Massachusetts Institute of Technology – Cambridge, MA

ELECTROCHEMICAL MINING OF MSWI ASH - $1,200,000

MIT will develop an electrochemical approach to extracting and purifying valuable elements from municipal solid waste incinerator ash, powered solely by electricity from the waste-to-energy plant. The approach is capable of recovering at least 95% of critical materials and at least 90% of other metals while avoiding producing additional hazardous emissions. MIT’s approach uses electrochemical reactions to extract elements that include rare-earth elements and valuable base and noble metals. The proposed technology can upcycle major elements in fly and bottom ash, including calcium and silicon, to value-added products such as lime and silicates for use in construction applications.

Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University – Blacksburg, VA

PHYSICAL, CHEMICAL, AND MINERALOGICAL CHARACTERIZATIONS OF MSWI ASH PRODUCT AND RECOMMENDATIONS FOR DOWNSTREAM PROCESSING - $500,000

Virginia Tech will perform systematic physical, chemical, and mineralogical characterizations on natural and synthetic municipal solid waste incineration (MSWI) ash materials to obtain sufficient characterization results and propose potential downstream processing flowsheets. The team will focus on revealing the conversion mechanisms of valuable metals in MSW during incineration, as well as the occurrence modes, partitioning behavior, and recoverability of critical metals in MSWI ash. A comprehensive and innovative characterization protocol comprised of several methods, such as physical separations, liberation study, and sequential chemical extraction, will be employed.

Columbia University – New York, NY

INTEGRATED CO₂-FACILITATED HYDROMETALLURGICAL AND ELECTROCHEMICAL TECHNOLOGY FOR SUSTAINABLE MINING AND RECOVERY OF CRITICAL ELEMENTS FROM WASTES AND ASHES - $400,000

Critical minerals—used in important defense and energy applications–are scarce. Municipal wastes are excellent candidates for domestic sources of high-grade ores due to their high metal concentration. Because the metals in wastes and waste ashes contain a wide range of impurities, however, conventional extraction processes are not effective. Columbia University will develop an innovative MIDAS process based on the integrated CO₂-facilitated hydrometallurgical and electrochemical technology. The team will (1) develop supercritical CO₂-based solvent systems for hydrometallurgical extraction of critical elements and metals from waste ashes, (2) explore electrochemical interfaces to refine the extracted metals, and (3) integrate both processes into an energy-efficient process.

Lixivia Inc. – Santa Barbara, CA

USING BIO-INSPIRED LIXIVIANTS TO SELECTIVELY EXTRACT VALUABLE METALS FROM MUNICIPAL SOLID WASTE INCINERATOR ASH - $1,100,758

Current environmental, capital equipment, and reagent unit costs of metal extraction and refinement, including from waste minerals, are high. A technical solution will increase the domestic supply of metals as well as reduce consumer cost of downstream power and new technology devices. Lixivia Inc. proposes to use bio-inspired molecules, complemented by conventional chemical reagents to reduce reagent costs, the environmental burden of using such reagents, and the capital equipment needed to produce metals from MSWI ash. Simultaneously, the project will introduce step-change capabilities in metal-selective extraction and refinement from MSWI ash.

This topic works to advance the improvement of the physical or chemical properties of Municipal Solid Waste Incineration (MWSI) ash into valuable products. Teams will explore real-time, cost-effective characterization techniques for the MSWI ash output stream, the feasibility of adding co-feeds to waste pre-combustion, or to the MSWI ash post-combustion to yield a consistent product independent of Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) composition variability, and cost-competitive technologies for the upcycling of MSWI ash fractions into novel valorized products.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency estimates that more than a half of MSW generated every year in the U.S. is sent to landfills with the remainder being diverted to recycling, composting, and waste to energy (WTE) processes. Additionally, while the U.S. recycling rate is estimated to be close to 25% of MSW produced, recycling has limitations as a waste disposal process resulting from consumer compliance and confusion, contamination of materials, challenges within recycling markets, and cost-effectiveness generally. These complications can often lead to the problem of “wishcycling” where sorted and processed recyclable materials end up being landfilled or combusted as opposed to actually being recycled. Teams in this topic will address these issues and the challenges associated with recycling and landfilling, focusing on the possibility of generating a significant amount of energy via WTE, and the potential for reducing embodied energy in commonly used materials via the use of end-products.

Rutgers University – Piscataway, NJ

WASTE-TO-ENERGY (WTE)-DERIVED LOW-CARBON-FOOTPRINT CONCRETE (LCFC) - $1,000,000

Rutgers University (RU) aims to produce concrete from incinerator ash and concrete rubble (CR). RU will use its proprietary low-cost technology to create a low carbon footprint concrete. Assuming only electricity for crushing and milling, CR contributes a 5% carbon footprint to an adaptive cement that can be cured one of two different ways. Curing with CO₂ will create a -5% carbon-negative carbonate-cement-concrete. Curing with water will create a +6% carbon footprint hydraulic concrete. Both sustainable technologies exact a reduction of 90+% for CO₂ emissions and 100% for fossil fuel use. This program will bring cement production capability to states lacking cement mills, reducing CO₂ emissions and freeing landfills of CR and WTE-ash.  

City University of New York: City College – New York, NY

GYPSUM & CLAY-BASED ADDITIVES TO MSW FOR PRE-COMBUSTION ENHANCEMENT OF SYNGAS AND SOLID RESIDUE IMPROVEMENT - $1,000,000

Currently spent fluid catalytic cracking catalysts are classified as non-hazardous. The quantity is significant at nearly 400,000 tons produced annually, which are sent to landfills. Gypsum waste is estimated at 13 million tons annually with only 2% recycled into new wallboard. If these materials can be profitably combined with the nearly 30 million tons of municipal solid waste (MSW) annually processed in waste-to-energy (WTE) facilities, it will increase the MSW going to thermal processing facilities and recover materials currently being landfilled. City College proposes to study the impacts of the chosen co-feeds with MSW on syngas and residual properties. The result will be the production of value-added materials.

Glass WRX SC, LLC – Beaufort, SC

INDUSTRIAL-SCALE UPCYCLING OF MUNICIPAL SOLID WASTE INCINERATOR ASH INTO ENGINEERED CELLULAR MAGMATICS - $1,000,000

Glass WRX SC’s technology transforms post-consumer waste glass stored in landfills into porous ceramics called engineered cellular magmatics used in a wide variety of applications. By incorporating municipal solid waste incinerator (MSWI) ash into their existing and new processes, they will introduce industrial-scale upcycling into MSWI operations. MSWI will become “beyond zero waste,” eliminating landfilling ash byproducts of the incineration process and landfill space currently taken up by unrecycled glass at the same time. Glass WRX SC estimates the incorporation of MSWI ash into its existing synthesis techniques could generate an average of $10M+ in revenue per year per incinerator.

University of Illinois - Urbana-Champaign, IL

RAPID AI-BASED DISSECTION OF ASHES USING RAMAN AND XRF SPECTROSCOPY (RADAR-X) - $1,000,000

Municipal solid waste (MSW) management involves three primary practices: landfilling, recycling, and incineration for energy recovery (waste-to-energy or WTE). WTE is a potentially sustainable method of MSW management because it reduces landfilling and generates energy. Incineration reduces input waste mass by 70%. The remaining 30%—in the form of bottom and fly ashes—has to be discarded or landfilled. A main barrier to beneficial use of these ashes is the variability in their composition, which renders them as an unreliable byproduct. The University of Illinois aims to design a low-cost and rapid real-time AI-based ash analysis technology that accurately predicts ash composition and its performance as a potential byproduct.

Designs by Natural Processes, Inc. - Winona, MN

MAKING CEMENT AT AMBIENT TEMPERATURE USING 55% MUNICIPAL SOLID WASTE ASH - $1,000,000

Designs by Natural Processes, Inc., aims to make novel cement at ambient temperature using 55% municipal solid waste (MSW) incinerator ash. The team will add low-cost chemicals to better sequester environmentally problematic combustion gases, chemicals, and heavy metals during incineration, eliminating undesired chemicals in the ash-rich cement leachate. The team's objective is to develop an alternative to traditional ordinary Portland cement (OPC), which cannot sequester nearly as much ash (16%). OPC requires a temperature of 1300°C for its manufacture, and sets up in about a month for a compressive strength of approximately 3000 psi. In contrast, the novel cement uses more ash, is chemically based, uses no heat, gives off no CO₂, hardens quickly, and averages high strength.

This topic seeks to develop technologies to focus on the capture process of removing carbon dioxide from oceanwater. Direct ocean capture (DOC) technologies are a promising option for servicing a very large and diverse carbon removal industry needed to mitigate legacy carbon dioxide emissions that are exacerbating anthropogenic climate change. Projects will focus on the development of robust, energy efficient, and low-cost strategies for direct removal of carbon dioxide from oceanwater and other natural waters by addressing challenges and opportunities specifically found in operation in an oceanic environment.

The removal of CO₂ from oceanwater and other natural waters, or direct ocean capture (DOC), is one method of capturing dispersed CO₂. DOC also has the potential for offshore deployment that offers a variety of useful potential benefits such as reducing competition for useful land, allowing access to oceanic CO₂ storage sites currently only reachable by pipeline, and producing valuable CO₂ streams offshore for a number of potential uses, including as a feedstock for fuel and chemical synthesis. Finally, DOC represents a direct reversal of ocean acidification caused by anthropogenic CO₂ emissions. Teams will focus on de-risking technologies that can capitalize on the unique benefits of ocean-based systems to help meet the promise of energy-efficient, low-cost, scalable CO₂ capture.

California Institute of Technology – Pasadena, CA

DEVELOPMENT OF AN OFF-SHORE, STAND-ALONE SYSTEM FOR EFFICIENT CO₂ REMOVAL FROM OCEANWATER - $850,000

California Institute of Technology aims to develop an off-shore, stand-alone system for low-cost, efficient CO₂ removal from ocean water. The project’s main objectives are to demonstrate a (1) high operating current density and low power electrodialyzer stack and (2) membrane contactor to facilitate unprecedented rapid removal of CO₂ from ocean water. These combined innovations will significantly reduce the volume of ocean water that needs to be processed. They will also significantly reduce the capital and associated system costs. The proposed system aims to provide a viable pathway to achieve CO2 removal from ocean water at <$100/ton and could be potentially scaled up to multi-gigaton CO₂/year capacities.

University of North Dakota Energy & Environmental Research Center – Grand Forks, ND

HYDROLYTIC SOFTENING OF OCEAN WATER FOR CARBON DIOXIDE REMOVAL - $500,000

Hydrolytic softening is a lower-cost process to remove CO₂ from the oceans. It has similarities to processes at conventional water treatment facilities, which mix hydrated lime to “soften” water by precipitating dissolved inorganic carbon as calcium carbonate. In hydrolytic softening, however, instead of a consumptive use of lime, the calcium carbonate is decomposed. This releases CO₂ gas for sequestration or industrial use and regenerates the lime for continued cycles of carbon removal. Hydrolytic softening can reduce energy input costs for CO₂ removal by 77% compared to state-of-the-art methods based on sodium chloride salt splitting using bipolar membrane electrodialysis.

Massachusetts Institute of Technology – Cambridge, MA

ELECTROCHEMICALLY MODULATED CO₂ REMOVAL FROM OCEAN WATERS - $650,000

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology proposes to use electrochemical modulation of a proton gradient within electrochemical cells to initially release the CO₂ in seawater, and then to alkalize the water before it is returned to the ocean. This battery-like electro-swing approach does not require expensive membranes or addition of chemicals, is easy to deploy, and does not lead to formation of byproducts. Innovative electrode configurations will be employed to reduce overall transport and electrical resistances while still enabling large quantities of water to be treated efficiently. Relatively compact CO₂ capture processes with promising low energetics, powered by renewable solar or wind resources, could be assembled for deployment on platforms or cargo ships.

This topic seeks to develop technologies focused on the direct air capture (DAC) of carbon dioxide from ambient air. Teams will work to establish robust, energy efficient, and low-cost strategies for direct removal of carbon dioxide from ambient air. Additionally, the topic has an added focus of complimenting existing DAC programs within the federal R&D community by focusing on earlier-stage and higher-risk projects and including performance-driven metrics for teams.

Capture of dispersed greenhouse gases (GHGs) is an important part of diversifying technologies to mitigate GHG emissions. A large portion of the CO₂ emitted each year in the United States is released in relatively small quantities from distributed sources e.g., from small point sources or some transportation sources, where point source capture may be infeasible. In such cases, capture of dispersed CO₂ serves as a crosscutting and complementary approach to achieving economy-wide net-zero emissions. Additionally, beyond helping to achieve net-zero emissions, capture of dispersed CO₂ can also lead to net-negative emissions. Negative emissions technologies play a key role in potentially limiting global temperature increases resulting from, anthropogenic CO₂ emissions, and when coupled with storage or certain utilization pathways, DAC can meet such needs and offset historical emissions. Projects will focus on DAC system components or full system design to meet these demands and create the potential for mitigation of GHG emissions.

University of Michigan – Ann Arbor, MI

ELECTROCHEMICAL DIRECT AIR CAPTURE OF CO₂ USING REDOX-ACTIVE TEXTILES - $431,915

The University of Michigan, in collaboration with the University of Massachusetts Amherst, will develop a technology that captures CO₂ from the atmosphere using an electrochemical approach, rather than the temperature swing cycle which is typically powered by fossil fuel combustion. The team’s concept is a pH swing cycle that changes conditions between basic and acidic to capture and release CO₂, respectively. Direct air capture (DAC) of CO₂ by inexpensive renewable electricity could reduce the cost and improve the efficiency of DAC. The team aims to optimize the design of the cycle to achieve high rates of CO₂ separation at low energy inputs.

Georgia Institute of Technology – Atlanta, GA

WIND-DRIVEN DIRECT AIR CAPTURE SYSTEM USING 3D PRINTED, PASSIVE, AMINE-LOADED CONTACTORS - $783,738

Georgia Institute of Technology aims to develop a simple, scalable, and modular device that can remove CO₂ from the atmosphere. The device will be designed such that ambient wind is sufficient to contact the CO₂-laden air with the materials that filter CO₂ out. The filtered CO₂ will then be concentrated using localized electric heating, which allows the device to be easily deployed and integrated with renewables or the existing electrical grid. The proposed technology is driven solely by electricity with only two moving parts (a damper and a vacuum pump), which dramatically simplifies scale-up and deployment compared with incumbent CO₂ removal approaches.

Creare LLC – Hanover, NH

HIGH-EFFICIENCY, LOW-COST, ADDITIVE-MANUFACTURED AIR CONTACTOR - $784,347

Reducing the cost of CO₂ removal from the air requires developing a new contactor, which captures CO₂ so it can be recovered, concentrated, and stored. Creare aims to develop a contactor using Creare’s low-cost additive manufacturing methods. Creare will also incorporate a low-cost, durable sorbent that captures CO₂ molecules from ambient air and releases CO₂ for storage when heated to moderate temperatures. The contactor is designed for wind-driven operation, which reduces cost by eliminating the need for large arrays of fans to blow air through the system.

This topic seeks to explore vital insulating elements in large power transformers (LPTs) to increase their durability, reliability, and resilience. Projects under this topic will work to develop technical solutions related to increasing the life expectancy of the transformer, including high-performance solid insulation materials, advanced insulating fluids with improved dielectric strength, thermal conductivity and aging performance, and dielectric insulation rejuvenating additives.

Transformers are a key part of the power transmission-distribution system. Across all generation sources, transformers perform the basic essential function of voltage conversion by either stepping-up or stepping-down voltage for efficient transmission between power generation sources and the end-user. With this essential role, transformer failure remains a central risk issue with the most common cause being insulation degradation/failure in the transformer itself. These insulation failures often are the result of electrical, mechanical, and thermal issues, and teams under this topic will work to directly address these threats to transformer resiliency.

General Electric Global Research – Niskayuna, NY

ULTRA-HIGH-PERFORMANCE NANO-LIQUID INSULATION FOR UPGRADING LARGE POWER TRANSFORMERS (UPLIFT) - $1,246,325

The average age of large power transformers (LPTs) currently operating in the U.S is 40 years, with 70% older than 25 years. Insulation failure contributes to more than 60% of LPT failures, costing the U.S. over $18 billion annually. To improve transformer life, GE Research will develop a long-term stable nanofluid dielectric to double the service life of current LPTs to at least 80 years. GE’s TiO2-based nanofluid will replace the conventional transformer insulating fluid and is expected to improve thermal conductivity by >25% and enhance dielectric strength by at least 50%. Additionally, to prevent the deleterious effects of moisture in the insulating fluid, a soluble water-scavenger will be added to the nanofluid to reduce water content by about 50%. Both of these improvements in the transformer insulating fluid will lead to extended LPT service life.

University of Texas at Austin – Austin, TX

NANOTECHNOLOGY-ENABLED TRANSFORMER LIFE EXTENSION - $750,000

University of Texas at Austin (UT- Austin) will use novel nanotechnology to develop a power transformer capable of operating for 80 years, increasing U.S. grid reliability. Key elements of UT- Austin’s research includes (1) the development and synthesis of cellulosic material and nano-additives (boron nitride, oxides) for paper and pressboard, (2) use of validated high-fidelity models to predict the thermal and electrical performance and life of transformers, (3) refurbishing a transformer to assess the impact of new materials, and (4) scale-up manufacturing of down-selected nanomaterials.

C-Crete Technologies – Stafford, TX

COLLOIDALLY ULTRASTABLE, HIGHLY INSULATING, AND THERMALLY CONDUCTIVE NANOFLUID FOR LARGE POWER TRANSFORMERS - $1,500,000

The key cause of transformer failure is overheating, which becomes more likely over time due to breakdown of mineral oil, an important transformer heat dissipation and insulating component. C-Crete Technologies will integrate advanced surface chemistry, colloidal engineering with high-throughput characterization, and standardized testing to develop insulating nanofluids for large power transformers (LPTs), with a projected lifetime greater than 80 years. The core of the technology is based on mechanochemical exfoliation of 2D hexagonal boron nitride nanoparticles with tailored surface functionalization for indefinite colloidal stability in mineral oil using a simple and economical method compatible with LPTs. The nanoparticles will improve the thermal conductivity performance of the mineral oil by orders of magnitude leading to extended LPT service life.

This topic seeks to develop technologies to convert high-energy materials that are currently going to landfills into a high-energy content liquid product. Projects will develop processes to convert plastics, rubber, composites,  and paper to create a high-energy content liquid that can be easily shipped to and stored at points of aggregation. These liquid products could be used as a fuel blend stock or an intermediate for further conversion to fuels or chemicals.

The chemical processes developed under this topic are anticipated to be used in the deployment of potential “REUSE facilities”; low-cost, simple, flexible, small-scale (100-500 ton per day) regional facilities using modular plants. Demonstrating simple, flexible “liquefaction chemistry” and meeting economic targets for low-cost, small scale “liquefaction” plants is crucial for the future deployment of such “REUSE facilities”.  Smaller facilities could be more economical than large-scale facilities making purity products, due to high cost of transporting and aggregating waste and the high operating and  capital costs for product purification. Teams will develop preliminary economics for a 250 ton per day facility to test the assumption that it modular facilities could be more economical than large processing plants. 

Western Research Institute – Laramie, WY

POLYMER/OIL CO-PROCESSING TO YIELD LIQUID PRODUCTS (MEME-CCS) - $979,534.00

Western Research Institute will explore technologies based on pyrolysis (thermal conversion) and hydrocracking (a chemical process that upgrades low-quality, heavy gas oils) to convert waste, low-value plastic, and paper polymers into high-energy liquid products suitable as fuel, refinery feedstock, or feed for chemicals manufacturing. The pyrolysis technologies involve heating the polymers in oil media to a temperature high enough to break the chemical bonds to produce a liquid product. The pyrolysis may also be applied to low-level conversion of the polymers to yield a slurry feed for a hydrocracker to more efficiently convert the polymers. If successful, the research will open additional avenues for handling and processing portions of municipal solid waste streams.

Argonne National Laboratory – Lemont, IL

SELECTIVE HYDROGENOLYSIS OF PRE-CONSUMER POLYOLEFINS TO PREMIUM SYNTHETIC LUBRICANTS - $492,571

Argonne National Laboratory, in collaboration with Northwestern University and Ames Laboratory, are developing a low-temperature catalytic upcycling process for converting pre-consumer plastic wastes made of polyethylene or polypropylene polymers to premium synthetic lubricants. The hydrogenolysis (decomposition of a compound resulting from its interaction with hydrogen) catalyst technology converts these polymers to the desired lubricant product with high selective and near-quantitative yields, and with negligible formation of light gases. Data generated will be used to develop a process flow design and conduct a techno-economic analysis for a 250-ton per day modular process that can be deployed at waste materials recycling facilities.

Johns Hopkins University – Baltimore, MD

HYDROCRACKING PLASTIC MIXTURES INTO XYLENE - $1,000,000

Johns Hopkins University aims to catalytically convert low-cost #3-7 plastic mixtures into para-xylene, one of the most valuable hydrocarbon products. Johns Hopkins' primary design of the hydrocracking process first converts hydrocarbon plastics selectively to volatile hydrocarbons with xylene isomers as the predominant products. Then a post-reaction separation unit derives pure para-xylene as the desired product. The unit allows recycling of the residual H2 and possibly other hydrocarbons back to the hydrocracker. The ultimate goal of this project is to enable energy-efficient and economically viable depolymerization of end-of-life plastic mixtures into value-added chemical feeds.

Altex Technologies – San Jose, CA

LOW COST FEED FLEXIBLE PLASTICS REUSE (LCFFPR) - $999,997

The United States is facing a huge plastic waste challenge. Altex Technologies Corporation will develop a novel process, system design, and catalyst to convert all types of plastic polymers, rubber, composites, and paper to a refinery grade crude oil. This crude oil then can be processed in U.S. refineries to produce gasoline, jet fuel, and diesel oil. Altex will demonstrate an end-to-end plastics-to-liquid fuel prototype system and develop a process design for a 250 ton per day plastic feed plant. The test data and analysis will be used to produce a techno-economic and life cycle analysis for the full scale plant. The low-cost feed flexible plastics reuse technology uses combined thermochemical conversion and contaminants pretreatment. Together with a novel product stabilization process, these factors produce a liquid fuel similar to crude oil, which can be processed by refineries to produce a valuable drop-in fuel from plastic waste.

This topic seeks to develop novel approaches in microbiology, synthetic biology and process engineering in support of addressing mining industry challenges to ensure a robust mineral supply chain for clean energy applications. This includes the development of technologies to harness natural resources to produce a robust, clean, non-toxic, and low-cost supply of critical materials. Projects will address one or more research category areas including mineral pre-processing, biomining, mineral post-processing and supplementary abiotic processing.

Critical materials, as well as select rare earth elements and platinum group metals, are an essential part of many tech, defense, and energy applications. Any shortage of any such materials or disruption in their supply chain poses a crucial concern to the security and economic prosperity of the United States. In addition to these CMs, REEs, and platinum group metals, ARPA-E has identified a need for some other base transition metals, including Nickel and Copper. This need results specifically from the growing and expected increase in need for Nickel in the development of lithium-ion batteries and copper for its use in a range of energy efficient technologies. The development of bio-based mining technologies for all of these materials offers potential advantages of lower energy requirements and decrease in production of hazardous by-products.

UPDATE 9/10/20 - ARPA-E's Biotechnologies to Ensure a Robust Supply of Critical Materials for Clean Energy topic supports the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy’s Industries of the Future initiative, supporting the development of key emerging technologies that will shape the nation’s economy and security for years to come.

Michigan Technological University – Houghton, MI

IN-SITU BIOLEACHING OF MANGANESE BY DISSIMILATORY REDUCTION - $218,916

The proposed project will develop a reductive bioleaching process, using bacteria to recover manganese from low-grade U.S. ores. Manganese is key to several common battery technologies, with no substitutes in its major applications. It has not been mined in the US since the 1970s. The mining technology is a major departure from conventional manganese mining because it allows manganese extraction without significant environmental disturbance or the use of toxic chemicals.

University of California Berkeley – Berkeley, CA

LIGAND FACILITATED BIOACCUMULATION: BIOMINING OF RARE EARTH AND OTHER CRITICAL METALS FROM ELECTRONIC WASTES - $1,100,000

The University of California Berkeley will develop a highly selective, environmentally friendly bacterial platform to recover rare earth elements (REEs) from complex electronic waste (E-waste) streams. Feedstocks range from simple (magnet shavings) to complex matrix (printed circuit board recycling waste and used mobile devices). The team will engineer a single bacterial species that acquires REEs from solid feedstocks and converts them to REE minerals at a neutral pH without harsh acids or organic solvents. The team will couple synthetic biology with bioengineering to enhance REE-leaching, uptake, and storage. It will use inexpensive and readily available methanol as the carbon and energy source to support bacterial growth.

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory – Sequim, WA

UNREALIZED CRITICAL LANTHANIDE EXTRACTION VIA SEA ALGAE MINING (UNCLE-SAM): DOMESTIC PRODUCTION OF CRITICAL MINERALS FROM SEAWATER - $1,000,000

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory will use advanced climate-simulation photobioreactors with access to natural seawater to determine optimized cultivation and rare earth elements (REE) uptake conditions of seaweeds. The team will treat the seaweed biomass with heat and pressure in a process called hydrothermal liquefaction to concentrate its critical mineral portion, while concurrently generating a feedstock for biofuels, bioplastics, and biomedical compounds. Developing this technology could transform the bioproduct and REE mining industries and catalyze the development of a more sustainable future.

Tufts University – Medford, MA

LIVING FILTER DESIGNS FOR IN-LINE RECOVERY AND SORTING OF CRITICAL MATERIALS - $600,000

Tufts University will develop “living filter” technology to continuously recover and sort critical materials from electronic waste (E-waste) streams. The goal is improved throughput, specificity, facile recovery/re-utilization, and reduced material/energy consumption. The team aims to develop genetically-encoded bio-membranes capable of specific material enrichment that is environmentally safe. In addition, it will develop microorganism-encapsulated 3D matrices to continuously reduce and collect noble metals. The technology is expected to accelerate the application of biologically enabled materials recovery and improve resource and manufacturing efficiency.

Columbia University – New York, NY

DEVELOPMENT OF BIOLOGICAL AND ELECTROCHEMICAL TECHNOLOGIES FOR THE CLEAN EXTRACTION OF COPPER AND CRITICAL MATERIALS FROM LOW GRADE ORES - $1,000,000

Columbia University will develop a novel hydrometallurgical platform that will exploit the electrochemical reduction of copper ores followed by biological leaching of sulfide minerals to recover copper metal. The team’s new platform technology will enable the processing of domestic low-grade copper concentrates with high pyrite concentrations. This will reduce the outsourcing of copper processing to overseas smelters and enable new domestic sources of low-grade copper concentrate to be processed economically. The bacteria involved in the bioleaching process will be genetically modified for fast dissolution kinetics and capture and sequestration of critical platinum group metals found in copper sulfide ores.

Cornell University – Ithaca, NY

ENGINEERED MICROORGANISMS FOR ENHANCED RARE EARTH ELEMENT BIO-MINING AND SEPARATIONS- $1,000,000

Cornell University will use advanced genomics, synthetic biology and microfluidic laboratory evolution devices to engineer two sets of exotic microbes to (1) extract REE from ores, spent cracking catalysts, coal ash and electronic waste, and (2) purify REE into single element batches. These two sets of engineered organisms will enable high-efficiency, high-selectivity extraction of REE from ore and end-of-life feedstocks, and purification of mixed REE into isolated element solutions, all under benign conditions without the need of harsh solvents and high temperatures. These new technologies could provide a new source of these critical elements for future U.S. energy technologies.

This topic works to develop electricity system models and associated analysis that can inform technology development for new grid resources. This includes the ability to model carbon capture and storage (CCS) -enabled power plants with more fidelity as well as model negative-emission resources such as direct air capture (DAC) systems. Additionally, projects will work to generate a set of electricity price signals that will allow CCS technology developers to appropriately value the operating characteristics of their systems, and to evaluate how technology tradeoffs will impact total system costs of electricity under a range of carbon emissions constraints. These projects will work concurrently with teams selected under ARPA-E’s FLECCS program (FLExible Carbon Capture and Storage), to help them evaluate the impact of their CCS technologies in a net-zero carbon grid.

Flexible CCS technology can achieve high CO₂ capture rates from flue gas, further enables the continued use of low-cost domestic fuel for electricity generation, and increases the reliability of deeply decarbonized electricity. Electricity system models such as capacity expansion models are used to study the evolution of the electricity-generating portfolio of a grid as a function of time and across various technology and policy scenarios. These types of models have shown that when fossil-fueled power generators are equipped with CCS technology meeting certain cost and performance metrics, they can further reduce the cost of a net-zero carbon electricity system.

PRINCETON UNIVERSITY - PRINCETON, NJ

ELECTRICITY SYSTEM CAPACITY EXPANSION AND OPERATIONAL MODELING FOR EVALUATION AND OPTIMIZATION OF FLEXIBLE CARBON CAPTURE AND SEQUESTRATION SYSTEMS - $685,000.00

Princeton University will improve and apply the existing GenX configurable electricity system planning model to evaluate the value of fossil-fueled power plants with CCS and direct air capture technologies in future electricity grids under a range of possible future scenarios, including high shares of variable renewable energy sources. With these improvements, Princeton University will explore the ‘design space’ or combination of possible cost and performance parameters for each major subcomponent of a generic natural gas-fired power plant with CCS. The team will evaluate several designs and strategies, including load following and part-load operation of generation and capture systems, integrated thermal or electrical storage, and buffering of the carbon capture medium itself to shift the timing of energy consumption by CCS systems.

NATIONAL RENEWABLE ENERGY LABORATORY - GOLDEN, CO

MULTISCALE ELECTRICITY MODELING FOR EVALUATING CARBON CAPTURE AND SEQUESTRATION TECHNOLOGIES (MEME-CCS) - $715,000.00

The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) will adapt an existing, rigorous multiscale electricity modeling platform to evaluate carbon capture and sequestration and negative emissions technologies from the ARPA-E FLECCS program. NREL’s platform includes the Regional Energy Deployment System (ReEDS) electric sector capacity expansion model, which projects future electricity generation mixes at sub-state geographic resolution. Using ReEDS projections in the PLEXOS production cost model then allows the team to perform hourly, zonal, or nodal grid operations modeling to understand how CCS-equipped power plants will dispatch in the future. The resulting raw hourly price data from PLEXOS will then be processed by the Cambium tool to develop price trajectories for ARPA-E FLECCS technology developers. The ReEDS-PLEXOS-Cambium modeling suite has already been used to examine electric sector futures with high renewable energy penetrations, energy storage, electrification, and distributed generation, and it will be augmented to include the capability to model CCS-equipped power plants and negative emissions technologies.

This topic works to establish validation sites for field-level emissions quantification of agricultural bioenergy feedstock production. These teams will work towards the development of “ground truth” solutions to establish measurements and protocols for emissions monitoring at the field level to create publically available, open-source, high-resolution datasets to support testing and validation of emerging biofuel production monitoring technologies. The projects will also compliment selections in ARPA-E’s full SMARTFARM program, further supporting and validating the selections made through this full funding opportunity.

Ethanol production is one of the largest consumers of domestic grain in the U.S., and developing sustainable production methods for ethanol and bio-based fuels has great potential to both reduce emissions and potentially provide a  net emissions-free source of energy. While the economic and emissions impacts of ethanol production nationally are clear, field-level contributions remain unclear. The lack of understanding of field-level feedstock emissions, combined with the absence of economic incentives beyond yield, leaves feedstock producers to estimate and assume risks to their primary revenue stream by new management practices. By establishing sites and protocols for measuring the impact on yield increasing and emissions reducing technologies, these teams will bridge the technology gap between feedstock producers and existing market incentives to de-risk sustainable management practices, defray the cost of monitoring their impact, reduce biofuel feedstock production emissions, and broadly enable a future carbon farming industry.

OKLAHOMA STATE UNIVERSITY - STILLWATER, OK

ESTABLISHING VALIDATION SITES FOR FIELD-LEVEL EMISSIONS QUANTIFICATION FROM GRAIN SORGHUM IN SOUTHERN GREAT PLAINS - $3,100,000.00

Oklahoma State University (OSU) will synthesize scientific principles from eddy covariance (a method enabling observation of gas and energy exchange between ecosystems at earth’s surface and the atmosphere), plant and soil science, remote sensing, and crop modeling to measure field-level emissions. The OSU-led team will collect data for field-level emissions of carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide, and methane in grain sorghum production systems in Texas, Oklahoma, and Kansas. Current estimates are from point-based measurements extrapolated using modeling approaches that lack field-scale validation or comprehensive ground truth data. The project’s final deliverable will be gold-standard, publicly-available data sets for quantifying field-level greenhouse gas emissions from grain sorghum production systems.

UNIVERSITY OF NEBRASKA, LINCOLN - LINCOLN, NE

NOVEL COMMERCIAL FARM-FIELD NETWORK TO QUANTIFY EMISSIONS AND CARBON STORAGE FROM AGRICULTURE BIOENERGY FEEDSTOCK PRODUCTION - $3,052,157.00

The University of Nebraska, Lincoln (UNL) will leverage existing data sets and new data collection methodologies to quantify fertilizer- and biomass-induced emissions, biomass nitrogen content, carbon dioxide uptake, and soil organic carbon sequestered—while providing agronomic management insights to farmers, farming communities, and agricultural supply chains. This team will use eddy covariance flux towers and static chamber methods to quantify field-scale emissions, while using active chambers to quantify fertilizer and soil surface biomass emissions. UNL will combine the data with site-specific data collected through telemetrically connected agricultural equipment to understand management, soil, greenhouse gas, water quality, and productivity interactions in feedstock production for biofuels.

UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS - URBANA, IL

MIDWEST BIOENERGY CROP LANDSCAPE LABORATORY (MBC-LAB): CAPTURING SPATIO-TEMPORAL AND MANAGERIAL VARIATIONS TO PROVIDE A GOLD STANDARD DATA AND PLATFORM FOR VALIDATING FIELD-LEVEL EMISSIONS FROM BIOENERGY CROPS - $3,300,000.00

The University of Illinois will produce field-level emissions data from commercial bioenergy crops managed by Illinois farmers. The project team will 1) collect emissions data from three commercial bioenergy feedstock sites, using ground and remote sensing measurements, 2) develop protocols for data processing and storage, and an online portal for users to access emissions datasets, 3) develop cyberinfrastructure to enable emissions data visualization, including real-time eddy covariance data, in a timely manner, and 4) actively engage stakeholders regarding emissions data usage. The project will reduce energy-related emissions by enabling technology development for managing bioenergy crops, improving yield, reducing over-fertilization, and  designing and validating remote sensors and decision support tools for smart farms.

ARVA INTELLIGENCE CORP. - PARK CITY, UT

RICE N’ GRITS: QUANTIFYING ENVIRONMENTAL BENEFITS OF BIOENERGY CROPS THROUGH COMPLETE CARBON AND NITROGEN ACCOUNTING - $2,950,000.00

Arva will establish validation sites where dedicated energy crops (corn-soy or sorghum) and crop residues (straw/stover) are used to produce domestic, sustainable, carbon-negative biofuels (i.e., ethanol, biodiesel, or biogas). Arva will measure carbon and nitrogen fluxes using state-of-the-art high-frequency commercial-scale monitoring towers to assess carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide, and methane emissions at sub-second resolution yearlong. All deployed farm equipment is highly instrumented, and will measure fuel, electricity, and fertilizer use, in addition to crop yield and management practices. This data will allow Arva’s artificial intelligence platform to construct a generative model for biofuel yield and life cycle emissions.

LAWRENCE BERKELEY NATIONAL LABORATORY - BERKELEY, CA

CARBON STANDARD: CARBON ACCOUNTING TO REDEFINE BIOFEEDSTOCK OPERATION NORMALITY USING SENSING TECHNOLOGY ASSISTED BY NUMERICAL AND DATA ANALYTICS FOR RELIABLE DETECTION - $1,000,000

The Lawrence Berkeley National Lab (LBLN) CARBON STANDARD team will develop advanced machine learning tools for a cross-scale quantification of carbon intensity (CI) during biofuel feedstock production. LBL will act as the integrator across all SMARTFARM teams to analyze complex, multi-physics, and multi-scale datasets, and develop scaling approaches across the variety of CI monitoring fields.

This topic would develop high value methane pyrolysis, including approaches that can economically convert natural gas to both fuel cell-grade hydrogen and higher value carbon materials (e.g., carbon fiber) with a low CO₂ footprint. The emphasis of these projects is to identify scalable approaches to the development of fuel cell-grade hydrogen, while also advancing the identification, understanding, and control of new reaction conditions and processes necessary to direct carbon formation.

The United States currently produces roughly 10 million tons of hydrogen per year from two processes: steam methane reforming that converts natural gas and water into hydrogen and carbon dioxide, and electrolysis of water to hydrogen and oxygen. Both of these traditional methods provide for the production of hydrogen with little or no release of carbon dioxide (through CO₂ capture and sequestration in the steam methane process), but there is an inherent opportunity in hydrogen production process to create useful carbon byproducts. Developing high value methane pyrolysis becomes comparably more favorable and economically beneficial when it creates a viable carbon byproduct.

JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY

ENERGY-EFFICIENT CONVERSION OF METHANE-DERIVED CARBON INTO VALUABLE CARBON FIBERS – $1,500,000.00

Johns Hopkins University aims to develop an energy-efficient, scalable approach to convert methane into hydrogen and valuable graphitized carbon fibers (GCFs). The team will focus on conversion and transformation of low-quality carbon materials derived from methane pyrolysis into high-quality, graphitized carbon fibers. These fibers can be used for a broad range of energy-related applications. The developed technology will be cost-effective, scalable, and built to accommodate various feedstocks and intermittent renewable energy sources.

STANFORD UNIVERSITY

CO-SYNTHESIS OF HYDROGEN AND HIGH-VALUE CARBON PRODUCTS FROM METHANE PYROLYSIS – $1,465,139.00

Stanford University will design a process for catalytic pyrolysis of methane into high-value carbon nanotubes and hydrogen (H2) at the low cost goal of $1/kg at large scale, without any carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions. This project will synthesize high-performance, nano-controlled pyrolysis catalysts with structural features that enable efficient catalyst regeneration and separation of solid crystalline carbon. The carbon nanotubes can be used in a wide range of applications from batteries to carbon-fiber composites. Low-cost, CO₂-free hydrogen can be used to decarbonize multiple large industries such as refinery and petrochemicals, ammonia production, steel, concrete, and transportation.

C-ZERO LLC

MOLTEN-SALT METHANE PYROLYSIS OPTIMIZATION THROUGH IN-SITU CARBON CHARACTERIZATION AND REACTOR DESIGN – $1,997,969.00

C-Zero, LLC will develop a novel process for transforming methane into hydrogen and valorized carbon cement additive using high temperature liquids in a multi-phase pyrolysis reactor. Unlike current hydrogen generation technologies, C-Zero’s process will not directly coproduce carbon dioxide CO₂ and does not require water as an input. If successful, this technology will allow C-Zero to significantly reduce the cost of hydrogen and accelerate large scale, domestic hydrogen production with low carbon footprint.

This topic would enable state-of-the-art diagnostic measurements to be made on potentially transformative, ARPA-E-supported fusion-energy concepts in order to validate their performance, uncover problems, and guide research priorities.  The selections seek to develop plasma diagnostic systems that can be transported to and shared among different fusion experiments, leveraging the diagnostic expertise of the entire fusion R&D community, and to develop the teams and experience necessary to support an expanding role for public/private partnerships in fusion. 

Fusion technology has been pursued for decades as an ideal power source with abundant fuel, effectively zero emissions, no long-lived radioactive waste, and minimal proliferation risk. Early-stage fusion experiments like those supported by ARPA-E can broadly benefit from state-of-the-art diagnostic systems and measurements, which often cost as much as or more than the experiment itself, and thus typically such experiments and projects teams do not have access to the types of measurements this program will enable.

CALIFORNIA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY

X-RAY IMAGING AND ASSESSMENT OF NON-PERTURBING MAGNETIC DIAGNOSTICS FOR INTERMEDIATE-DENSITY FUSION EXPERIMENTS - $400,000.00

Principal Investigator: Paul Bellan

Support design, operation, and data analysis for a transportable Thomson scattering diagnostic to provide a direct measurement of the temperature and density of magnetized inertial fusion experiments. The system will measure the electron density and temperature and so confirm whether experiments have reached fusion-relevant parameters.

LAWRENCE LIVERMORE NATIONAL LABORATORY

ABSOLUTE NEUTRON RATE MEASUREMENT AND NON-THERMAL/THERMONUCLEAR FUSION DIFFERENTIATION - $1,326,530.00

Principal Investigator: Drew Higginson

Design, build and operate a robust, portable neutron detection system that will serve as a powerful diagnostic tool in support of efforts to transform fusion energy. The tool’s design will allow for a flexible and mobile experimental setup, enabling it to provide effective, expertly calibrated, diagnostic measurements at multiple fusion facilities.

LOS ALAMOS NATIONAL LABORATORY

PORTABLE SOFT X-RAY DIAGNOSTICS FOR TRANSFORMATIVE FUSION-ENERGY CONCEPTS - $630,000.00

Principal Investigator: Glen Wurden

Develop a portable suite of soft x-ray diagnostics to characterize the performance of a number of fusion energy concepts. The tool will estimate core electron temperature, and use time resolved spectroscopy to monitor the time evolution of experimental fusion plasmas. With the use of a framing camera, the team also expects to be able to identify hot regions and structures in the plasma.

OAK RIDGE NATIONAL LABORATORY

A PORTABLE DIAGNOSTIC PACKAGE FOR SPECTROSCOPIC MEASUREMENT OF KEY PLASMA PARAMETERS IN TRANSFORMATIVE FUSION ENERGY DEVICES - $1,106,000.00

Principal Investigator: Theodore Biewer

Assemble a portable diagnostic package to make measurements of key plasma parameters, including electron temperature. Unprecedented diagnostic portability will be achieved through innovative use of off-the-shelf components and specialized, highly portable lasers. This portable diagnostic package will be capable of providing radial profiles of electron density and temperature as well as radial profiles of ion density, temperature, and flow velocity on a variety of fusion energy devices.

UNIVERSITY OF ROCHESTER

LLE DIAGNOSTIC RESOURCE TEAM FOR THE ADVANCEMENT OF INNOVATIVE FUSION CONCEPTS - $1,000,000.00

Principal Investigator: Jonathan Davies

Form a diagnostic team to provide travelling neutron diagnostics including calibrations, analysis techniques, and expert consultants to fusion projects. Neutron time-of-flight (nTOF) detectors will be deployed to multiple fusion projects, providing calibrated, expert measurement of plasma properties.

UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA-DAVIS

ELECTRON DENSITY PROFILE MEASUREMENTS USING USPR - $443,863.00

Principal Investigator: Neville Luhmann, Jr.

Fabricate an ultrashort pulse reflectometer (USPR) diagnostic instrument for electron density profile measurements on compact, short duration, magnetically-confined fusion-energy concept device. Central to the system is a field programmable gate array based controller which will collect and process all of the USPR data in addition to generating all of the control signals needed for maximum flexibility.

LAWRENCE LIVERMORE NATIONAL LABORATORY

A PORTABLE OPTICAL THOMSON SCATTERING SYSTEM - $2,000,000.00

Principal Investigator: Clement Goyon

Implement an optical Thomson scattering diagnostic to measure electron density and temperature, as well as ion temperature. This approach could transform the understanding of the underlying physics of each fusion concept by providing local, time resolved measurements of plasma conditions.

PRINCETON PLASMA PHYSICS LABORATORY

A PORTABLE ENERGY DIAGNOSTIC FOR TRANSFORMATIVE ARPA-E FUSION ENERGY R&D - $290,000.00

Principal Investigator: Samuel Cohen

Build and calibrate a portable diagnostic for measuring ion energies in potentially transformative fusion-power projects. This portable passive charge-exchange stripping-cell ion energy analyzer (SC-IEA), will feature lightweight design, due to modern vacuum equipment and controls. The SC-IEA will measure ion temperature and the ion energy distribution function (IEDF)--understanding and controlling the IEDF is critical to achieving fusion energy.

This topic would leverage innovations supporting nuclear energy for the development of technologies that will reduce the cost of nuclear energy. These projects seek to develop advancements in nuclear facility sensors, tools, analytics and controls.

The next generation of nuclear reactor plants needs innovative, safe, and secure technologies to supplement advanced reactor designs. A variety of advanced nuclear reactor designs are being developed in the U.S., and they require a variety of design options to meet future market needs.

NATIONAL ENERGY TECHNOLOGY LABORATORY

DISTRIBUTED NUCLEAR REACTOR CORE MONITORING WITH SINGLE-CRYSTAL HARSH-ENVIRONMENT OPTICAL FIBERS - $2,027,499.00

NETL seeks to produce a novel fiber-optic sensor system for monitoring advanced nuclear reactors that will permit operators to view conditions inside molten-salt cooling loops and inside reactor cores simultaneously and in real-time. This high level of data visibility will enable advanced automation in new reactor systems, and enable design engineers to accelerate the deployment of new reactor designs for commercial use.

SOUTHERN RESEARCH INSTITUTE

MACHINE LEARNING FOR AUTOMATED MAINTENANCE OF FUTURE MSR - $2,059,661.00

Southern Research Institute proposes to transition most reactor maintenance activities from being done manually to people overseeing autonomous maintenance robotic systems, to reduce costs and avoid personnel exposure to radiation. To achieve this level of control, robots will be trained in a virtual environment through the use of virtual reality and machine learning to perform routine maintenance.

NORTH CAROLINA STATE UNIVERSITY

A DATA-DRIVEN APPROACH TO HIGH PRECISION CONSTRUCTION AND REDUCED OVERNIGHT COST AND SCHEDULE - $1,584,842.00

NC State proposes to develop an innovative virtual environment to digitally manage the performance of nuclear construction. The team envisions this construction performance modeling and simulation (CPMS) environment will facilitate automated inspections of components and subsystems before shipping, which will reduce construction staffing levels, improve supply chain efficiency, and prevent delays due to quality and compatibility issues.

IDAHO NATIONAL LABORATORY

NEXT-GENERATION METAL FUEL - $1,800,000.00

INL and its partners are proposing a next generation metal fuel in support of a megawatt-scale compact fast reactor – being developed by Oklo Inc – that is uniquely sized for off-grid applications. The team seeks to develop a fuel with a demonstrated production process and validated performance that incorporates engineered porosity to absorb and retain produced gasses, allowing for higher operating temperatures, as well as a diffusion barrier between the fuel alloy and the cladding to avoid material degradation, which removes the need for the complicated-to-manufacture sodium bond between fuel and cladding.

This topic would support downhole tools to enable enhanced geothermal systems to better develop novel, low-cost sensor technologies that can help mitigate risks and lower costs for deep, extremely hot enhanced geothermal systems (EGS) by better characterizing rock formations and fluid enthalpy at depth. EGS technology has the potential to improve the economic cost-competitiveness of geothermal energy, while also lessening geographic restrictions of geothermal as an energy sources.

The U.S. possesses a massive strategic asset in its existing supply of geothermal energy, and deep extremely hot EGS represent a potential zero-carbon resource capable of delivering hundreds of gigawatts of baseload electricity with a very small land footprint per unit power. Additionally, developing downhole sensor technologies leverages existing domestic oil and gas industry’s sophisticated subsurface techniques and sources of human capital, offering the potential to improve and innovate on technologies that could also be utilized elsewhere in the aerospace, automotive, nuclear, and even space exploration fields.

LAWRENCE LIVERMORE NATIONAL LABORATORY

NEXT GENERATION HIGH-TEMPERATURE OPTICAL FIBERS – $800,000.00

Develop a novel process for applying metallic coatings to optical fibers that will allow the fabrication of distributed optical sensors for high-temperature geothermal wells and explore quantum sensing techniques to dramatically increase sensitivities. This new optical technology will fill an important technology gap to enable distributed sensing in high-temperature enhanced geothermal system wells and help optimize production.

FERVO ENERGY COMPANY

SOLVE EGS: SURFACE ORBITAL VIBRATOR FOR EVALUATION OF ENHANCED GEOTHERMAL SYSTEMS – $1,180,000.00

The proposed fiber-optics based integrated tool will provide an unprecedented level of detail on the most critical aspects of an Enhanced Geothermal System (EGS) – the hydromechanical properties and geometry of the fracture zones that provide flow connections between the reservoir and the well. It has the potential to play a major role in catalyzing the 100 GW, $300B opportunity for EGS in the United States.

This topic would develop extremely durable concretes and cementitious materials to tackle technology challenges in the development of widely applicable concrete and cement. Cement is the second most used substance in the world (next to water), largely due to its low cost, abundance, and reliability in a wide variety of environments. Cement has been a LITERAL building block of society dating back to the ancient Egyptians, Greeks, and Romans, but current production and utilization methods pose significant energy and emissions challenges. These threaten cement’s growth as domestic infrastructure degrades with age.

Cement is important to U.S. energy production, as well as to infrastructure industry. The International Energy Agency estimated that in 2016 the cement and concrete sector consumed 10.5 exa-joules of energy and generated 2.2 gigatons of CO₂ emissions globally. ARPA-E is seeking to develop novel materials for infrastructure with improved performance and lifetime and lower energy and emissions impacts. These projects present opportunities to develop material and process improvements that could improve the durability of cement, while maintaining or lowering production and deployment-related emissions. They could also ensure new types of cement are cost-competitive with existing traditional materials.

THE REGENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA

LOW-TEMPERATURE ARCHITECTED CEMENTATION AGENTS (LAMINAE) – $2,000,000.00

Develop process to enable low-temperature activation of precursor materials that are geologically sourced and/or that comprise alkaline industrial wastes. Approaches provide alternatives to ordinary Portland cement that have significantly lower energy intensity and greatly enhanced durability.

THE REGENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN

DEVELOPMENT OF AN EXTREMELY DURABLE CONCRETE (EDC) - A NOVEL APPROACH COUPLING CHEMISTRY AND AUTOGENOUS CRACK WIDTH CONTROL – $1,377,690.26

Develop a novel ductile EDC that is resistant to chemical attacks and possesses built-in crack width control not feasible with current concrete. This new concrete is targeted to meet everyday construction requirements and have tensile resistance that dramatically enables efficient additive manufacturing and the construction of resilient energy facilities.

UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN DIEGO

EXTREMELY DURABLE AND LOW-COST CONCRETE: ULTRALOW BINDER CONTENT AND ULTRAHIGH TENSILE DUCTILITY – $1,499,146.00

Develop ultralow-binder-content ductile concrete (UDC), a low-cost, highly durable, strong, energy-efficient, and low-emission infrastructural material. UDC will be lower cost, greater ductility, and longer lifetime than ordinary portland cement.

GEORGIA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY

DEVELOPMENT OF AN ADVANCED ULTRASONIC PHASED ARRAY FOR THE CHARACTERIZATION OF THICK, REINFORCED CONCRETE COMPONENTS – $867,261.00

Develop phased array technology to enable “medical quality” imaging and characterization of thick reinforced concrete components. This early detection technology could prioritize maintenance to avoid macrocrack formation which could significantly increase the durability of existing concrete components, reducing lifecycle energy and emissions costs.

UNIVERSITY OF KENTUCKY

BELITE CEMENT, AND CONCRETES; NOVEL LOW-ENERGY APPROACHES TO MAKING CONCRETE EXTREMELY DURABLE – $1,401,064.71

Develop an extremely durable belite-based cement alternative to ordinary portland cement that is low-energy consuming and low-carbon releasing. The material would use less energy, release less CO₂ and excel in performance and durability over time.

UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA

BORON CONCRETE FOR ACTIVE FORMATION OF LITHIUM AS MITIGATION OF NEUTRON-INDUCED EXPANSION AND PASSIVE NEUTRON ABSORPTION – $1,079,999.17

Develop a means to combat the damage that neutron exposure causes to concrete used to house nuclear reactors. The project will explore novel additives incorporating boron and will determine whether or not, when bombarded with neutron radiation, these can produce lithium that improves the concrete’s strength and extends its lifetime.

UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO BOULDER

GEOPOLYMER CEMENTS: RESISTANCE-ENGINEERED SEWER INFRASTRUCTURE FOR LONGEVITY USING INNOVATIVE, ENERGY-EFFICIENT, SYNTHESIS TECHNIQUES (RESILIENT) – $1,205,353.00

Develop ultra-acid-resistant, low-calcium geopolymer cements that take advantage of reduced heat-curing and lower alkali conditions, for wastewater (i.e., sewer) and other infrastructure applications. The project aims to provide an alternative material technology solution that will extend the service life of concrete infrastructure and reduce total life cycle energy, economic, and environmental costs.

CARNEGIE MELLON UNIVERSITY

INTEGRATED DESIGN OF CHEMICAL ADMIXTURE SYSTEMS FOR ULTRADURABLE, LOW CO₂ ALTERNATIVE BINDER CHEMISTRIES VIA MACHINE LEARNING – $566,370.00

Develop a machine learning algorithm to guide the design of molecular additives that streamline the path for alternative binder chemistries concrete use in existing construction methods and equipment. The central goals are to increase the durability of US infrastructure by at least twofold and reduce the energy expended in producing this concrete by at least half.

WASHINGTON STATE UNIVERSITY

BIOPOLYMER MODIFIED CEMENTITIOUS SYSTEMS WITH RADICALLY SUPERIOR STRENGTH AND DURABILITY – $644,116.00

Develop a scalable process to fortify cement paste at the atomic scale with biopolymer-based nanomaterials derived from chitin, a waste material produced by the seafood industry in millions of tons annually. The newly enabled concrete is envisioned to transform the U.S. construction market, saving of dollars in repair and reconstruction costs every year and dramatically improving lifecycle energy and emissions costs for infrastructure.

OREGON STATE UNIVERSITY

DEVELOPMENT OF THEROMDYNAMIC AND KINETIC SIMULATION TOOLS AND TESTING PROCEDURES FOR ENHANCED DURABILITY OF CONCRETE CONTAINING INDUSTRIAL BY-PRODUCTS – $1,305,798.00

Develop computational tools to evaluate the feasibility of using industrial by-product materials to make low energy cements. The objective is to reduce energy demand and greenhouse emissions related to the production of cements, to leverage the practical economic benefits of low-energy binder systems, and to produce highly durable concrete.

UNIVERSITY OF UTAH

SELF-SUSTAINING CEMENTITIOUS SYSTEMS IN ROMAN REACTIVE GLASS CONCRETES – $1,430,556.00

Develop extremely durable concretes with engineered foam glass aggregates that mimic the reactive volcanic glass of 2000-year-old Roman architectural and marine concretes. These innovative materials, mixtures and processing technologies, could improve durability at 4 times typical 50-year Portland cement concrete service life and reduce by up to 85% the energy and emissions associated with production and deployment.

C-CRETE TECHNOLOGIES

IRRADIATION, HEAT, AND CORROSION RESISTANT HEXAGONAL BORON NITRIDE-CEMENT COATING FOR MITIGATING AGING AND IRRADIATION EFFECTS IN NUCLEAR POWER PLANTS – $750,000.00

Develop next generation cementitious coating materials to extend the lifetime of key infrastructures subject to extreme conditions such as nuclear power plants. Strategically couple emerging 2D materials technology with lamellar structure of low-CO₂ cement to impart greater synergy.