We had a remarkable jam-packed first day of the 2022 ARPA-E Energy Innovation Summit. The Summit began with a keynote address from Dr. Jennifer Gerbi, Acting Director and Deputy Director of Technology at ARPA-E. Dr. Gerbi’s keynote address was followed by keynote addresses from the Honorable Michael B. Hancock, Mayor of Denver who graciously welcomed ARPA-E and conference attendees to his district.

(Michael B. Hancock, Mayor of Denver)

Following the keynote addresses, we heard from Dr. David Horsup, the managing director at OGCI Climate Investments, on ‘The Greatest Innovation Challenge.’

(Dr. David Horsup, OGCI)

Dr. Danielle Merfeld, VP and CTO at GE Renewable Energy, gave a talk on the key challenges of the energy transition and the necessity for new technology, codes & standards, policies, and market instructions to decarbonize the energy sector through zero carbon electricity.

(Dr. Danielle Merfeld, GE Renewable Energy)

Follow Dr. Merfeld, a panel consisting of Kelly Cummins, Acting Director and Principal Deputy Director of DOE Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations, Anna Siefken, Commercialization Executive at the DOE Office of Technology Transition, Dr. James Zahler, Associate Director for Tech-To-Market at ARPA-E, Brian Goldstein, Senior Consultant at the DOE Loan Program Office, and Jeremiah Baumann, Chief of Staff at the DOE Office of the Under Secretary for Infrastructure, spoke about the DOE innovation funding process as it moves from the lab to the market.

(Left-to-right: Anna Siefken, James Zahler, Kelly Cummins, Brian Goldstein, Jeremiah Baumann)

At noon, attendees gathered at the Government Agency Networking Program, enjoying lunch while networking with representatives from federal, state, and international government agencies to discuss research interests, funding solicitations, grants, and other partnership opportunities.

The afternoon consisted of several sessions of ARPA-E’s popular “Fast Pitches.” Fast Pitches consist of rapid-fire presentations from ARPA-E Program Directors and Fellows on high-impact technology focus areas as they pave the path forward for the future of energy technology.

The two sets of Fast Pitches included:

• Transportation Systems, moderated by Dr. Bob Ledoux, Program Director (PD) at ARPA-E, and consisting of Dr. Olga Spahn, PD at ARPA-E, Dr. Jake Russell, Fellow at ARPA-E, Dr. Peter de Bock, PD at ARPA-E, and Dr. Halle Cheeseman, PD at ARPA-E.
• Generation/Distribution, moderated by Dr. Jenifer Shafer, PD at ARPA-E, and consisting of Dr. Philseok Kim, PD at ARPA-E, Dr. Emily Yedinak, Fellow at ARPA-E, Dr. Douglas Wicks, PD at ARPA-E, and Dr. Scott Hsu, PD at ARPA-E.

(Left-to-right: Bob Ledoux, Olga Spahn, Jake Russell, Peter de Bock, Halle Cheeseman)

The afternoon also gave attendees a number of breakout sessions and discussions to participate in, including:

• Building a Team to “Make it Matter” consisting of Ashley Grosh, VP at Breakthrough Energy Fellows, Dr. Cyril Yee, CIO at Third Derivative, Dr. Mike Biddle, Evok Innovations Partner, and Dr. Yet-Ming Chiang, Kyocera Professor at MIT.
• Cultivating Carbon: Terrestrial Pathways Toward Energy Positive Carbon Dioxide Removal, by Dr. Roger Aines, Energy Program Chief Scientist in the E program at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Dr. Wolfgang Busch, Professor, Hess Chair in Plant Science, and Co-Director of the Harnessing Plants Initiative at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies, and Dr. Nichole Fitzgerald, Program Manager of Feedstock Technologies and Advanced Algal Systems at the DOE Bioenergy Technologies Office, Steele Lorenz, Head of Sustainable Business at the Farmers Business Network (FBN), and Dr. Matthew Potts, Chief Science Officer at Carbon Direct.
• The Energy Transition from the Energy Major Perspective, by Jim Gable, President at Chevron Technology Ventures, Vincent Saubestre, CEO and President at TotalEnergies Research and Technology USA, Geert van de Wouw,  Managing Director at Shell Ventures, and Dr. Daniel Cunningham, Tech-to-Market Advisor at ARPA-E.
• Digital Lodestars: How Energy System Models Can Lead the Way to Faster, Cheaper Decarbonization IRL, by Dr. Clara Heuberger-Austin, Power Market Analyst at Shell, Adam Forni, Technical Program Manager of Energy Development, at Google, Dr. Jesse Jenkins, Assistant Professor, Adlinger Center for Energy and the Environment at Princeton University, and Dr. Clea Kolster, Partner and Head of Science at Lowercarbon Capital.

Day 1 ended with the popular Technology Showcase – our largest ever. ARPA-E awardees and a select group of external organizations gathered on the Showcase floor to exhibit more than 340 groundbreaking energy technologies while giving attendees a chance to connect directly with the teams working on them and experiencing some of their work in real life.

(Image: ARPA-E Tech Showcase)

Attendees of the Technology Showcase were also treated to three “Tech Demos”, 15-minute presentations by ARPA-E project teams to display their designs and discuss their critical importance to the energy challenge.

Demonstrations at the Technology Showcase included:

• Bridger Photonics: Scaling Disruptive Methane Leak Detection and Quantification
• White River Tech: New and Innovative 3D Mapping Technology to Enable Rehabilitation of Natural Gas Pipe Infrastructure
• Ampaire: In-Flight Aviation Testbed Platform for ARPA-E Programs in Power Electronics, Motors, and Power Generation

(Ampaire Tech Demo)

Follow @ARPAE on Twitter for live updates of Day 2 and join the conversation by using #ARPAE22.