On July 9, ARPA-E and the National Academies of Sciences hosted a ceremony to celebrate the talent and creativity of remarkable early-career innovators recognized through the Inspiring Generations of New Innovators to Impact Technologies in Energy 2024 (IGNIITE 2024) program.

The 23 IGNIITE 2024 selectees will receive approximately $500,000 to advance research in advanced energy storage systems, fusion reactor technology, carbon-negative concrete alternatives, power electronics for grid reliability, critical material recovery, energy-efficient water desalination, plastic depolymerization, and more.

Selectees and attendees heard insightful keynotes from ARPA-E Program Director Dr. Laurent Pilon, ARPA-E Director Dr. Evelyn Wang, Breakthrough Energy Ventures Investor & Entrepreneur Dr. Carmichael Roberts, U.S. Congressman Bill Foster (IL-11), National Academies of Engineering President Dr. John Anderson, and Activate New York Managing Director Andrew Chang.

Collaborative communities, the speakers highlighted, are essential for scientific research and technical innovation, and the IGNIITE program will “create a support structure [for selectees] that can take their most audacious energy ideas and accelerate their path to deployable, impactful technologies,” said Director Wang.

ARPA-E Director Evelyn Wang, U.S. Congressman Bill Foster (IL-11), Breakthrough Energy Ventures Investor & Entrepreneur Dr. Carmichael Roberts, and National Academies of Engineering President Dr. John Anderson

IGNIITE selectees shared what the world would look like with their research developed at scale.

• Dr. Jessica Boles: “Imagine a world in which electric power conversion has negligible size, cost, and energy loss.”
• Dr. Craig Cahillane: “Let’s build a future where humans can harness the power of fusion energy in a power plant.”
• Dr. Liang Feng: “What if we lived in a world where our extensive carbon emissions are significantly reduced by using abundant discarded plastic waste.”
• Dr. Fudong Han: “I believe in a new tomorrow where personalized air travel is as easy and convenient as Uber.”
• Dr. Nelson James: “Imagine a world where equipment reduces building carbon emissions while simultaneously increasing energy resilience for building occupants.”
• Dr. Kat Knauer: “Let’s build a future where all plastics are bio-based and recyclable.”
• Dr. Sebastian Kube: “I believe in a new tomorrow where we can develop novel materials for the harshest of operating conditions in a matter of weeks rather than decades.”
• Dr. Woongkul Lee: “What if we lived in a world where our ever-increasing energy needs are fulfilled by rare-earth-free and optically excited ultra-high-speed generators.”
• Dr. Jinxing Li: “Imagine a world where biology and robots can work together to make sustainable buildings.”
• Dr. Rain Mariano: “Let’s build a future focused on delivering low-cost green hydrogen to help decarbonize the fertilizer, steel, and cement industries.”
• Dr. Luca Mastropasqua: “What if we lived in a world where we could convert plastics back into its molecular building blocks with renewable energy.”
• Dr. Paul Meyer: “I believe in a new tomorrow with concrete products that do not emit CO2, but instead, sequester waste biomass and have substantially lower energy requirements.”
• Dr. Justin Panich: “Imagine a world where fertilizers can be produced in a way that reduces global CO2 emissions by nearly a billion metric tons per year.”
• Dr. Lydia Rachbauer: “Let’s build a future where waste carbon emissions are transformed into sustainable aviation fuels.”
• Dr. Julie Rorrer: “What if we lived in a world where we could store clean hydrogen using plastic waste.”
• Dr. Adam Uliana: “I believe in a new tomorrow that eliminates mining pollution and ensures that critical minerals come from a robust domestic supply chain.”
• Dr. Zhongyang Wang: “Imagine a world where maritime transportation no longer relies on petroleum-derived fuels that emit greenhouse gases.”
• Dr. Xizheng Wang: “Let’s build a future where hydrogen production is affordable, sustainable, and no longer dependent on rare and expensive platinum-group metals as catalysts.”
• Dr. Jun Wang: “What if we lived in a world where imperceptible electricity ‘highways’ seamlessly deliver any amount of power to any destination with 100% efficiency.”
• Dr. Andrew Westover: “I believe in a new tomorrow where glass doesn’t shatter, and batteries have double the energy of current Li ion batteries.”
• Dr. Michael Woods: “Imagine a world where nearly all excess energy and renewable energy can be captured and stored for later use.”
• Dr. Guang Yang: “Let’s build a future where our battle against climate change is powered by the very agent of its cause—CO2, turning a harmful greenhouse gas into a source of clean, sustainable energy.”
• Dr. Yangying Zhu: “Imagine a world where access to cheap and safe clean water is no longer a privilege around the world.”

ARPA-E IGNIITE 2024 selectees Dr. Nelson James and Dr. Katrina Knauer receiving their award certificates from ARPA-E Director Evelyn Wang.

ARPA-E will highlight each selectee on social media every month starting August 2. Be sure to follow ARPA-E on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, and subscribe to the newsletter to keep up with the next generation of scientific innovators and entrepreneurs.