Distance-Specific Emission graphic
The Sky's The Limit - Electrifying Aviation

In 1962, the American Broadcasting Company debuted a prime time cartoon about a family living in a distant space age. In addition to a robot maid and a talking dog, a defining aspect of George and Jane Jetsons’ day-to-day life was their flying cars. Nearly 60 years later, we haven’t quite cracked flying car technology yet, but more and more people are flying every year in commercial aircraft. In 2017, this led to the U.S. consuming nearly 3.5 quadrillion BTUs (quads) of jet fuel, and commercial air travel accounting for nearly 175 million metric tons of CO2 equivalent in the U.S. - or about 2…


You'd Better FLECCS Yourself Before You Wreck Yourself ARPA-E Program Director Dr Scott Litzelman Blog
You'd Better FLECCS Yourself Before You Wreck Yourself

Under ARPA-E’s statutory charter, one of our key goals is to develop technology that contributes to the reduction of energy-related emissions. Our recently announced FLExible Carbon Capture and Storage (FLECCS) program - led by Program Director Dr. Scott Litzelman - focuses on this goal, by developing CCS technologies that enable power generators to be flexible and responsive to grid conditions in a high variable renewable energy (VRE) penetration environment. As the nation’s grid continues to evolve towards lower-carbon systems, FLECCS identifies that a need for flexible commercially…


We’re Not Saying We’re the Avengers, But...

In the 2019 blockbuster "Avengers: Endgame", it takes genius-billionaire-playboy-philanthropist Tony Stark as long to perfect time travel as it takes most people to mow their lawn. Critical to his success is his Artificial Intelligence (AI) assistant, which is able to almost instantly turn his offhand musings into workable, visually pleasing solutions. While a time heist isn’t on ARPA-E’s agenda, we are excited to announce the project selections for our first AI/machine learning-focused program: Design Intelligence Fostering Formidable Energy Reduction (and) Enabling Novel Totally…


Leaves Are Falling (And So Are Temperatures) - Staying Warm with ARPA-E

It’s almost November, and as much as we all don’t want to leave spring and summer behind the time is long overdue to put away the beach gear and change out your shorts, swimsuits and flip flops for jeans, cozy sweaters and boots - because it’s fall!  The change in seasons doesn’t just mean switching from lemonade and iced tea to warm cider and hot coco, it’s also time to change your HVAC usage from air-conditioning to heat. Recent estimates by DOE’s Energy Information Administration on residential electricity consumption put space heating at 15% of all residential electricity…


SMARTFARM: Changing What's Possible for Agriculture

by Dr. David Babson There is an old proverb: you can’t have your cake and eat it too. It means that one cannot have two incompatible things, but it is too often applied to things that are not necessarily incompatible, they are only perceived to be. Take, for example, how economic growth is often thought to be incompatible with environmental sustainability. The truth is that when it comes to addressing global resource limitations, environmental challenges, and economic growth, we are able to both have our cake and eat it too.  This is especially true for agriculture as we depend on…


The ARPA-E Fellows Program: A Look Back with Former Fellow Dr. Mike Campos

Here at ARPA-E, we pride ourselves on fostering a work environment where collaboration, team work and a constant influx of fresh ideas play a big part in our mission to advance high-impact energy technologies and develop new ways to generate, store, and use energy. It’s our dedication to bringing in new scientific minds across a variety of technology spaces that helps foster our creative environment, and one of the most important programs in our organization in helping keep things “fresh” is the ARPA-E Fellows program. The ARPA-E Fellows program recruits the next generation of scientific…


What's "Coming Down the Pipe" with New Program Director Dr. Jack Lewnard

One of our newest Program Directors, chemical engineer Dr. Jack Lewnard, brings a wealth of experience and knowledge from the utility sector as well as the energy non-profit world to ARPA-E. In his career, Dr. Lewnard has focused on challenges in methane production, distribution, and use. Before coming to ARPA-E, he served as Vice President for Business Development for the Chesapeake Utilities Corporation. There, he worked to identify and develop new business opportunities in energy services and infrastructure investments to support natural gas markets. Prior to his time at Chesapeake…


Lane Genatowski pledging
ARPA-E Welcomes New Director Lane Genatowski

This week, Energy Secretary Rick Perry swore in Lane Genatowski as the new Director of the Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E). Mr. Genatowski was recently confirmed by the U.S. Senate along with other Senior Department of Energy nominees, and will lead ARPA-E effective immediately.  Prior to joining ARPA-E, Mr. Genatowski served as Head of New Utilities and Power Investment Banking Group at Wells Fargo Securities, LLC, and as an Investment Banker at Jefferies & Company, Inc. He has over 30 years’ experience in the investment banking industry…


Wrapping up the Final Day of the 2019 ARPA-E Energy Innovation Summit – Day 3 Recap

Wednesday at the 2019 ARPA-E Energy Innovation Summit wrapped up three exciting days of energy innovation, starting off with another round of our new “Coffee with ARPA-E” networking session with ARPA-E Program Directors and Leadership. The final day’s morning included the final round of ARPA-E Program Director/Fellow “Fast Pitch” sessions, featuring talks: What if Nuclear Plants Were 10x Cheaper to Operate Next Generation HVAC: Smaller, Smarter, and more Adaptive How to Electrify the Industrial Sector? Taking the Hot Air Out of Drying Enabling Fusion’s Kitty Hawk Moment…


Reflecting on Day 2 at the 2019 ARPA-E Energy Innovation Summit – Day 2 Recap
Reflecting on Day 2 at the 2019 ARPA-E Energy Innovation Summit – Day 2 Recap

 We really kept the ball rolling at Day 2 of the ARPA-E Summit, kicking off the day bright and early with a new part of this year’s program, “Coffee with ARPA-E.” This gave attendees a chance to connect with ARPA-E leadership and Program Directors directly, to discuss the future of energy and innovation in a personal, 1-on-1 format. Tuesday also featured an ARPA-E 10-year Retrospective panel, with past ARPA-E leaders Dr. Arun Majumdar, Dr. Cheryl Martin, Dr. Eric Toone, and Dr. Ellen Williams looking back on the last 10 years of ARPA-E making ideas into reality. The panel was…