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…

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…

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…

 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…

And we’re ON! The first day of the 2019 ARPA-E Energy Innovation Summit is officially in the books. The Summit opened with welcome remarks from ARPA-E Acting Director Chanette Armstrong, who welcomed attendees, and introduced Senior Advisor to the Undersecretary for Science Lane Genatowski. Lane discussed ARPA-E’s impact on America’s energy landscape over the last decade, highlighting some of the agency’s awardees. Lane was followed by a welcome video from Energy Secretary Rick Perry. On our mainstage, Day 1 kicked off with General Paul J. Selva, Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff…

The 2019 ARPA-E Summit app is a great tool to enhance your Summit experience. The app will provide the most up-to-date agenda with real-time updates and notifications, as well as speaker biographies, panel descriptions, Showcase participant profiles, and more. For the 2019 Summit, a fold-out pocket guide will be available with a map of the Technology Showcase floor and at-a-glance agenda information, and all the important attendee and exhibitor details and networking tools will be on the app! All registered attendees are encouraged to download and use the app to stay in the…

The annual ARPA-E Energy Innovation Summit is ARPA-E’s yearly conference and technology showcase that brings together experts and industry professionals from around the energy community to connect and think about America’s energy challenges in innovative ways. The Summit features high-level speakers, panel discussions, and breakout sessions spanning energy topics, and draws an international crowd of over a thousand attendees every year to see first-hand the latest in energy innovation technology.  One of the most popular parts of the yearly Summit is ARPA-E’s Technology Showcase,…

Dr. David Babson currently serves as a Program Director at ARPA-E, where he focuses on bioenergy, agricultural systems innovation, and carbon management. Prior to joining ARPA-E, Dr. Babson served as a Senior Advisor in the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Office of the Chief Scientist, a Technology Manager in DOE’s Bioenergy Technologies Office, and a Senior Fuels Engineer at the Union of Concerned Scientists. We recently sat down with Dr. Babson to discuss how he became interested in energy, his journey serving in various roles across the federal government, and the future of…

In July, ARPA-E will head west and bring the 10th ARPA-E Energy Innovation Summit to Colorado. This annual conference and technology showcase convenes some of America’s best minds in business, academia, and government to focus on new and innovative ways to conquer America’s energy challenges. The Summit offers a unique, three-day program designed to enable transformational energy ideas. This year’s milestone event will recognize ARPA-E’s first decade of making ideas into reality, at the brand new Gaylord Rockies Resort and Conference Center, located outside Denver. There, from July 8-…

On April 4, the Bipartisan Policy Center (BPC), in partnership with the National Venture Capital Association, hosted the 2019 ARPA-E Innovation Showcase on the Hill. BPC invited six ARPA-E teams to display their respective technologies for congressional staff members, industry stakeholders, and Department of Energy leaders. Approximately 140 people attended the event in the Rayburn House Office Building to interact with ARPA-E teams, see first-hand the technologies they are developing, and network with other attendees. The Showcase is usually held in concert with ARPA‑E’s Energy Innovation…