The 2013 ARPA-E Energy Innovation Summit concluded Wednesday with a final networking session in the Technology Showcase, providing a final opportunity for exhibitors and attendees to find future contributors and collaborators for research and build relationships with entrepreneurs and investors for future stages of funding. Attendees of this year’s Technology Showcase saw the leading edge of the energy technology industry. Among the 250 exhibitors at the Showcase were ARPA-E innovators, including the following award-winning companies: CREE developed a silicon carbide transistor used to…

Our nation’s modern electric grid is limited in its ability to store excess energy for on-demand power. As a result, electricity must be generated on a constant basis to perfectly match demand. Grid-scale storage technologies have the potential to shift this dynamic, revolutionizing how our grid uses and distributes energy. Reliable, high-performing storage technologies could provide a considerable amount of power on very short demand, lowering costs to utilities and consumers alike. These powerful technologies would enable renewable sources of energy – often limited by their…

Energy crops are plants that can be used to make biofuels. The ideal crop can be grown quickly and densely with as little input as possible from farmers on land that’s otherwise unusable by agrarians. Once harvested, these energy crops can be converted into biofuel through various processes. Research into energy crops and advanced biofuels, like one particular project funded by ARPA-E, contributes to U.S. energy independence, creates jobs, and directly applies to increasing food crops production. In late 2009, ARPA-E awarded Ceres, an energy crop company, $5 million to field test high-…

A program funded by the Department of Defense (DoD) in partnership with the Advanced Research Projects Agency–Energy (ARPA-E) is advancing the development of technologies that will help keep troops cool, while reducing the military’s current need for fuel. Keeping our soldiers cool is critical for the extreme conditions where they operate, but an estimated 25 percent of fuel used by Marines in Afghanistan went to heating and cooling structures -- creating an added security risk for troops delivering fuel to the front lines. To help decrease military fuel use, the ARPA-E BEETIT program (…

Five ARPA-E project teams were selected to participate in the upcoming National Science Foundation (NSF) Innovation Corps, or I-Corps, program that kicks off this week. ARPA-E awardees Michigan State University (OPEN 2009), University of Southern California (GRIDS), Virginia Commonwealth University (REACT), University of Houston (REACT), and Georgia Institute of Technology (IMPACCT) are participating in a trial program framework known as “I-Corps @ ARPA-E,” which was established by a Memorandum of Understanding between the two agencies. "ARPA-E is honored to be the first agency to…

Last Thursday’s Information Technology and Innovation Foundation event, the “New Age of Discovery: Government’s Role in Transformative Innovation,” ended with a surprise when Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) Principal Deputy Director Eric Toone announced funding for 19 new projects in two new program areas. The new programs, Advanced Management and Protection of Energy Storage Devices (AMPED) and Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR), will focus on battery management and storage to advance electric vehicle technologies, help improve the efficiency and reliability of the…

Yesterday, the third annual ARPA-E Energy Innovation Summit kicked off near Washington, D.C. Key players from across the energy ecosystem are joining forces to share ideas on how we can use advanced technologies to address the most critical energy challenges America faces today. The three-day event is filled with workshops, panel discussions, keynote speakers and networking events designed to bring together the top minds in research, business, finance and government. The Summit’s unique combination of leaders makes this an ideal environment for developing energy solutions that will enable…

The United States faces extraordinary challenges in the 21st century, from creating jobs to protecting the environment and reducing our energy dependency, but with strategic and smart investment we can create game-changing new technologies that overcome these challenges. The question is, will the U.S. make the choices necessary to “win the future?” Dr. Arun Majumdar -- the director of our advanced research agency, ARPA-E -- believes we can and should. While speaking at the Energy Disrupter's salon hosted by PopTech last month, Dr. Majumdar highlighted how ARPA-E is investing in projects…

Last week, President Obama told us in his 2011 State of the Union address that “we need to out-innovate the rest of the world”, especially in clean energy technology. As it turns out, energy innovators across the country are already working on doing just that. Hundreds of these energy leaders will be converging at a conference that the Department of Energy’s Advanced Research Projects Agency – Energy (ARPA-E) is hosting one month from now. From February 28 – March 2, ARPA-E and partner organizations will host the second annual ARPA-E Energy Innovation Summit at the Gaylord Convention…