Turning Ideas Into Reality - Projects in Progress VIII

ARPA-E focuses on next-generation energy innovation to create a sustainable energy future. The agency provides R&D support to businesses, universities, and national labs to develop technologies that could fundamentally change the way we access, use, and store energy. Since 2009, ARPA-E has provided approximately $2 billion in support to more than 800 energy technology projects. In January, we introduced a new series to highlight the transformational technology our project teams are developing across the energy portfolio. About 13% of all energy produced in the United States today is…


Raising the Bar: 2020 at ARPA-E

For an agency mandated to look to the future – often far into the future – please allow a quick glance into this year so far.  Since the beginning of our fiscal year the agency which you know so well has continued to do what it does in extraordinary fashion – raise the bar through the efforts of all.  In this time, we have launched new programs, made changes in our recruiting and contracting approaches, had a number of successes in follow-on-funding and employed new approach to how we help tech move to market.  Allow me to briefly update you on some changes at the agency…


Primus Power’s EnergyPod for zinc-based, rechargeable liquid flow battery (Image from Primus Power)
Turning Ideas Into Reality - Projects in Progress VII

ARPA-E focuses on next-generation energy innovation to create a sustainable energy future. The agency provides R&D support to businesses, universities, and national labs to develop technologies that could fundamentally change the way we access, use, and store energy. Since 2009, ARPA-E has provided approximately $2 billion in support to more than 800 energy technology projects. In January, we introduced a new series to highlight the transformational technology our project teams are developing across the energy portfolio. The U.S. electric grid has limited ability to store excess energy…


the GCI
Turning Ideas Into Reality - Projects in Progress VI

ARPA-E focuses on next-generation energy innovation to create a sustainable energy future. The agency provides R&D support to businesses, universities, and national labs to develop technologies that could fundamentally change the way we access, use, and store energy. Since 2009, ARPA-E has provided approximately $2 billion in support to more than 800 energy technology projects. In January, we introduced a new series to highlight the transformational technology our project teams are developing across the energy portfolio. Part of ARPA-E’s mission is to overcome long-term and high-risk…


LanzaTech’s facilities
Turning Ideas Into Reality - Projects in Progress V

ARPA-E focuses on next-generation energy innovation to create a sustainable energy future. The agency provides R&D support to businesses, universities, and national labs to develop technologies that could fundamentally change the way we access, use, and store energy. Since 2009, ARPA-E has provided over $2 billion in support to more than 800 energy technology projects. In January, we introduced a new blog series to highlight the transformational technology our project teams are developing across the energy portfolio. In this installment, we look at how the LanzaTech and Pacific…


His ULTIMATE Materials: Dr. Zak Fang and the Future of Gas Turbine Tech

ARPA-E announced up to $28 million in funding for a new program, ULtrahigh Temperature Impervious Materials Advancing Turbine Efficiency (ULTIMATE), in April 2020. The ULTIMATE program will fund projects to develop and demonstrate materials that can operate in the high temperature and high stress environment of a gas-turbine blade. Innovative technologies launched by the ULTIMATE program will specifically target gas turbine applications in the power generation and aviation industries. ARPA-E Program Director Dr. Zak Fang built the ULTIMATE program from a wealth of experience in advanced…


Ginkgo Bioworks in 2020
Turning Ideas Into Reality - Projects in Progress IV

ARPA-E focuses on next-generation energy innovation to create a sustainable energy future. The agency provides R&D support to businesses, universities, and national labs to develop technologies that could fundamentally change the way we access, use, and store energy. Since 2009, ARPA-E has provided approximately $2 billion in support to more than 800 energy technology projects. In January, we introduced a new series to highlight the transformational technology our project teams are developing across the energy portfolio. The Ginkgo Bioworks and Evolva teams are working to turn biofuel…


 Calling All Data Heads: ARPA-E Funding Opportunity for the Next Wave of Digital Agriculture
Calling All Data Heads: ARPA-E Funding Opportunity for the Next Wave of Digital Agriculture

ARPA-E recently released a funding opportunity, Systems for Monitoring and Analytics for Renewable Transportation Fuels from Agricultural Resources and Management (SMARTFARM), to develop innovative new technologies for measuring emissions from agricultural feedstock production. We sat down with Dr. David Babson, SMARTFARM’s Program Director, to learn about his vision and the technologies of interest for Phase 2 of the program. Visit ARPA-E’s SMARTFARM page to learn more about Phase 1, enter the ARPA-E funding portal to submit an application, or watch a recorded webinar on the topic…


Trash to Treasure: REUSE Creates Feedstock from Plastic Waste - Plastic Water Bottle
Trash to Treasure: REUSE Creates Feedstock from Plastic Waste

ARPA-E recently released a funding opportunity to develop innovative new technologies that would convert waste into fuel feedstock. Please visit ARPA-E’s funding portal to submit an application, read our white paper for more detailed technical information, or watch a recorded webinar on the topic featuring ARPA-E Program Director Jack Lewnard. Today, the U.S. is awash in discarded plastic. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimates that in 2017[1], the country produced 34.8 million metric (MM) tons of municipal solid waste (MSW) plastic. 26.3MM tons of that ended up in…


ARPA-E Blog Max Tuttman Scott Litzelman Why Long-Duration Energy Storage Matters
Why Long-Duration Energy Storage Matters

Long-duration electricity storage (LDES) – storage systems that can discharge for 10 hours or more at their rated power–  have recently gained a lot of attention and continue to be a technology space of interest in energy innovation discussions. The increased interest stems from a growing appreciation and acknowledgement of the need for “firm” low-carbon energy resources to complement variable renewable generators like wind and solar[1], and ARPA-E is actively working to increase storage capacity to help fill this need. LDES is one of the innovations that will help the U.S. achieve a net…