The Grid Optimization (GO) Competition—managed by ARPA‑E—is a series of challenges aimed at developing software management solutions to address challenging power grid problems. The competition’s intent is to create a more reliable, resilient and secure American electricity grid.  The GO Competition began with Challenge 1, which tasked participating teams to find solutions to a security constrained optimal power flow (SCOPF) problem. Challenge 2 expands upon the SCOPF problem posed in Challenge 1 by adding new features including transmission line switching, adjustable…

On August 17, 2021, a New York Times article proclaimed a fusion energy release of 1.3 megajoules from 1.9 megajoules of incident laser energy, achieved at the National Ignition Facility (NIF) at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. The announcement of such a significant physics result rocked the fusion world, renewing discussions on R&D to enable commercially viable embodiments of laser-driven inertial confinement fusion (ICF). While the NIF result equals the decades-old record tokamak scientific…

ARPA-E has kicked off a 3-year, $38M research program called REPAIR (Rapid Encapsulation of Pipelines Avoiding Intensive Replacement) to rehabilitate cast iron, wrought iron, and bare steel natural gas distribution pipes. The goal of the program is to use robots to create a new pipe inside the old pipe. For the program to be successful, the new pipe must meet utilities and regulatory agencies’ requirements, have a minimum life of 50 years, and possess sufficient material properties to operate throughout its service life without relying on the exterior pipe. Considering that gas utilities have…

Working to find outside-the-box solutions that address existing limitations of energy technologies is a unifying goal among many ARPA-E programs. A core aspect of our mission is to look at how we can develop new materials, new processes, and new technologies to solve complex problems, with a particular focus on decreasing carbon emissions across a range of energy applications. One such space that ARPA-E identified for impact back in 2016 was the development of manufacturing low-carbon, renewable liquid fuels that are cost and performance competitive with existing petroleum-based fuels.…

It’s July, and it being the middle of Summer means temperatures are rising and Americans across the country are doing their best to manage the heat in different ways. While people in business and residential spaces seek to keep temperatures as cool and comfortable as possible and electricity costs low (check out this throwback blog about some ARPA-E projects working to do just that), managing heat and thermal energy is also extremely important in almost every aspect of energy technology development. Heat itself - or more specifically thermal energy - is involved in over 90% of all energy…

Nearly every year – we took a little break in 2020 –  ARPA-E’s Energy Innovation Summit gathers participants from across the country and around the world to meet and discuss some of the most pressing issues in energy technology development. The Summit’s Main Stage program features high-level speakers and thought leaders, including Cabinet Secretaries, CEOs, and entrepreneurs working to design the energy systems and technologies of the future. The Summit’s popular Technology Showcase features presentations, displays, and interactive booths from ARPA-E performers who show off the cutting…

Update: October 19, 2021 ESS began trading publicly on the New York Stock Exchange on October 11, 2021. ESS’ (NYSE: GWH) batteries provide a new tool for decarbonizing the grid and further ARPA-E's mission of changing what's possible in how we generate, use, and store energy. For a look back at ESS’ time as an ARPA-E project, check out the original blog below and watch the video we recorded with them in 2017. Long Duration Storage with ESS, Inc. On May 7, 2021, ESS Inc. (ESS) announced that it had entered into a definitive agreement for a business combination…

This May 24, 2021, ARPA-E will kick off the 11th ARPA-E Energy Innovation Summit, with this year’s Summit taking on a new all-virtual format! While things are going to look different this year in the new online format, the 2021 Summit will still feature all the signature programming that attendees are familiar with from years past. In addition to switching to an all-online format, this year we’ve expanded the Summit agenda to four days (up from our normal three) providing attendees with an additional day of energy innovation action at the 2021 Summit! Every year, the Summit convenes…

Every year on April 22, we celebrate Earth Day; promoting environmental enthusiasm and efforts to protect our planet’s precious natural resources. As part of ARPA-E’s authorizing authority that established the agency within the Department of Energy, we’re tasked to overcome long-term and high-risk technological barriers in the development of transformative science and technology solutions to address the energy and environmental missions of the Department. Because of this, our projects and programs focus on developing technologies that have the potential to radically improve U.S. economic…

At ARPA-E, we develop energy technologies that can enhance the economic and energy security of the United States through 5 core goals: 1. reducing imports of energy from foreign sources 2. reducing energy-related emissions, including greenhouse gases 3. improving the energy efficiency of all economic sectors 4. providing transformative solutions to improve the management, clean-up, and disposal of radioactive waste and spent nuclear fuel; and 5. improving the resilience, reliability, and security of infrastructure to produce, deliver, and store energy By working towards these 5…