Blog Posts
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 get, 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. Check out these projects turning ideas into reality.
Blog Posts
ARPA-E strives for excellence in both program development and program integration, to encourage new discussions and new perspectives. This approach was on display at the recent ARPA-E “Ocean Week,” held from January 28-30, in Washington. This three-day voyage into ARPA-E’s ocean-focused programs consisted of three events: The Macroalgae Research Inspiring Novel Energy Resources (MARINER) Program Review, the Aerodynamic Turbines Lighter and Afloat with Nautical Technologies and Integrated Servo-control (ATLANTIS) Program Kickoff, and a Submarine Hydrokinetic Industry Day.
Blog Posts
Newest ARPA-E Program Director Dr. Robert (Bob) J. Ledoux’s professional experience ranges from professor to entrepreneur and his patents from nonintrusive cargo inspection to medical technologies. Recently we had a chance to visit with Dr. Ledoux to discuss how he will bring his experience to bear to further ARPA-E’s mission.
Press Releases
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced $29 million in funding for 14 projects as part of the Galvanizing Advances in Market-aligned fusion for an Overabundance of Watts (GAMOW) program, which is jointly sponsored by the Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) and the Office of Science–Fusion Energy Sciences (SC-FES).
Slick Sheet: Project
Pennsylvania State University is developing a novel manufacturing process that prints integrated sensors into complex systems such as gas turbine hot section parts for real time monitoring. Incorporating these durable, integrated sensors into the geometry would provide critical knowledge of key operating conditions such as temperature of key components and their thermal heat fluxes. These sensors enable the unique possibility to gain direct knowledge of critical parameters currently inferred with only varying degrees of success.
Slick Sheet: Project
Zap Energy will advance the fusion performance of the sheared-flow stabilized (SFS) Z-pinch fusion concept. While the simplicity of the Z-pinch is attractive, it has been plagued by plasma instabilities. Like traditional Z-pinch approaches, the SFS Z-pinch drives electrical current through a plasma to create magnetic fields that compress and heat the plasma toward fusion conditions.
Slick Sheet: Project
Princeton Fusion Systems seeks to develop technologies to enable future commercial fusion power. The team’s PFRC concept is a small, clean, and portable design based on a field-reversed-configuration plasma. The concept uses an innovative method called odd-parity rotating-magnetic-field (RMF) heating to drive electrical current and heat plasma to fusion temperatures. Odd-parity heating holds the potential to heat ions and electrons to fusion-relevant temperatures in a stable, sustained plasma, while maintaining good energy confinement.