Status: Active
Release Date: 04/26/2016
Project Count: 18

REFUEL

Most liquid fuels used in transportation today are derived from petroleum and burned in internal combustion engines. These energy-dense fuels are currently economical, but they remain partially reliant on imported petroleum and are highly carbon intensive. Alternatives to internal combustion engines, like fuel cells, which convert chemical energy to electricity, have shown promise in vehicle powertrains, but are hindered by inefficiencies in fuel transport and storage. Projects in the Renewable Energy to Fuels Through Utilization of Energy-Dense Liquids (REFUEL) program seek to develop…

Status: Active
Release Date: 04/08/2021
Project Count: 12

REMEDY

REMEDY (Reducing Emissions of Methane Every Day of the Year) is a three-year, $35 million research program to reduce methane emissions from three sources in the oil, gas, and coal value chains: 1) Exhaust from 50,000 natural gas-fired lean-burn engines. These engines are used to drive compressors, generate electricity, and increasingly repower ships.2) The estimated 300,000 flares required for safe operation of oil and gas facilities.3) Coal mine ventilation air methane (VAM) exhausted from 250 operating underground mines. These sources are responsible for at least 10% of U.S. anthropogenic…

Status: Alumni
Release Date: 03/15/2013
Project Count: 16

REMOTE

The projects that comprise ARPA-E’s REMOTE program, short for “Reducing Emissions using Methanotrophic Organisms for Transportation Energy,” seek to enable highly efficient biological conversion of methane to liquid fuels for small-scale deployment. Specifically REMOTE focuses on improving the energy efficiency and carbon yield of biological routes from methane to a useable form for fuel synthesis while also examining high-productivity methane conversion processes and bioreactor technologies.

Status: Active
Release Date: 02/18/2020
Project Count: 10

REPAIR

Cast iron, wrought iron, and bare steel natural gas distribution pipes—legacy pipes—make up 3% of the nearly 2 million miles of utility pipes in use, but account for a disproportionate number of gas leaks and pipe failures compared to more recently replaced infrastructure. REPAIR seeks to reduce natural gas leaks from these pipes by developing a suite of technologies to enable the automated construction of new pipe inside existing pipe. The new pipe must meet utilities’ and regulatory agencies’ requirements, have a minimum life of 50 years, and have sufficient material properties to operate…

Status: Active
Release Date: 04/12/2016
Project Count: 10

ROOTS

America’s vast terrestrial resources (over 520 million hectares of crop, range and forestland) are strategic assets essential for sustainable economic growth. While advances in technology have resulted in a ten-fold increase in crop productivity over the past hundred years, soil quality has declined, incurring a soil carbon debt equivalent to 65 parts per million (ppm) of atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2). The soil carbon debt also increases the need for costly nitrogen fertilizer, which has become the primary source of nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions, a greenhouse gas. The soil carbon debt also…

Status: Active
Release Date: 06/22/2023
Project Count: 13

ROSIE

The iron and steel industry accounts for around 7% of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and 11% of global carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. By 2050, global iron and steel demand is projected to rise as much as 40%. Already, between 2000 and 2022, global steel production more than doubled to 1,840 million tonnes (Mt). ROSIE aims to develop new technology pathways to enable zero direct process emissions in ironmaking (i.e., zero-process-emission ironmaking) and ultra-low life cycle emissions for steelmaking at scale. The program will have two categories: A and B. Projects in Category A…

Status: Active
Release Date: 02/16/2023
Project Count: 11

SEA-CO2

The Sensing Exports of Anthropogenic Carbon through Ocean Observation (SEA-CO2) program seeks to accelerate the development of the marine carbon dioxide removal (mCDR) carbon capture industry through the advancement of scalable Measurement, Reporting and Validation (MRV) technologies. SEA-CO2 seeks to develop new approaches to chemical oceanographic sensing, modeling, and data characterization by developing: marine carbon sensor technologies operating across spatial and temporal scales broad enough to sufficiently understand mCDR effects on the ocean carbon cycle, quantify…

Status: Alumni
Release Date: 01/18/2017
Project Count: 17

SENSOR

The projects of ARPA-E’s SENSOR (Saving Energy Nationwide in Structures with Occupancy Recognition) program will develop user-transparent sensor systems that accurately quantify human presence to dramatically reduce energy use in commercial and residential buildings. SENSOR projects will focus on one or more of four areas: 1) human occupancy sensors for residential use, 2) occupant-counting sensors for commercial buildings, 3) CO2 sensors to enable the use of variable building ventilation based on data from occupant-counting sensors, and 4) real-world testing and energy savings validation of…

Status: Active
Release Date: 04/09/2020
Project Count: 11

SHARKS

SHARKS seeks to develop new technical pathways to design economically competitive Hydrokinetic Turbines (HKT) for tidal and riverine currents. These renewable energy resources are highly reliable, forecastable, and typically co-located with demand centers. HKTs are suited for both micro-grids that supply energy to remote communities without grid connections and utility-scale grid-connected applications. Despite these attractive qualities, current HKTs are too expensive for deployment due to technical challenges and harsh operational environments. This program seeks to fund new holistic HKT…

Status: Alumni
Release Date: 10/07/2015
Project Count: 14

SHIELD

The SHIELD Program, short for “Single-Pane Highly Insulating Efficient Lucid Designs,” aims to develop innovative materials that will improve the energy efficiency of existing single-pane windows in commercial and residential buildings. Technologies created through the SHIELD program seek to cut in half the amount of heat lost through single-pane windows in cold weather. These materials would improve insulation, reduce cold weather condensation, and enhance occupant comfort. The technologies could also produce secondary benefits, such as improved soundproofing, that will make retrofits more…

Status: Active
Release Date: 12/18/2019
Project Count: 6

SMARTFARM

The SMARTFARM program’s objective is to bridge the data gap in the biofuel supply chain by funding technologies that can quantify feedstock-related emissions at the field-level and enable new market incentives for efficiency in feedstock production and carbon management. The value of such technologies lies in their ability to reliably, accurately (i.e., low uncertainty), and cost-effectively quantify feedstock production life cycle emissions (in g CO2e/acre) at the field level (i.e., scalable to >80 acres).The SMARTFARM program is structured in two initial phases:1. Phase 1 will establish…

Status: Alumni
Release Date: 04/20/2011
Project Count: 7

Solar ADEPT

The projects that make up ARPA-E's Solar ADEPT program, short for "Solar Agile Delivery of Electrical Power Technology," aim to improve the performance of photovoltaic (PV) solar energy systems, which convert the sun's rays into electricity. Solar ADEPT projects are integrating advanced electrical components into PV systems to make the process of converting solar energy to electricity more efficient.

Status: Active
Release Date: 11/07/2023
Project Count: 2

SPARKS

The SPARKS program—short for Spurring Projects to Advance energy Research and Knowledge Swiftly—provides a rolling opportunity for the rapid support of early-stage applied research to explore innovative new concepts with the potential for transformational and disruptive changes in energy technology. SPARKS awards are intended to be flexible and may take the form of analyses or exploratory research that provides ARPA-E with useful information for the subsequent development of focused technology programs. Awards under the SPARKS program may also support proof-of-concept research to develop a…

Status: Alumni
Release Date: 06/11/2013
Project Count: 14

SWITCHES

The projects in ARPA-E's SWITCHES program, which is short for “Strategies for Wide-Bandgap, Inexpensive Transistors for Controlling High-Efficiency Systems,” are focused on developing next-generation power switching devices that could dramatically improve energy efficiency in a wide range of applications, including new lighting technologies, computer power supplies, industrial motor drives, and automobiles. SWITCHES projects aim to find innovative new wide-bandgap semiconductor materials, device architectures, and device fabrication processes that will enable increased switching frequency…

Status: Active
Release Date: 07/11/2024
Project Count: 0

TEOSYNTE

TEOSYNTE aims to lower harmful nitrous oxide emissions from the cultivation of corn and sorghum used for U.S. ethanol production by 50%. The program focuses on plant and microbial bio-design strategies that reduce the application of synthetic nitrogen fertilizer on corn and sorghum fields, while maintaining crop yields.Synthetic nitrogen fertilizer, which uses natural gas as a feedstock, is typically overapplied in present-day farming practices to account for plant uptake and loss of nitrogen to the environment. Current approaches to managing nitrogen fertilizer and reducing nitrous oxide…

Status: Alumni
Release Date: 10/01/2014
Project Count: 6

TERRA

The TERRA program is facilitating improvement of advanced biofuel crops, specifically energy sorghum, by developing and integrating cutting-edge remote sensing platforms, complex data analytics tools, and high-throughput plant breeding technologies. Project teams are constructing automated systems to accurately measure and analyze crop growth in the field, thoroughly characterizing genetic potential and creating algorithms for selecting the best plants to reproduce. These innovations will accelerate domestic production of sustainable, renewable, and affordable liquid transportation fuels. The…

Status: Alumni
Release Date: 11/10/2014
Project Count: 5

TRANSNET

The projects in ARPA-E’s Traveler Response Architecture using Novel Signaling for Network Efficiency in Transportation (TRANSNET) program aim to minimize energy consumption in personal transportation, without having to improve current infrastructure or vehicle efficiency. TRANSNET project teams are developing new network control architectures, coupled with incentive strategies, to encourage individual travelers to take specific energy-relevant actions. These actions could, for example, contribute to reductions in miles traveled and increased occupancy rates for all modes. Project teams will…

Status: Active
Release Date: 04/21/2020
Project Count: 20

ULTIMATE

The ULTIMATE program targets gas turbine applications in the power generation and aviation industries. ULTIMATE aims to develop ultrahigh temperature materials for gas turbines, enabling them to operate continuously at 1300 °C (2372 °F) in a stand-alone material test environment—or with coatings, enabling gas turbine inlet temperatures of 1800 °C (3272 °F) or higher. The successful materials must be able to withstand not only the highest temperature in a turbine but also the extreme stresses imposed on turbine blades. This program will concurrently develop manufacturing processes for turbine…

Status: Active
Release Date: 02/24/2023
Project Count: 16

ULTRAFAST

The Unlocking Lasting Transformative Resiliency Advances by Faster Actuation of power Semiconductor Technologies (ULTRAFAST) program seeks to develop and demonstrate next-generation ultra-fast power semiconductors for advanced system-level power electronics converters that would bring significant improvements in reliability, resiliency, and control of the power grid. Specifically, ULTRAFAST projects will create faster-switching higher-rated device and power module technologies that enable realization of transformative power management, protection, and control not only for the grid, but also…

Status: Active
Release Date: 05/22/2024
Project Count: 0

Vision OPEN 2024

Since ARPA-E’s inception, the OPEN program has served as an opportunity to advance transformative energy breakthroughs in critical areas that fall outside the scope of the agency’s focused technology programs. Unlike OPEN programs in the past, Vision OPEN challenges the research community to develop groundbreaking technologies aligned with three specific goals to enable a future energy landscape that is dramatically different than today’s.Vision OPEN’s three goals include: (1) greenhouse gas free abundant primary energy, (2) an intermodal energy superhighway…