Status: ALUMNI
State: CA
Project Term: 10/31/2017 - 12/31/2018
Program: IDEAS
Award: $450,500

Tandem PV

Tandem PV will develop and test an advanced processing tool that integrates high-throughput solution deposition and precise drying to deposit large-area perovskite thin films of exceptional optical and electronic quality. Production of these films on large areas is a critical step towards perovskite-Si tandem PV cells that can achieve significantly higher efficiency than traditional Si PV cells. Small-scale perovskite PV device fabrication typically occurs using a spin-coating process, but the process is not easily scalable. The ability to deposit perovskite PV devices with a large-scale…

Status: CANCELLED
State: CO
Project Term: 08/06/2015 - 08/05/2016
Program: ARID
Award: $629,520

TDA Research

TDA Research will develop a water recovery system that extracts and condenses 64% of the water vapor produced by the gas turbine in a natural gas combined cycle’s (NGCC) power plant and stores this water for use in evaporative cooling. The system will provide supplemental cooling to NGCC power plants in which the combustion process – burning the natural gas to produce heat – produces a significant quantity of water vapor that is typically discharged to the atmosphere. First, a direct-contact condensation cycle will recover 27% of water vapor from the flue gas. To increase the amount of water…

Status: ALUMNI
State: CA
Project Term: 10/01/2010 - 07/31/2013
Program: ADEPT
Award: $3,436,541

Teledyne Scientific & Imaging

Teledyne Scientific & Imaging is developing cost-effective power drivers for energy-efficient LED lights that fit on a compact chip. These power drivers are important because they transmit power throughout the LED device. Traditional LED driver components waste energy and don’t last as long as the LED itself. They are also large and bulky, so they must be assembled onto a circuit board separately which increases the overall manufacturing cost of the LED light. Teledyne is shrinking the size and improving the efficiency of its LED driver components by using thin layers of an iron magnetic…

Status: ALUMNI
State: CA
Project Term: 10/01/2010 - 04/19/2013
Program: OPEN 2009
Award: $968,943

Teledyne Scientific & Imaging

Teledyne is developing a liquid prism panel that tracks the position of the sun to help efficiently concentrate its light onto a solar cell to produce power. Typically, solar tracking devices have bulky and expensive mechanical moving parts that require a lot of power and are often unreliable. Teledyne's liquid prism panel has no bulky and heavy supporting parts—instead it relies on electrowetting. Electrowetting is a process where an electric field is applied to the liquid to control the angle at which it meets the sunlight above and to control the angle of the sunlight to the focusing lens—…

Status: ALUMNI
State: CA
Project Term: 02/04/2013 - 01/31/2014
Program: OPEN 2012
Award: $540,040

Teledyne Scientific & Imaging

Teledyne Scientific & Imaging is developing a water-based, potassium-ion flow battery for low-cost stationary energy storage. Flow batteries store chemical energy in external tanks instead of within the battery container. This allows for cost-effective scalability because adding storage capacity is as simple as expanding the tank. Teledyne is increasing the energy and power density of their battery by 2-5 times compared to today’s state-of-the-art vanadium flow battery. Their safe, scalable, low-cost energy storage technology would facilitate more widespread adoption and deployment of…

Status: ACTIVE
State: TN
Project Term: 07/12/2021 - 06/12/2024
Program: REEACH
Award: $1,440,282

Tennessee Technological University

Electric propulsion for air vehicles requires a high-power density and high-efficiency electric storage and power generation system that can operate at 35,000 feet in altitude to meet economic and environmental viability. Tennessee Technological University will combine a stack comprised of tubular Solid Oxide Fuel Cells (SOFCs) with a gas turbine combustor to address challenges faced in all electric propulsion-based aviation. The combined SOFC-combustor concept maximizes power density and efficiency while minimizing system complexity, weight, and cost. By eliminating components and…

Status: ACTIVE
State: WA
Project Term: 08/05/2022 - 11/04/2025
Program: ONWARDS
Award: $8,550,000

TerraPower

Chloride salts possess different levels of volatility at high temperatures, which can be used in targeted separations. TerraPower proposes to use a chloride-based volatility (CBV) process to separate uranium from used nuclear fuel (UNF), and investigate tunable CBV parameters to achieve a high degree of uranium recovery and thereby reduce waste volumes. Work will begin with surrogate oxide and molten salt used nuclear fuels and subsequently progress to demonstration with actual oxide UNF. CBV can be applied to metallic-, oxide-, and salt-based reactor fuels. It may be possible to reduce…

Status: ALUMNI
State: SC
Project Term: 03/31/2017 - 06/30/2018
Program: IDEAS
Award: $500,000

Tetramer Technologies

Tetramer Technologies will develop an anion exchange membrane (AEM) as an alternative to proton exchange membranes (PEM) for use in fuel cells and electrolyzers. The team will test a newly developed AEM for stability in alkaline conditions at a temperature of 80°C, enhanced ion conductivity, controlled membrane swelling, and other required properties. Industry has not yet achieved a cost-effective, commercially viable AEM with long-term chemical and physical stability. If such AEMs could be developed, then AEM-fuel cells could use inexpensive, non-precious metal catalysts, as opposed to…

Status: ALUMNI
State: TX
Project Term: 04/13/2016 - 08/31/2019
Program: OPEN 2015
Award: $4,600,000

Texas A&M Agrilife Research

Texas A&M AgriLife Research will develop ground penetrating radar (GPR) antenna arrays for 3D root and soil organic carbon imaging and quantification. Visualization of root systems with one mm resolution in soils could enable breeders to select climate-resilient bioenergy crops that provide higher yields, require fewer inputs, improve soil health, and promote carbon sequestration. Texas A&M will create a GPR system that will collect real-time measurements using a deployable robotic platform. The GPR system will collect data comparing annual energy sorghum to perennial species, which…

Status: ALUMNI
State: TX
Project Term: 02/15/2012 - 03/06/2017
Program: PETRO
Award: $4,877,583

Texas A&M Agrilife Research

Texas A&M Agrilife Research is addressing one of the major inefficiencies in photosynthesis, the process by which plants convert sunlight into energy. Texas A&M Agrilife Research is targeting the most wasteful step in photosynthesis by redirecting a waste byproduct into a new pathway that will create terpenes—energy-dense fuel molecules that can be converted into jet or diesel fuel. This strategy will be first applied to tobacco to demonstrate more efficient terpene production in the leaf. If successful in tobacco, the approach will be translated into the high biomass plant Arundo…

Status: ACTIVE
State: TX
Project Term: 06/30/2017 - 06/29/2024
Program: ROOTS
Award: $9,497,867

Texas A&M AgriLife Research

Texas A&M AgriLife Research will develop low field magnetic resonance imaging (LF-MRI) instrumentation that can image intact soil-root systems. The system will measure root biomass, architecture, 3D mass distribution, and growth rate, and could be used for selection of ideal plant characteristics based on these root metrics. It will also have the ability to three-dimensionally image soil water content, a key property that drives root growth and exploration. Operating much like a MRI used in a medical setting, the system can function in the field without damaging plants, unlike traditional…

Status: ALUMNI
State: TX
Project Term: 07/01/2010 - 09/30/2012
Program: IMPACCT
Award: $972,859

Texas A&M University

A team led by three professors at Texas A&M University is developing a subset of metal organic frameworks that respond to stimuli such as small changes in temperature to trap CO2 and then release it for storage. These frameworks are a promising class of materials for carbon capture applications because their structure and chemistry can be controlled with great precision. Because the changes in temperature required to trap and release CO2 in Texas A&M's frameworks are much smaller than in other carbon capture approaches, the amount of energy or stimulus that has to be diverted from…

Status: ALUMNI
State: TX
Project Term: 09/17/2012 - 12/31/2014
Program: MOVE
Award: $2,631,351

Texas A&M University

Texas A&M University is developing a highly adsorbent material for use in on-board natural gas storage tanks that could drastically increase the volumetric energy density of methane, which makes up 95% of natural gas. Today's best tanks do not optimize their natural gas storage capacity and add too much to the sticker price of natural gas vehicles to make them viable options for most consumers. Texas A&M University will synthesize low-cost materials that adsorb high volumes of natural gas and increase the storage capacity of the tanks. This design could result in a natural gas storage…

Status: ALUMNI
State: TX
Project Term: 08/27/2018 - 02/26/2022
Program: SENSOR
Award: $1,000,000

Texas A&M University

Texas A&M University will develop an advanced, low-cost occupancy detection solution for residential homes. Their system, called SLEEPIR, is based on pyroelectric infrared sensors (PIR) a popular choice for occupancy detection and activity tracking due to their low cost, low energy consumption, large detection range, and wide field of view. However, traditional PIR sensors can only detect individuals in motion. The team proposes a next-generation PIR sensor that is able to detect non-moving heat sources and provide quantitative information on movement. Their innovation relies on the use…

Status: ALUMNI
State: TX
Project Term: 10/01/2015 - 10/31/2018
Program: TERRA
Award: $3,212,999

Texas A&M University

Texas A&M University, along with Carnegie Melon University (CMU), will develop a rugged robotic system to measure characteristics of sorghum in the field. Traditionally this type of data collection is performed manually and often can only be collected when the crop is harvested. The team from CMU will create an automated gantry system with a plunging sensor arm to characterize individual plants in the field. The sensor arm of the gantry system allows the team to collect data not only from above, but to descend into the canopy and take measurements within. The team will utilize machine…

Status: ALUMNI
State: TX
Project Term: 09/25/2020 - 06/30/2023
Program: SENSOR
Award: $900,812

Texas A&M University

The Texas A&M University team will develop a testing protocol and simulation suite for assessing the performance of advanced occupancy sensors. The testing protocol and simulation suite will address eight levels of building/occupant scenario diversity: 1) occupant profile, 2) building type and floor plan, 3) sensor type, 4) HVAC controls and modes (e.g., temperature and/or ventilation setback), 5) functional testing diversity, 6) deployment diversity (e.g., sensor location), 7) software diversity (e.g., computation at local vs. hub), and 8) diagnostic diversity (e.g., interpret missing…

Status: ACTIVE
State: TX
Project Term: 02/08/2021 - 08/07/2024
Program: ASCEND
Award: $4,935,752

Texas A&M University

Texas A&M will focus on the design, fabrication, and testing of a lightweight and ultra-efficient electric powertrain for aircraft propulsion to reduce the energy costs and emissions of aviation. The team’s technology will reach peak power density and efficiency via (1) an axial flux motor with lightweight carbon fiber reinforced structural material, (2) a gallium nitride multilevel inverter, (3) a thermally conductive nanocomposite electrical insulation, and (4) a two-phase microchannel thermal management system with zeolite thermal energy storage to absorb the excess heat generated…

Status: ALUMNI
State: TX
Project Term: 04/26/2021 - 07/25/2023
Program: ULTIMATE
Award: $1,200,000

Texas A&M University

Increasing the efficiency of power generation and air transportation can only be achieved by increasing the temperature at which generation/propulsion turbines operate. The emerging Refractory High Entropy Alloys (RHEAs) can enable much higher operating temperatures than the state-of-the-art. Identifying the alloys' chemistry is difficult due to the vastness of the RHEA chemical space. BIRDSHOT, however, proposes an interdisciplinary framework combining physics-based modeling, machine learning, and artificial intelligence as well as high-throughput synthesis and characterization platforms…

Status: ACTIVE
State: TX
Project Term: 08/15/2022 - 08/14/2025
Program: REMEDY
Award: $2,824,815

Texas A&M University

Texas Engineering Experiment Station (TEES) seeks to reduce methane emissions from compressor station natural gas (NG) engines by improving lean-burn operation, thereby reducing exhaust methane and carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions and maintaining low-criteria pollutant emissions. The project team will develop a nanosecond non-thermal plasma-based ignition system capable of generating radicals, ions, and highly reactive intermediate species that result in rapid self-sustaining combustion, and a cyclic combustion control strategy that predicts and mitigates partial-fire and misfire cycles. The…

Status: ACTIVE
State: TX
Project Term: 09/30/2022 - 09/29/2024
Program: HESTIA
Award: $3,742,496

Texas A&M University

Texas A&M will develop novel resilient net-carbon-negative building designs for residential and potentially commercial applications via large-scale 3D printing using hempcrete, a lightweight material made of the hemp plant’s woody core mixed with a lime-based binder. The team will devise (1) printable, sustainable, and durable hempcrete mix designs, (2) code-compliant building designs in terms of structural and energy performance, and (3) a novel, risk-based building-level life cycle analysis that will account for environmental impacts under service conditions and from hazard-induced…

Status: ALUMNI
State: TX
Project Term: 03/01/2012 - 06/30/2015
Program: GENI
Award: $4,878,173

Texas Engineering Experiment Station (TEES)

Texas Engineering Experiment Station (TEES) is using topology control as a mechanism to improve system operations and manage disruptions within the electric grid. The grid is subject to interruption from cascading faults caused by extreme operating conditions, malicious external attacks, and intermittent electricity generation from renewable energy sources. The Robust Adaptive Topology Control (RATC) system is capable of detecting, classifying, and responding to grid disturbances by reconfiguring the grid in order to maintain economically efficient operations while guaranteeing…

Status: ALUMNI
State: TX
Project Term: 02/01/2016 - 12/31/2018
Program: MOSAIC
Award: $991,898

Texas Engineering Experiment Station (TEES)

Texas Engineering Experiment Station (TEES) and their partners will build a micro-CPV system that incorporates waveguide technology. A waveguide concentrates and directs light to a specific point. TEES's system uses a grid of waveguides to concentrate sunlight onto a set of coupling elements which employ a 45 degree turning mirror to further concentrate the light and increase the efficiency of the system. Each coupling element is oriented to direct its specific beam of light towards high-efficiency, multi-junction solar cells. Further system efficiency is gained by capturing diffuse light…

Status: ALUMNI
State: TX
Project Term: 04/01/2013 - 09/30/2015
Program: OPEN 2012
Award: $1,244,006

Texas Engineering Experiment Station (TEES)

Texas Engineering Experiment Station (TEES) is developing a system to generate electricity from low-temperature waste heat streams. Conventional waste heat recovery technology is proficient at harnessing energy from waste heat streams that are at a much higher temperature than ambient air. However, existing technology has not been developed to address lower temperature differences. The proposed system cycles between heating and cooling a metal hydride to produce a flow of pressurized hydrogen. This hydrogen flow is then used to generate electricity via a turbine generator. TEES's system…

Status: ALUMNI
State: TX
Project Term: 06/18/2018 - 12/15/2019
Program: IDEAS
Award: $499,808

Texas Tech University

Texas Tech University will develop a new type of neutron detector for geothermal and well logging systems. The technology aims to efficiently expand exploration for oil, gas, and geothermal resources into areas with more extreme conditions. Texas Tech seeks to produce solid-state thermal neutron detectors based on 100% boron-10 enriched boron nitride wide bandgap semiconductors. The new product would replace the pressurized and cumbersome He-3 gas tube detectors. Texas Tech's project is enabled by their previous work developing epitaxial growth technology to produce low-cost, free-…

Status: ACTIVE
State: TX
Project Term: 04/19/2022 - 04/18/2025
Program: OPEN 2021
Award: $1,789,998

Texas Tech University

Texas Tech will develop boron nitride (BN) fast neutron detectors (FND) for energies up to tens of mega-electron volts based on their recent development of hexagonal BN semiconductor thermal neutron detectors with record efficiencies of >59%. BN FNDs have unique advantages, including compact size, high gamma rejection ratio, low voltage operation, and low fabrication and maintenance costs. These neutron detectors can operate in high temperatures and harsh environments and detect thermal and fast neutrons simultaneously. The BN FND could be installed on the perimeter or in the core of a…

Status: ACTIVE
State: TX
Project Term: 06/19/2023 - 12/18/2025
Program: Exploratory Topics
Award: $1,150,000

Texas Tech University

Texas Tech University will develop accurate materials fabrication, characterization, and analysis to attempt to resolve the physical understanding of Low-Energy Nuclear Reactions (LENR). Texas Tech will also provide advanced detection of nuclear reaction products as a resource for ARPA-E LENR Exploratory Topic teams.

Status: ACTIVE
State: TX
Project Term: 10/01/2023 - 09/30/2025
Program: Exploratory Topics
Award: $500,000

Texas Tech University

Texas Tech University will develop a novel method for producing electronic grade cubic boron nitride semiconductor wafers that could equip electronic devices to operate in extreme temperatures and conditions. The wafers—formed from microwave plasma chemical vapor deposition—would enable power devices that handle higher voltages and currents, furthering advancements in power distributions, electric transportation, nuclear energy, national security, health care, and material sciences.

Status: Selected
State: TBD
Project Term: TBD
Program: ULTRAFAST
Award: TBD

Texas Tech University

Texas Tech University is developing a photoconductive semiconductor switching device from ultrawide-bandgap materials that would enable improved control of the grid. The ultrawide-bandgap semiconductors used in the device—hexagonal boron nitride and aluminum nitride—support higher voltage and current than legacy semiconductor materials. Texas Tech’s device seeks to enable efficient high-power and high-speed power electronics converters for a smarter grid.

Status: ALUMNI
State: PA
Project Term: 09/16/2019 - 12/15/2023
Program: HITEMMP
Award: $3,150,000

Thar Energy

Thar Energy will develop a next-generation metallic compact recuperator, a type of heat exchanger, capable of stable and cost effective operation at 800°C (1562°F) and above 80 bar (1160 psi). A metallic superalloy capable of withstanding high temperature and pressure will be employed to fabricate the heat exchanger using a novel stacked sheet manufacturing technique. The cost-effective heat exchanger design could enable design enhancement with improved structural integrity and thermal performances for high-efficiency, modular, and cost-competitive recuperated supercritical carbon dioxide (…

Status: ALUMNI
State: IL
Project Term: 03/17/2016 - 09/30/2020
Program: ARID
Award: $1,943,679

The Boeing Company

The Boeing Company is developing a next-generation air-cooled heat exchanger by leveraging technological advances in additive manufacturing (AM). The work builds on a previous ARPA-E IDEAS award to the University of Maryland that included the fabrication of geometrically complex heat exchanger coupons. Boeing subsequently demonstrated AM fabrication of thin-walled structures with a thickness of 125 to 150 microns, which represents a 50% reduction relative to then-state-of-the-art AM processes. The high temperature heat exchanger currently under development employs complex internal geometries…

Status: ALUMNI
State: IL
Project Term: 10/01/2010 - 09/30/2013
Program: GRIDS
Award: $2,228,786

The Boeing Company

The Boeing Company is developing a new material for use in the rotor of a low-cost, high-energy flywheel storage technology. Flywheels store energy by increasing the speed of an internal rotor—slowing the rotor releases the energy back to the grid when needed. The faster the rotor spins, the more energy it can store. Boeing's new material could drastically improve the energy stored in the rotor. The team will work to improve the storage capacity of their flywheels and increase the duration over which they store energy. The ultimate goal of this project is to create a flywheel system that…

Status: ALUMNI
State: IL
Project Term: 10/01/2020 - 12/31/2023
Program: HITEMMP
Award: $2,197,744

The Boeing Company

The Boeing Company will develop a compact, extreme environment heat exchanger (EEHX) for application in supercritical carbon dioxide electric power generation cycles for hypersonic aircraft and land-based distributed power generation. Their metallic heat exchanger will be capable of operation at temperatures and pressures in excess of 1000°C (1832°F) and 80 bar (1160 psi), respectively. The team will design topologically optimized geometries and develop multifunctional, complex concentrated alloys that are expected to offer superior high temperature durability and thermal conductivity,…

Status: ACTIVE
State: IL
Project Term: 05/24/2023 - 11/23/2024
Program: Exploratory Topics
Award: $833,244

The Boeing Company

Boeing Research & Technology (BR&T) will develop a multidisciplinary topology optimization (MDTO) algorithm that couples fluid dynamics, heat transfer, and structural analysis to design, manufacture via additive manufacturing techniques, and demonstrate a high-performance, extreme environment heat exchanger (EEHX) capable of operating at up to 900°C with a 17 MPa pressure differential with supercritical carbon dioxide. The key to delivering this EEHX technology is a revolutionary and computationally efficient MDTO capability that leverages a powerful open-source level-set topology…

Status: ACTIVE
State: IL
Project Term: 01/06/2023 - 07/05/2024
Program: ULTIMATE
Award: $790,253

The Boeing Company

Boeing Research & Technology aims to develop a comprehensive solution for ultra-high performance turbine blades and other extreme environment aerospace applications. The team will develop a series of novel refractory complex concentrated alloys (RCCA) and their processing parameters for both laser beam powder-bed-fusion/powder-feed-deposition additive manufacturing and advanced powder metallurgy manufacturing, as well as intermediate layer materials optimized for coating solutions. This comprehensive solution will demonstrate a base alloy capability up to 1300 °C, and a coating capable…

Status: Selected
State: TBD
Project Term: TBD
Program: Exploratory Topics
Award: TBD

The Boeing Company

The Boeing Company will develop a comprehensive approach for mitigating aircraft induced cirrus that would leverage satellite observations, deep learning, new developments in onboard humidity sensors, and a numerical weather prediction model. Useful for flight planning, Boeing’s approach could improve observational datasets, forward scientific understanding of humidity in the upper troposphere, and advance weather forecasting capabilities for the general public.

Status: ALUMNI
State: NY
Project Term: 07/09/2021 - 01/08/2024
Program: Exploratory Topics
Award: $1,000,000

The City College of New York

Currently spent fluid catalytic cracking catalysts are classified as non-hazardous. The quantity is significant at nearly 400,000 tons produced annually, which are sent to landfills. Gypsum waste is estimated at 13 million tons annually with only 2% recycled into new wallboard. If these materials can be profitably combined with the nearly 30 million tons of municipal solid waste (MSW) annually processed in waste-to-energy (WTE) facilities, it will increase the MSW going to thermal processing facilities and recover materials currently being landfilled. City College proposes to study the…

Status: ALUMNI
State: MI
Project Term: 04/01/2016 - 03/31/2018
Program: OPEN 2015
Award: $2,500,000

The Mackinac Technology Company

The Mackinac Technology Company will develop an innovative, cost effective, retrofit window insulation system that will significantly reduce heat losses. The insulation system will use a durable window film that is highly transparent to visible light (more than 90% of light can pass through), but reflects thermal radiation back into the room and reduces heat loss in winter. The film will be microporous and breathable to allow air pressures to balance across the window system. The film will be bonded to a rigid frame that can be retrofitted to an existing single-pane glass window. Mackinac’s…

Status: ALUMNI
State: OH
Project Term: 09/25/2019 - 03/24/2023
Program: BREAKERS
Award: $2,309,950

The Ohio State University

The Ohio State University (OSU) team will develop a MVDC circuit breaker prototype based on its novel “T-breaker” topology. OSU will leverage its unique high voltage and real-time simulation facilities, circuit prototyping experience with MV silicon carbide devices, and capability in developing protection strategies for faults in DC networks. The result will be a circuit breaker with reduced cost and weight, simplified manufacturing, and increased reliability, functionality, efficiency, and power density. The self-sustaining modular structure will allow for inherent scalability while…

Status: ALUMNI
State: OH
Project Term: 07/01/2010 - 06/30/2014
Program: Electrofuels
Award: $3,977,349

The Ohio State University

The Ohio State University is genetically modifying bacteria to efficiently convert carbon dioxide directly into butanol, an alcohol that can be used directly as a fuel blend or converted to a hydrocarbon, which closely resembles gasoline. Bacteria are typically capable of producing a certain amount of butanol before it becomes too toxic for the bacteria to survive. Ohio State is engineering a new strain of the bacteria that could produce up to 50% more butanol before it becomes too toxic for the bacteria to survive. Finding a way to produce more butanol more efficiently would significantly…

Status: ACTIVE
State: OH
Project Term: 03/09/2017 - 12/31/2024
Program: NEXTCAR
Award: $9,933,144

The Ohio State University

The Ohio State University will develop and demonstrate a transformational powertrain control technology that uses vehicle connectivity and automated driving capabilities to enhance the energy consumption of a light duty passenger vehicle up-fitted with a mild hybrid system. At the core of the proposed powertrain control technology, is the use of a novel cylinder deactivation strategy called Dynamic Skip Fire which makes instantaneous decisions about which engine cylinders are fired or skipped thus significantly improving vehicle energy efficiency. Connected and automated vehicle technologies…

Status: ALUMNI
State: OH
Project Term: 04/01/2010 - 09/30/2014
Program: OPEN 2009
Award: $7,099,904

The Ohio State University

The Ohio State University has developed an iron-based material and process for converting syngas—a synthetic gas mixture—into electricity, H2, and/or liquid fuel with zero CO2 emissions. Traditional carbon capture methods use chemical solvents or special membranes to separate CO2 from the gas exhaust from coal-fired power plants. Ohio State's technology uses an iron-based oxygen carrier to generate CO2 and H2 from syngas in separate, pure product streams by means of a circulating bed reactor configuration. The end products of the system are H2, electricity, and/or liquid fuel, all of…

Status: ALUMNI
State: OH
Project Term: 09/16/2019 - 12/31/2022
Program: OPEN 2018
Award: $1,850,249

The Ohio State University

The Ohio State University will develop GaN semiconductor materials suitable for high voltage (15-20 kV) power control and conversion. The team will develop a unique photon-assisted metal organic chemical vapor deposition (PA-MOCVD) method to grow thick GaN films with low background impurity contamination, necessary to allow high-voltage operation with high efficiency. The thick GaN layers will be deposited by PA-MOCVD on high-quality bulk GaN base materials with reduced defects, critical to the growth of high-quality GaN films. High-voltage GaN devices will be designed, fabricated, and tested…

Status: ACTIVE
State: OH
Project Term: 08/05/2021 - 08/04/2024
Program: ECOSynBio
Award: $1,611,940

The Ohio State University

The Ohio State University is designing, modeling, and constructing synthetic microbial groups consisting of three bacterial species. Lactic acid bacterium, a carboxydotrophic acetogen, and a solventogenic clostridium are grown in a consortium that produces n-butanol, an advanced biofuel and industrial chemical used in plastics, polymers, lubricants, brake fluids, and synthetic rubber. The bacteria will react with lignocellulose sugars (mainly glucose and xylose) and formate (from CO2 produced by electrochemical reduction) in a biorefinery. This solution will maximize carbon…

Status: ACTIVE
State: OH
Project Term: 05/16/2022 - 05/15/2025
Program: OPEN 2021
Award: $2,405,076

The Ohio State University

The Ohio State University team will transform the design and manufacturing processes of electric machines for electrified vehicles (EVs) through innovative magnetic and insulation materials. First, the team will develop a novel composite magnetic powder material with high electrical resistivity, a strong magnetic field, and low resistance to magnetization changes and use it to build the electric machine cores, enabling a new class of power-dense and high-performance electric machines. Second, the machine stator material will be coated with ceramic electrophoretic deposition insulation, with…

Status: ACTIVE
State: OH
Project Term: 08/04/2023 - 08/03/2026
Program: EVs4ALL
Award: $2,976,210

The Ohio State University

The Ohio State University will develop a high-power battery technology featuring a high entropy oxide (HEO) anode that can tolerate rapid charging while demonstrating longevity far beyond the current state-of-the-art lithium-ion cells. Ohio State will (1) address manufacturing challenges in achieving large-format, commercial-quality cells, (2) enable drop-in compatibility with existing battery components, and (3) optimize battery performance for cold temperatures. When scaled, the technology can potentially double the usable battery lifetime, reduce pack size, reduce cell and battery cost,…

Status: ALUMNI
State: NY
Project Term: 09/13/2018 - 06/30/2022
Program: MEITNER
Award: $1,443,635

The Research Foundation for the State University of New York (SUNY)

The University at Buffalo, the State University of New York (SUNY) will develop seismic protective systems to safeguard essential and safety-class components inside nuclear power plants. Currently, these systems and components are custom-produced for each new plant, with multiple designs often needed for a given plant. Earthquake considerations may add up to 35% to the overnight capital cost for new plant designs in regions of moderate to high seismic hazard. This project will develop and implement modular systems to protect individual components from earthquake shaking effects. Because the…

Status: ALUMNI
State: NY
Project Term: 09/13/2017 - 12/12/2021
Program: PNDIODES
Award: $1,280,000

The Research Foundation for The State University of New York (SUNY)

The Research Foundation for the State University of New York (SUNY), on behalf of SUNY Polytechnic University, will develop innovative doping process technologies for gallium nitride (GaN) vertical power devices to realize the potential of GaN-based devices for future high efficiency, high power applications. SUNY Polytechnic's proposed research will focus on ion implantation to enable the creation of localized doping that is necessary for fabricating GaN vertical power devices. Ion implantation is a doping process used in other semiconductor materials such as Si and GaAs but has been…

Status: ACTIVE
State: NY
Project Term: 09/01/2019 - 08/31/2024
Program: OPEN 2018
Award: $3,053,459

The State University of New York Polytechnic Institute (SUNY Polytechnic)

The State University of New York Polytechnic Institute will develop a scalable, manufacturable, and robust technology platform for silicon carbide (SiC) power integrated circuits. The team will leverage the relatively high maturity of SiC technology to develop highly scalable SiC integrated circuits and support devices and establish a manufacturable process baseline in a state-of-the-art, 6-inch fabrication facility. This allows for much higher power (as compared to silicon) integrated circuits in future. The technology platform opens the door to a myriad of high-performance energy…

Status: CANCELLED
State: NM
Project Term: 05/02/2016 - 08/29/2017
Program: OPEN 2015
Award: $3,495,175

Tibbar Technologies

Tibbar Technologies will develop plasma-based AC to DC converters for a variety of applications, including DC power for commercial buildings and for High Voltage Direct Current (HVDC) electrical transmission. A plasma is created when a gas absorbs enough energy to separate the electrons from the nuclei, making it susceptible to electric and magnetic fields. In this project the team will develop a converter based principally on a single plasma component, rather than a system of capacitors and semiconductor switches. The concept is based on a recently discovered plasma configuration that…

Status: CANCELLED
State: PA
Project Term: 01/13/2014 - 04/30/2016
Program: METALS
Award: $1,040,705

Titanium Metals Corporation (TIMET)

Titanium Metals Corporation (TIMET) is developing an electrochemical process for producing pure titanium powder. Incumbent titanium production processes require the importation of high-grade titanium ores. TIMET’s groundbreaking design will enable the use of abundant, low-cost, domestic ore to produce titanium powder electrolytically. By totally revolutionizing the electrolysis process, TIMET can fully optimize the process more effectively using a unique approach. TIMET’s electrochemical methods could produce higher quality titanium powder at lower cost and reduced energy consumption compared…