Status:
Selected
State:
OH
Project Term:
TBD
Program:
GOPHURRS
Award:
TBD
Case Western Reserve University
Peristaltic Conduit with Stiff Structure and Compliant SkinCase Western Reserve University is developing a worm-inspired construction tool that could cheaply and quickly install underground distribution powerlines in busy urban and suburban environments. The proposed robotic tool consists of a sleeve of expanding and contracting materials that digs underground like an earthworm while laying conduit as it goes. The goal for the peristaltic conduit is to be able to avoid existing infrastructure obstacles by turning more nimbly (with potential turning radius of about 5 feet compared with conventional methods with turning radiuses larger than 1,000 feet…
Status:
ALUMNI
State:
MA
Project Term:
-
Program:
PERFORM
Award:
$1,770,760
Castalune
Predicting Events to Enable Robust Renewable GridsCastalune will develop a software system that identifies and monitors complex leading indicators of key grid events associated with individual assets and regional grids, such as price volatility events, curtailment, and reliability failure. The team will produce new risk metrics and evaluation methodologies that inform generator dispatch within electric grids subject to increasingly dynamic underlying drivers of demand (e.g., electric vehicles, on-site generation, or storage) and supply (e.g., weather-driven renewable generation, storage). The project will garner early-stage engagement from…
Status:
ALUMNI
State:
CA
Project Term:
-
Program:
MARINER
Award:
$495,022
Catalina Sea Ranch
Design of Large Scale Macroalgae SystemsThe Catalina Sea Ranch team will lead a MARINER Category 1 project to design an advanced giant kelp cultivation system for deployment on open ocean sites to assess their ability to produce economical and sustainable biomass for a future biofuels industry. The team plans to develop solutions to the main challenges facing macroalgae cultivation: scalability of seeding, cultivation, and harvest; survivability of the offshore installations; energy use and ecosystem impact; predictability of yield and quality of harvested biomass; and cost effectiveness. The effort will begin by…
Status:
ALUMNI
State:
TX
Project Term:
-
Program:
Exploratory Topics
Award:
$500,000
Celadyne Technologies
Nanoionics Enabled Proton Conducting IonomersCeladyne Technologies will develop an innovative elevated temperature proton conducting ionomer material. The team improves upon existing technology relying on acid-base chemistry in favor of an approach driven by defect chemistry and interfacial nanoionic interactions. The technology could improve efficiency in fuel cells and electrolyzers and reduce CO2 emissions.
Status:
ALUMNI
State:
VA
Project Term:
-
Program:
ADEPT
Award:
$999,950
Center for Power Electronics Systems (CPES) at Virginia Tech
Integrating High-Density Capacitors to Create Efficient Power ConverterThe Center for Power Electronics Systems (CPES) at Virginia Tech is developing an extremely efficient power converter that could be used in power adapters for small, light-weight laptops and other types of mobile electronic devices. Power adapters convert electrical energy into usable power for an electronic device, and they currently waste a lot of energy when they are plugged into an outlet to power up. CPES is integrating high-density capacitors, new magnetic materials, high-frequency integrated circuits, and a constant-flux transformer to create its efficient power converter. The high-…
Status:
ALUMNI
State:
VA
Project Term:
-
Program:
ADEPT
Award:
$1,649,628
Center for Power Electronics Systems (CPES) at Virginia Tech
Voltage Regulator ChipThe Center for Power Electronics Systems (CPES) at Virginia Tech is finding ways to save real estate on a computer's motherboard that could be used for other critical functions. Every computer processor today contains a voltage regulator that automatically maintains a constant level of electricity entering the device. These regulators contain bulky components and take up about 30% of a computer's motherboard. CPES is developing a voltage regulator that uses semiconductors made of gallium nitride on silicon (GaN-on-Si) and high-frequency soft magnetic material. These materials are…
Status:
ALUMNI
State:
UT
Project Term:
-
Program:
OPEN 2012
Award:
$2,113,985
Ceramatec
Mid-Temperature Fuel Cells for VehiclesCeramatec is developing a solid-state fuel cell that operates in an ‘intermediate’ temperature range that could overcome persistent challenges faced by both high temperature and low temperature fuel cells. The advantages compared to higher temperature fuel cells are less expensive seals and interconnects, as well as longer lifetime. The advantages compared to low temperature fuel cells are reduced platinum requirements and the ability to run on fuels other than hydrogen, such as natural gas or methanol. Ceramatec’s design would use a new electrolyte material to transport protons within the…
Status:
ALUMNI
State:
UT
Project Term:
-
Program:
OPEN 2012
Award:
$1,557,753
Ceramatec
A One-Step, Gas-to-Liquid Chemical ConverterCeramatec is developing a small-scale reactor to convert natural gas into benzene—a feedstock for industrial chemicals or liquid fuels. Natural gas as a byproduct is highly abundant, readily available, and inexpensive. Ceramatec’s reactor will use a one-step chemical conversion process to convert natural gas into benzene. This one-step process is highly efficient and prevents the build-up of solid residue that can occur when gas is processed. The benzene that is produced can be used as a starting material for nylons, polycarbonates, polystyrene, epoxy resins, and as a component of gasoline.
Status:
ALUMNI
State:
UT
Project Term:
-
Program:
RANGE
Award:
$2,966,690
Ceramatec
Advanced Lithium-Sulfur BatteriesCeramatec is developing new batteries that make use of a non-porous, high ion conductivity ceramic membrane employing a lithium-sulfur (Li-S) battery chemistry. Porous separators found in today’s batteries contain liquids that negatively impact cycle life. To address this, Ceramatec’s battery includes a ceramic membrane to help to hold charge while not in use. This new design would also provide load bearing capability, improved mechanical integrity, and extend battery life. Ceramatec will build and demonstrate its innovative, low-cost, non-porous membrane in a prototype Li-S battery with a…
Status:
ALUMNI
State:
CA
Project Term:
-
Program:
OPEN 2009
Award:
$5,071,690
Ceres
Improving Biomass YieldsCeres is developing bigger and better grasses for use in biofuels. The bigger the grass yield, the more biomass, and more biomass means more biofuel per acre. Using biotechnology, Ceres is developing grasses that will grow bigger with less fertilizer than current grass varieties. Hardier, higher-yielding grass also requires less land to grow and can be planted in areas where other crops can't grow instead of in prime agricultural land. Ceres is conducting multi-year trials in Arizona, Texas, Tennessee, and Georgia which have already resulted in grass yields with as much as 50% more…
Status:
ACTIVE
State:
UT
Project Term:
-
Program:
REFUEL
Award:
$2,450,000
Chemtronergy
Cost-effective, Intermediate-temperature Fuel Cell for Carbon-free Power GenerationChemtronergy will develop an advanced solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) system to electrochemically convert ammonia into electricity. Conventional SOFC systems are manufactured using ceramic fabrication techniques that are time-consuming, energy-intensive, and have high material costs. SOFCs also typically operate at 700-900°C to chemically activate the fuel feedstock and ensure that it is sufficiently cracked or reformed for electrochemical use. This high temperature, however, imposes harsh operating conditions and stresses on the materials, which further increases costs. To address these…
Status:
ALUMNI
State:
UT
Project Term:
-
Program:
REFUEL
Award:
$1,099,999
Chemtronergy
Solid Oxide Fuel Cell SystemChemtronergy will develop an advanced solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) system to electrochemically convert ammonia into electricity. Conventional SOFC systems are manufactured using ceramic fabrication techniques that are time-consuming, energy-intensive, and have high material costs. SOFCs also typically operate at 700-900°C to chemically activate the fuel feedstock and ensure that it is sufficiently cracked or reformed for electrochemical use. This high temperature, however, imposes harsh operating conditions and stresses on the materials, which further increases costs. To address these…
Status:
ACTIVE
State:
CA
Project Term:
-
Program:
COOLERCHIPS
Award:
$1,323,990
Chilldyne
Helical Turbulator for Robust Nucleate Boiling Cold PlateChilldyne proposes improving data center energy efficiency by developing a high-performance cold plate with a helical turbulator that increases the heat transfer rate by a factor of 3. The cold plate uses flowing water and nucleate boiling, where the surface temperature is higher than the saturated fluid temperature, under sub-atmospheric pressure for maximum heat transfer. This technology will improve data center efficiency, enable data centers to operate in hotter climates and supply hotter water for heat reuse, and enable processors to operate more efficiently at lower temperatures.…
Status:
CANCELLED
State:
IL
Project Term:
-
Program:
PETRO
Award:
$7,006,299
Chromatin
Biofuels from SorghumChromatin will engineer sweet sorghum—a plant that naturally produces large quantities of sugar and requires little water—to accumulate the fuel precursor farnesene, a molecule that can be blended into diesel fuel. Chromatin's proprietary technology enables the introduction of a completely novel biosynthetic process into the plant to produce farnesene, enabling sorghum to accumulate up to 20% of its weight as fuel. Chromatin will also introduce a trait to improve biomass yields in sorghum. The farnesene will accumulate in the sorghum plants—similar to the way in which it currently stores…
Status:
ACTIVE
State:
TX
Project Term:
-
Program:
REMEDY
Award:
$1,000,000
Cimarron Energy
Flare and Control for Ultra High Destruction and Removal EfficiencyCimarron Energy aims to develop a cost-competitive flare and control system to achieve over 99.5% methane destruction and removal efficiency (DRE) from the current 98% DRE. The proposed system will include a novel flare apparatus to overcome all observed difficulties in achieving high DRE for flares, a microprocessor based electronic controller, an image-based closed-loop feedback system, and flow meters for high-pressure (HP) and low-pressure (LP) flare gas streams sent to the flare. The HP gas is associated with oil extraction and contains a large fraction of methane. The LP gas is tank…
Status:
ACTIVE
State:
MA
Project Term:
-
Program:
ECOSynBio
Award:
$2,870,000
Circe Bioscience
Circularizing Industries by Raising Carbon EfficiencyCirce Bioscience is building a carbon-efficient precision fermentation platform to produce energy-rich long-chain carbon chemicals with applications in several industrial sectors including fuels, materials, and food. The Circe system has a high degree of feedstock flexibility allowing it to take advantage of the legacy bioeconomy for cheap sugar supply and of a growing green energy infrastructure for external reducing equivalents to achieve high carbon efficiency. Circe uses proprietary technology to engineer fatty acid metabolism for production of reduced carbon compounds that can be used as…
Status:
ALUMNI
State:
CA
Project Term:
-
Program:
IDEAS
Award:
$499,023
Citrine Informatics
Machine Learning for Solid Ion ConductorsThe Citrine Informatics team is demonstrating a proof-of-concept for a system that would use experimental work to intelligently guide the investigation of new solid ionic conductor materials. If successful, the project will create a new approach to material discovery generally and new direction for developing promising ionic conductors specifically. The project will aggregate data (both quantitative and meta-data related to experimental conditions) relevant to ionic conductors from the published literature and build advanced, machine learning models for prediction based upon the resulting…
Status:
ACTIVE
State:
CA
Project Term:
-
Program:
ONWARDS
Award:
$3,103,770
Citrine Informatics
Novel Phosphate Waste Forms to Enable Efficient Dehalogenation and Immobilization of Salt WasteCitrine Informatics will use a combination of state-of-the-art artificial intelligence, physics-based simulations, and experimental results to design novel phosphate waste forms (including glasses, ceramics, and their composites) to enable dehalogenation (removal of halides) and more secure immobilization of salt waste from molten salt reactors (MSRs). Current disposition pathways for salt wastes from MSRs, or used nuclear fuel reprocessing, produce waste forms with relatively low halide loading potential, large volumes, poor thermal stability, and poor mechanical durability. Citrine’s…
Status:
ALUMNI
State:
NY
Project Term:
-
Program:
ADEPT
Award:
$1,568,278
City University of New York (CUNY) Energy Institute
Metacapacitors for LED LightingCity University of New York (CUNY) Energy Institute is developing less expensive, more efficient, smaller, and longer-lasting power converters for energy-efficient LED lights. LEDs produce light more efficiently than incandescent lights and last significantly longer than compact fluorescent bulbs, but they require more sophisticated power converter technology, which increases their cost. LEDs need more sophisticated converters because they require a different type of power (low-voltage direct current, or DC) than what’s generally supplied by power outlets. CUNY Energy Institute is developing…
Status:
ALUMNI
State:
NY
Project Term:
-
Program:
GRIDS
Award:
$3,494,708
City University of New York (CUNY) Energy Institute
Flow-Assisted Alkaline BatteryCity University of New York (CUNY) Energy Institute is working to tame dendrite formation and to enhance the lifetime of Manganese in order to create a long-lasting, fully rechargeable battery for grid-scale energy storage. Traditional consumer-grade disposable batteries are made of Zinc and Manganese, two inexpensive, abundant, and non-toxic metals, but these disposable batteries can only be used once. If they are recharged, the Zinc in the battery develops filaments called dendrites that grow haphazardly and disrupt battery performance, while the Manganese quickly loses its ability to store…
Status:
ALUMNI
State:
SC
Project Term:
-
Program:
TERRA
Award:
$6,149,998
Clemson University
Breeding High Yielding Bioenergy SorghumClemson University is partnering with Carnegie Mellon University (CMU), the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center, and Near Earth Autonomy to develop and operate an advanced plant phenotyping system, incorporating modeling and rapid prediction of plant performance to drive improved yield and compositional gains for energy sorghum. The team will plant and phenotype one of the largest sets of plant types in the TERRA program. Researchers will design and build two phenotyping platforms – an aerial sensor platform and a ground-based platform. The aerial platform, developed by Near Earth Autonomy…
Status:
ACTIVE
State:
SC
Project Term:
-
Program:
HESTIA
Award:
$1,042,933
Clemson University
An Entirely Wood Floor System Designed for Carbon Negativity, Future Adaptability, and End of Life De/Re/ConstructionClemson University will develop a mass timber floor system alternative for greenhouse gas-intensive floor and ceiling materials, which account for up to 75% of embodied energy in traditional building designs. Mass timber products are comprised of thick, compressed layers of wood and used to create strong, structural load-bearing elements. The proposed system will address the entire building life cycle, from design and construction, through occupancy and operation, and contribute toward closing the gap between observed and theoretical service lifetimes. Carbon stored in the timber floor (and…
Status:
ALUMNI
State:
CA
Project Term:
-
Program:
IMPACCT
Award:
$4,657,045
Codexis
Better Enzymes for Carbon CaptureCodexis is developing new and efficient forms of enzymes known as carbonic anhydrases to absorb CO2 more rapidly and under challenging conditions found in the gas exhaust of coal-fired power plants. Carbonic anhydrases are common and are among the fastest enzymes, but they are not robust enough to withstand the harsh environment found in the power plant exhaust steams. In this project, Codexis will be using proprietary technology to improve the enzymes' ability to withstand high temperatures and large swings in chemical composition. The project aims to develop a carbon-capture process that…
Status:
ALUMNI
State:
CA
Project Term:
-
Program:
FOCUS
Award:
$1,003,329
Cogenra Solar
Hybrid Solar Converter with Light-Filtering MirrorCogenra Solar is developing a hybrid solar converter with a specialized light-filtering mirror that splits sunlight by wavelength, allowing part of the sunlight spectrum to be converted directly to electricity with photovoltaics (PV), while the rest is captured and stored as heat. By integrating a light-filtering mirror that passes the visible part of the spectrum to a PV cell, the system captures and converts as much as possible of the photons into high-value electricity and concentrates the remaining light onto a thermal fluid, which can be stored and be used as needed. Cogenra’s hybrid…
Status:
ALUMNI
State:
CO
Project Term:
-
Program:
IDEAS
Award:
$500,000
Colorado School of Mines
Thermoelectric Materials DiscoveryThe Colorado School of Mines will develop a new method for the high-throughput discovery and screening of thermoelectric materials. The objective is to develop a new class of thermoelectric materials that can enable heat-to-electricity efficiencies greater than 20%. Aerosol spray deposition will be used to collect particles on the solid surfaces, allowing high throughput synthesis with finely tuned composition control. To achieve the thermoelectric performance desired, a tight feedback loop between synthesis, characterization, and theory will be employed to actively guide the design of…
Status:
ALUMNI
State:
CO
Project Term:
-
Program:
IDEAS
Award:
$500,000
Colorado School of Mines
Ammonia Synthesis Membrane ReactorThe Colorado School of Mines will develop a membrane reactor concept to synthesize ammonia at ambient pressure. In traditional ammonia production processes, nitrogen (N2) and hydrogen (H2) compete for identical catalyst sites, and the presence of each inhibits the other, with the overall rate reflecting a compromise. The team proposes decoupling and independently controlling the N2 and H2 dissociation by dedicating one side of the composite membrane to each. In this way, the catalysts may be individually optimized. Highly effective catalysts have been previously demonstrated for H2…
Status:
ACTIVE
State:
CO
Project Term:
-
Program:
INTEGRATE
Award:
$11,361,864
Colorado School of Mines
High Efficiency, Low Cost & Robust Hybrid SOFC/IC Engine Power GeneratorThe Colorado School of Mines (Mines) will develop a hybrid power generation system that leverages a pressurized, intermediate-temperature solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) stack and an advanced low-energy-content fuel internal combustion engine. In Phase II, the team will develop and test three SOFC sub-module building blocks (CERES Power and Mines) and then integrate them into a 100 kW-capable pressure vessel package, and develop efficiency-enhanced 2nd generation Kohler engine and balance-of-plant hardware, including novel, positive displacement rotating machinery from Air Squared; build a full-…
Status:
CANCELLED
State:
CO
Project Term:
-
Program:
IONICS
Award:
$1,420,645
Colorado School of Mines
Hybrid Polyoxometalate MembranesThe Colorado School of Mines will develop a new membrane for redox flow battery systems based on novel, low-cost materials. The membrane is a hybrid polymer that includes heteropoly acid molecules and a special purpose fluorocarbon-based synthetic rubber called a fluoroelastomer. The team will enhance the membrane's selectivity by refining the polymer structure, employing crosslinking techniques, and also through doping the polymer with cesium. The fluoroelastmer is commercially available, thereby contributing to a superior performance-to-cost ratio for the membrane. Flow battery experts…
Status:
ACTIVE
State:
CO
Project Term:
-
Program:
OPEN 2018
Award:
$2,247,676
Colorado School of Mines
Efficient Hydrogen and Ammonia Production via Process Intensification and IntegrationThe Colorado School of Mines will develop a more efficient method for both the conversion of hydrogen and nitrogen to ammonia and the generation of high purity hydrogen from ammonia for fuel cell fueling stations. Composed of 17.6% hydrogen by mass, ammonia also has potential as a hydrogen carrier and carbon-free fuel. The team will develop a new technology to generate fuel cell-quality hydrogen from ammonia using a membrane based reactor. In addition, similar catalytic membrane reactor technology will be developed for synthesis of ammonia from nitrogen and hydrogen at reduced pressure and…
Status:
ALUMNI
State:
CO
Project Term:
-
Program:
REBELS
Award:
$3,997,457
Colorado School of Mines
Fuel-Flexible Protonic Ceramic Fuel Cell StackThe Colorado School of Mines is developing a mixed proton and oxygen ion conducting electrolyte that will allow a fuel cell to operate at temperatures less than 500°C. By using a proton and oxygen ion electrolyte, the fuel cell stack is able to reduce coking – which clogs anodes with carbon deposits – and enhance the process of turning hydrocarbon fuels into hydrogen. Today’s ceramic fuel cells are based on oxygen-ion conducting electrolytes and operate at high temperatures. Mines’ advanced mixed proton and oxygen-ion conducting fuel cells will operate on lower temperatures, and have the…
Status:
ACTIVE
State:
CO
Project Term:
-
Program:
GAMOW
Award:
$1,397,973
Colorado School of Mines
Interfacial-Engineered Membranes for Efficient Tritium ExtractionOne of the biggest challenges facing the practical deployment of fusion energy-based power is the effective management of tritium resources. Tritium, an isotope of hydrogen with a short half-life, is a fusion fuel and must be continuously generated, recovered, and recycled in any tritium-fueled fusion power plant. Currently, scalable tritium extraction and pumping technologies do not exist. Colorado School of Mines will develop and demonstrate engineered composite membranes for efficient tritium extraction from breeder media and the vessel exhaust. These membranes will be engineered for high…
Status:
ACTIVE
State:
CO
Project Term:
-
Program:
MINER
Award:
$1,159,337
Colorado School of Mines
Block Modeling of the Carbonation Potential of Ore Deposits Using Cutting-Edge Core Scanning Technology and Advanced Machine Learning AlgorithmsThe Colorado School of Mines (Mines) will develop a novel technological solution and workflow to enable mining companies to quantitatively model the carbonation potential of entire ore deposits using cutting-edge X-ray fluorescence core scanning technology and advanced machine learning techniques. The project will demonstrate how the carbonation potential of a copper-nickel-platinum group element (Cu-Ni-PGE) deposit can be determined involving block modeling of the amount of CO2 that can be sequestered in situ in an ore body and its surrounding host rocks. Mines will perform a cost-benefit…
Status:
ALUMNI
State:
CO
Project Term:
-
Program:
ARID
Award:
$2,087,586
Colorado State University (CSU)
Ultra-Efficient Turbo-Compression CoolingColorado State University (CSU) and its partners, Modine and Barber-Nichols, will develop a thermally powered supplemental cooling system for thermoelectric power plants that will enable dry cooling. The technology features a transformational turbo-compressor and low-cost, high-performance heat exchangers that are currently mass produced for the HVAC industry. To operate, low-grade waste heat from the power plant combustion exhaust gases, or flue gas, is captured and used to power a highly efficient turbo-compressor system. The compressor pressurizes vapor in a refrigeration cycle to remove…
Status:
ALUMNI
State:
CO
Project Term:
-
Program:
MONITOR
Award:
$4,441,314
Colorado State University (CSU)
MONITOR Field Test SiteThe team, led by Colorado State University (CSU), will develop a test site facility near Fort Collins, CO where ARPA-E can evaluate the methane sensing technologies of the MONITOR project teams, as required by the MONITOR FOA. The CSU team will design, construct, and operate a natural gas testing facility that can determine whether MONITOR technologies have met or exceeded the technical performance targets set forth by the MONITOR program. The test facility will be designed to realistically mimic the layout of a broad range of natural gas facilities and equipment. The test facility will…
Status:
ALUMNI
State:
CO
Project Term:
-
Program:
OPEN 2012
Award:
$1,576,999
Colorado State University (CSU)
More Options for Bioenergy CropsColorado State University (CSU) is developing technology to rapidly introduce novel traits into crops that currently cannot be readily engineered. Presently, a limited number of crops can be engineered, and the processes are not standardized – restricting the agricultural sources for engineered biofuel production. More—and more diverse—biofuel crops could substantially improve the efficiency, time scale, and geographic range of biofuel production. CSU’s approach would enable simple and efficient engineering of a broad range of bioenergy crops using synthetic biology tools to standardize their…
Status:
ALUMNI
State:
CO
Project Term:
-
Program:
OPEN 2015
Award:
$499,999
Colorado State University (CSU)
Paintable Heat-Reflective Coatings for Low-Cost Energy Efficient WindowsColorado State University (CSU) will work with BASF and Cypris Materials to accelerate the technology first developed under a 2015 ARPA‐E OPEN award. They will transition the developed coating into an industrially scalable, sprayable process to retrofit energy inefficient windows with a heat-reflective, visibly transparent film. Under the original award, nanostructured coatings were shown to greatly improve the efficiency of single‐pane windows by lowering solar heat gain. The current team aims to further improve the coating technology and decrease installation costs to 1/10 of current high‐…
Status:
ALUMNI
State:
CO
Project Term:
-
Program:
OPEN 2015
Award:
$5,205,217
Colorado State University (CSU)
Heat-Reflective Window CoatingColorado State University (CSU) and its partners are developing an inexpensive, polymer-based, energy-saving material that can be applied to windows as a retrofit. The team will develop a coating consisting of polymers that can rapidly self-assemble into orderly layers that will reflect infrared wavelengths but pass visible light. As such, the coating will help reduce building cooling requirements and energy use without darkening the room. The polymers can be applied as a paint, meaning that deployment could be faster, less expensive, and more widespread because homeowners can apply the…
Status:
ACTIVE
State:
CO
Project Term:
-
Program:
ROOTS
Award:
$8,192,319
Colorado State University (CSU)
Root Genetics for Drought and Carbon AdaptationColorado State University (CSU) will develop a high-throughput ground-based robotic platform that will characterize a plant’s root system and the surrounding soil chemistry to better understand how plants cycle carbon and nitrogen in soil. CSU’s robotic platform will use a suite of sensor technologies to investigate crop genetic-environment interaction and generate data to improve models of chemical cycling of soil carbon and nitrogen in agricultural environments. The platform will collect information on root structure and depth, and deploy a novel spectroscopic technology to quantify levels…
Status:
ALUMNI
State:
CO
Project Term:
-
Program:
FLECCS
Award:
$1,100,000
Colorado State University (CSU)
Synergistic Heat Pumped Thermal Storage and Flexible Carbon Capture SystemColorado State University and its partners—ION Clean Energy, Worcester Polytechnic Institute, and Bright Generation Holdings—will develop a thermal energy storage system with flexible advanced solvent carbon capture technology. The system aims to decrease the levelized cost of electricity for natural gas-fired combined cycle (NGCC) power plants to <75 $/MWh while simultaneously capturing >95% of CO2 emissions when operating in highly VRE penetration markets. The team's approach uses a novel and low-cost heat-pump thermal storage system. This system enables load shifting and NGCC…
Status:
ACTIVE
State:
CO
Project Term:
-
Program:
REMEDY
Award:
$1,500,000
Colorado State University (CSU)
Lean-burn Natural Gas Engine System to Achieve Near-zero Crankcase Methane Emissions from Existing and Future Engine FleetColorado State University (CSU) and Caterpillar will develop technology to reduce methane emissions from lean-burn natural gas engines by reducing methane ventilation through the crankcase, the engine base that contains the crankshaft and integrates other engine components. Methane that leaks past the ring and valve seals during compression and combustion enters the crankcase and is usually vented to the atmosphere. The team proposes a system that would capture the crankcase methane, treat it, and reroute it back to the engine intake where it would be re-ingested and combusted. This would…
Status:
ALUMNI
State:
NY
Project Term:
-
Program:
Electrofuels
Award:
$1,505,985
Columbia University
Biofuels from Bacteria, Electricity, and CO2Columbia University is using carbon dioxide (CO2) from ambient air, ammonia—an abundant and affordable chemical—and a bacteria called N. europaea to produce liquid fuel. The Columbia University team is feeding the ammonia and CO2 into an engineered tank where the bacteria live. The bacteria capture the energy from ammonia and then use that energy to convert CO2 into a liquid fuel. When the bacteria use up all the ammonia, renewable electricity can regenerate it and pump it back into the system—creating a continuous fuel-creation cycle. In addition, Columbia University is also working with the…
Status:
ACTIVE
State:
NY
Project Term:
-
Program:
ENLITENED
Award:
$10,399,999
Columbia University
Integrated Photonic NetworksColumbia University will develop a new datacenter architecture co-designed with state-of-the-art silicon photonic technologies to reduce system-wide energy consumption. The team’s approach will improve data movement between processor/memory and will optimize resource allocation throughout the network to minimize idle times and wasted energy. Data transfer in datacenters occurs over a series of interconnects that link different server racks of the datacenter together. Networks in modern mega-scale datacenters are becoming increasingly complicated. One by-product of this complexity is that on…
Status:
ALUMNI
State:
NY
Project Term:
-
Program:
IDEAS
Award:
$500,000
Columbia University
Integrated Power AdapterThe Columbia University team is developing a proof-of-concept solid-state solution to generate electricity from high-temperature waste heat (~900 K) using thermal radiation between a hot object placed in extreme proximity (<100 nm) to a cooler photovoltaic (PV) cell. In this geometry, thermal radiation can be engineered such that its spectrum is quasi-monochromatic and aligned with the PV cell’s bandgap frequency. In this case, it is estimated that electricity can be generated with a conversion efficiency beyond 25% and with a power density that could greatly outperform currently available…
Status:
ALUMNI
State:
NY
Project Term:
-
Program:
IDEAS
Award:
$500,000
Columbia University
Computing Through Silicon PhotonicsColumbia University will develop a new platform for generating multiple simultaneous optical channels (wavelengths) with low power dissipation, thereby enabling optical interconnects for low power computing. Optical interconnect links communicate using optical fibers that carry light. Wavelength-division multiplexing (WDM) is a technology that combines a number of optical carrier signals on a single optical fiber by using different wavelengths. This technique enables bidirectional communications over strands of fiber, dramatically increasing capacity. Low-power lasers generate the wavelengths…
Status:
ALUMNI
State:
NY
Project Term:
-
Program:
IDEAS
Award:
$475,221
Columbia University
Co-Generation of Fuels During Copper BioleachingThe innovation lies in the exploitation of novel natural energy source: reduced metal deposits. The energy released during oxidation of these metals could be used to reduce CO2 into fuels and chemicals reducing petroleum usage.This proposed project fits within the Chemical-Chemical Area of Interest, as it involves the coupling of the oxidation of reduced minerals in the Earth’s crust to the production of reduced carbon chemicals for fuel utilization. This addresses both of Mission Areas of ARPA-E as the co-generation of fuels during copper bioleaching will potentially reduce the import of…
Status:
ALUMNI
State:
NY
Project Term:
-
Program:
IMPACCT
Award:
$1,254,752
Columbia University
Chemically Accelerated Carbon MineralizationColumbia University is developing a process to pull CO2 out of the exhaust gas of coal-fired power plants and turn it into a solid that can be easily and safely transported, stored above ground, or integrated into value-added products (e.g. paper filler, plastic filler, construction materials, etc.). In nature, the reaction of CO2 with various minerals over long periods of time will yield a solid carbonate—this process is known as carbon mineralization. The use of carbon mineralization as a CO2 capture and storage method is limited by the speeds at which these minerals can be dissolved and…
Status:
ALUMNI
State:
NY
Project Term:
-
Program:
SWITCHES
Award:
$3,725,000
Columbia University
Spalling GaN TransistorsColumbia University will create high-performance, low-cost, vertical gallium nitride (GaN) devices using a technique called spalling, which involves exfoliating a working circuit and transferring it to another material. Columbia and its project partners will spall and bond entire transistors from high-performance GaN wafers to lower cost silicon substrates. Substrates are thin wafers of semiconducting material needed to power devices like transistors and integrated circuits. GaN substrates operate much more efficiently than silicon substrates, particularly at high voltages, but the high cost…
Status:
ACTIVE
State:
NY
Project Term:
-
Program:
PERFORM
Award:
$2,061,355
Columbia University
Risk-Aware Power System Control, Dispatch and Market IncentivesThe power industry sees risk as statistically independent of today's operational practices and regulations. The challenge is convincing the industry to proactively and explicitly study, quantify, price, and incorporate risk into dispatch and response algorithms. Columbia University will develop a risk dashboard to address this challenge that will enable independent system operators (ISOs) of the electrical grid to compute and analyze engineering and financial risks occurring on operational time scales ranging from several minutes to days. This dashboard will facilitate efficient and…
Status:
ACTIVE
State:
NY
Project Term:
-
Program:
Exploratory Topics
Award:
$1,749,721
Columbia University
Development of Biological and Electrochemical Technologies for the Clean Extraction of Copper and Critical Materials from Low Grade OresColumbia University will develop a novel hydrometallurgical platform that will exploit the electrochemical reduction of copper ores followed by biological leaching of sulfide minerals to recover copper metal. The team’s new platform technology will enable the processing of domestic low-grade copper concentrates with high pyrite concentrations. This will reduce the outsourcing of copper processing to overseas smelters and enable new domestic sources of low-grade copper concentrate to be processed economically. The bacteria involved in the bioleaching process will be genetically modified for…
Status:
ALUMNI
State:
NY
Project Term:
-
Program:
Exploratory Topics
Award:
$400,000
Columbia University
Integrated CO2-facilitated Hydrometallurgical and Electrochemical Technology for Sustainable Mining and Recovery of Critical Elements from Wastes and AshesCritical minerals—used in important defense and energy applications–are scarce. Municipal wastes are excellent candidates for domestic sources of high-grade ores due to their high metal concentration. Because the metals in wastes and waste ashes contain a wide range of impurities, however, conventional extraction processes are not effective. Columbia University will develop an innovative MIDAS process based on the integrated CO2-facilitated hydrometallurgical and electrochemical technology. The team will (1) develop supercritical CO2-based solvent systems for hydrometallurgical extraction of…