Status: ACTIVE
State: NY
Project Term: 06/01/2021 - 12/31/2023
Program: DAYS
Award: $3,379,111

Columbia University

Columbia University's Electrochemical Energy Center will develop a long-duration grid energy storage solution that leverages a new approach to the zinc bromine battery, a popular chemistry for flow batteries. Taking advantage of the way zinc and bromine behave in the cell, the battery will eliminate the need for a separator to keep the reactants apart when charged, as well as allow all the electrolyte to be stored in a single tank, instead of multiple cells. This reduction in “balance of plant” hardware will reduce system cost.

Status: ACTIVE
State: NY
Project Term: 06/01/2022 - 05/31/2025
Program: OPEN 2021
Award: $1,498,533

Columbia University

Columbia University aims to modulate the cycling behavior of conventional Li-ion battery materials in a bobbin cell format. The team will optimize electrode compositions, properties, and dimensions with corresponding cell configurations using standard commodity Li-ion materials and established bobbin cell manufacturing techniques. These cells will be suitable for 4-hour charge, and cost profiles amenable to 8-to-16-hour discharge. The team will produce Li-ion cells capable of cycling for more than 10 years at a discharge duration of 8 to 16 hours and a levelized cost of storage under $0.05/…

Status: ACTIVE
State: NY
Project Term: 07/01/2022 - 06/30/2025
Program: OPEN 2021
Award: $3,375,712

Columbia University

Columbia University proposes a low-temperature water electrolyzer for hydrogen production based on ultrathin oxide membranes that can increase electrolysis efficiency by 20% compared with conventional polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) electrolyzers. The enhanced performance of Columbia’s proton-conducting oxide membrane (POM) electrolyzers is enabled by the lower ionic resistance of dense oxide-based membranes that are 2 orders of magnitude thinner than conventional catalyst-coated membranes. If successful, the capital cost of POM electrolyzer stacks will be significantly lower than today’s…

Status: ACTIVE
State: NY
Project Term: 02/24/2023 - 02/23/2026
Program: MINER
Award: $2,949,397

Columbia University

Columbia University (Columbia) will use innovative processes to enable increased domestic production of energy-relevant metals from CO2-reactive minerals at potentially lower costs than the state of the art. The work will focus on feedstocks from the Tamarack Project, leading to domestic production of nickel, copper, and cobalt and smaller amounts of platinum, palladium, and gold. Activities will leverage Columbia’s hydrometallurgical leach technologies for these minerals. The technology has significantly lower environmental impacts and may enable economic recovery of off-specification…

Status: ACTIVE
State: NY
Project Term: 02/09/2023 - 02/08/2026
Program: MINER
Award: $2,500,000

Columbia University

Columbia University will develop an integrated hydrometallurgical-electrochemical mining technology to increase energy-relevant mineral yields from CO2-reactive minerals. The technology incorporates an innovative stirred media mill reactor that minimizes comminution energy and improves leaching efficiencies and a new electrochemical refining processes using functionalized interfaces for selective separation of metals. If successful, the technology will enable high recovery of target metals (> 80%) and efficient carbon mineralization (> 90%), while reducing energy input; reduce emissions…

Status: ALUMNI
State: MA
Project Term: 10/01/2020 - 08/30/2023
Program: BETHE
Award: $1,374,368

Commonwealth Fusion Systems (CFS)

The tokamak is the most scientifically mature fusion energy concept, which confines hot plasma in the shape of a torus (similar to a donut). This plasma is controlled in part by a central solenoid electromagnet. Using high-temperature superconductors (HTS) and an innovative design, Commonwealth Fusion Systems (CFS) and its partners aim to build a central solenoid capable of quickly changing (“fast ramping”) its current and magnetic field, while also being robust enough to survive many thousands of cycles. This new HTS magnet will enable a new mode of tokamak operation, in which power output…

Status: ALUMNI
State: PA
Project Term: 04/03/2020 - 04/02/2023
Program: Exploratory Topics
Award: $499,999

Community Energy

Carbon mineralization, a promising carbon management technology, reacts CO2 gas with minerals containing magnesium and/or calcium. The reaction forms a stable, solid carbonate, which can be used in building materials. Community Energy will use minerals from the waste produced at mining facilities to enhance the rate of carbon mineralization, increase the amount of available minerals used to capture CO2, and produce building materials, such as aggregate for making cement, which can offset some of the carbon footprint associated with the cement industry.

Status: CANCELLED
State: WI
Project Term: 09/09/2019 - 09/08/2022
Program: HITEMMP
Award: $245,928

CompRex

CompRex aims to transform heat exchange technology for high temperature (>800°C or 1472°F) and high pressure (80 bar or 1160 psi) applications through the use of advanced metal and ceramic composite material, development of a new simplified manufacturing approach, and optimization of heat exchanger design based on the new material and manufacturing process. This solution could not only satisfy the performance requirements of next generation power cycles but also significantly lower costs of production and scale-up by as much as 40% compared with existing state-of-the-art heat exchangers.…

Status: ACTIVE
State: MA
Project Term: 07/01/2022 - 06/30/2025
Program: OPEN 2021
Award: $3,579,478

Copernic Catalysts

Copernic Catalysts will design novel chemical catalysts to reduce the energy use and carbon footprint of bulk chemical reactions. Bulk chemicals—such as ammonia, ethylene, and methanol—are produced at very large scales, often up to hundreds of millions of tons annually, and are responsible for nearly one gigaton of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions every year. Copernic Catalysts will focus on creating a faster trajectory for developing more energy-/carbon-efficient processes for the bulk chemicals industry, while also allowing for the development of more cost-competitive zero-carbon chemicals…

Status: ALUMNI
State: NY
Project Term: 04/27/2015 - 08/15/2018
Program: DELTA
Award: $2,996,807

Cornell University

Cornell University will develop thermoregulatory apparel that enables the expansion of the comfortable temperature range in buildings by more than 4°F in both heating and cooling seasons. Cornell’s thermoregulatory apparel integrates advanced textile technologies and state-of-the-art wearable electronics into a functional apparel design without compromising comfort, wearability, washability, appearance, or safety. The thermoregulatory clothing system senses the wearer’s skin temperature and activates a heated or cooled airflow around the individual, reducing the energy required to heat or…

Status: ALUMNI
State: NY
Project Term: 02/08/2012 - 08/07/2015
Program: GENI
Award: $1,300,000

Cornell University

Cornell University is creating a new software platform for grid operators called GridControl that will utilize cloud computing to more efficiently control the grid. In a cloud computing system, there are minimal hardware and software demands on users. The user can tap into a network of computers that is housed elsewhere (the cloud) and the network runs computer applications for the user. The user only needs interface software to access all of the cloud's data resources, which can be as simple as a web browser. Cloud computing can reduce costs, facilitate innovation through sharing,…

Status: ALUMNI
State: NY
Project Term: 08/17/2016 - 08/16/2017
Program: IDEAS
Award: $499,999

Cornell University

Cornell University will develop a new type of rechargeable lithium metal battery that provides superior performance over existing lithium-ion batteries. The anode, or negative side of a lithium-ion battery, is usually composed of a carbon-based material. In lithium metal batteries, the anode is made of metallic lithium. While using metallic lithium could result in double the storage capacity, lithium metal batteries have unreliable performance, safety issues, and premature cell failure. There are two major causes for this performance degradation. First, side reactions can occur between the…

Status: ALUMNI
State: NY
Project Term: 02/01/2013 - 05/01/2014
Program: OPEN 2012
Award: $908,937

Cornell University

Cornell University is developing a new photobioreactor that is more efficient than conventional bioreactors at producing algae-based fuels. Traditional photobioreactors suffer from several limitations, particularly poor light distribution, inefficient fuel extraction, and the consumption of large amounts of water and energy. Cornell’s bioreactor is compact, making it more economical to grow engineered algae and collect the fuel the algae produces. Cornell’s bioreactor also delivers sunlight efficiently through low-cost, plastic, light-guiding sheets. By distributing optimal amounts of…

Status: ALUMNI
State: NY
Project Term: 04/26/2018 - 05/25/2021
Program: SENSOR
Award: $1,500,000

Cornell University

Cornell University will develop an occupant monitoring system to enable more efficient control of HVAC systems in commercial buildings. The system is based on a combination of "active" radio frequency identification (RFID) readers and "passive" tags. Instead of requiring occupants to wear tags, the tags, as coordinated landmarks, will be distributed around a commercial area to enable an accurate occupancy count. When occupants, stationary or moving, are present among the RFID reader and multiple tags, their interference on the backscattering paths can be exploited to gain…

Status: ALUMNI
State: NY
Project Term: 08/01/2015 - 10/16/2017
Program: SWITCHES
Award: $3,435,498

Cornell University

Cornell University will develop an innovative, high-efficiency, gallium nitride (GaN) power switch. Cornell’s design is significantly smaller and operates at much higher performance levels than conventional silicon power switches, making it ideal for use in a variety of power electronics applications. Cornell will also reuse expensive GaN materials and utilize conventional low-cost production methods to keep costs down.

Status: ALUMNI
State: NY
Project Term: 01/25/2021 - 01/24/2023
Program: Exploratory Topics
Award: $1,000,000

Cornell University

Cornell University will use advanced genomics, synthetic biology and microfluidic laboratory evolution devices to engineer two sets of exotic microbes to (1) extract REE from ores, spent cracking catalysts, coal ash and electronic waste, and (2) purify REE into single element batches. These two sets of engineered organisms will enable high-efficiency, high-selectivity extraction of REE from ore and end-of-life feedstocks, and purification of mixed REE into isolated element solutions, all under benign conditions without the need of harsh solvents and high temperatures. These new technologies…

Status: ACTIVE
State: NY
Project Term: 06/24/2022 - 06/23/2025
Program: OPEN 2021
Award: $2,500,000

Cornell University

Cornell University will develop a scalable technology to co-utilize waste construction and demolition (C&D) residues and CO2 to produce sustainable construction materials via several closely integrated innovations in cement production. The team will: (1) replace conventional fossil-driven high temperature processes with electrochemical low-temperature modular processes, (2) capture and reuse CO2 emissions to produce calcium carbonate (CaCO3) by using the inorganic components of C&D materials, (3) harness hydrogen and CaCO3 from organic constituents of C&D materials, and (4)…

Status: ACTIVE
State: NY
Project Term: 04/29/2022 - 04/28/2025
Program: OPEN 2021
Award: $1,425,000

Cornell University

Cornell University seeks to develop a breakthrough wireless charging system for stationary and dynamic charging of EVs that will drastically reduce the need for expensive and bulky on-board batteries, enable unlimited range, accelerate EV penetration, and reduce U.S. energy consumption. The new system will leverage charging range extension, field focusing, and machine learning-based optimization to (1) reduce interference from fringing fields by 10x, (2) increase energy transfer by 10x, and (3) reduce power pulsations by 10x compared with state-of-the-art solutions. The project will…

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

Cornell University

Cornell University is developing a worm-inspired digging tool with a combustion-powered soil fracturing head to minimize environmental disruption, enhance efficiency, and reduce costs of undergrounding power cables. The Mini-Mole leverages soft robotics to allow for improved steering and movement compared with conventional approaches and would be capable of tunneling, laying conduit, and installing cables without damaging the surface. The Mini-Mole would be capable of digging as fast as 12 feet per hour, have a reach up to 1,000 feet, and lower costs of cable and conduit installation by over…

Status: CANCELLED
State: IL
Project Term: 01/15/2014 - 06/13/2014
Program: REMOTE
Award: TBD

Coskata

Coskata is engineering methanol fermentation into an anaerobic microorganism to enable a low-cost biological approach for liquid fuel production. Currently, the most well-known processes available to convert methane into fuel are expensive and energy-intensive. Coskata is constructing strains of the anaerobic bacteria to efficiently and cost-effectively convert activated methane to butanol, an alcohol that can be used directly as part of a fuel blend. Coskata’s process involves molecular genetics to introduce and control specific genes, and to inactivate undesired pathways, together with…

Status: ALUMNI
State: NH
Project Term: 08/13/2019 - 03/31/2023
Program: OPEN 2018
Award: $3,437,193

Creare

Creare, in partnership with IMBY Energy, is developing a mass-manufacturable, recuperated, closed-loop Brayton-cycle microturbine that will provide 5 kW of electrical power for residential and commercial buildings. The waste heat from the device can be harvested for heating. Technical innovations in the system that are anticipated to enable high efficiency at an attractive cost include a diffusion bonded foil recuperator, a turbomachine with specialized hydrodynamic gas bearings, a binary working fluid mixture and flameless combustion.

Status: ALUMNI
State: NH
Project Term: 04/05/2021 - 10/04/2023
Program: Exploratory Topics
Award: $769,822

Creare

Reducing the cost of CO2 removal from the air requires developing a new contactor, which captures CO2 so it can be recovered, concentrated, and stored. Creare aims to develop a contactor using Creare’s low-cost additive manufacturing methods. Creare will also incorporate a low-cost, durable sorbent that captures CO2 molecules from ambient air and releases CO2 for storage when heated to moderate temperatures. The contactor is designed for wind-driven operation, which reduces cost by eliminating the need for large arrays of fans to blow air through the system.

Status: ALUMNI
State: NC
Project Term: 09/01/2010 - 12/31/2014
Program: ADEPT
Award: $5,999,973

Cree

Cree is developing silicon carbide (SiC) power transistors that are 50% more energy efficient than traditional transistors. Transistors act like a switch, controlling the electrical energy that flows through an electrical circuit. Most power transistors today use silicon semiconductors to conduct electricity. However, transistors with SiC semiconductors operate at much higher temperatures, as well as higher voltage and power levels than their silicon counterparts. SiC-based transistors are also smaller and require less cooling than those made with traditional silicon power technology. Cree’s…

Status: ALUMNI
State: NC
Project Term: 01/25/2012 - 07/31/2017
Program: Solar ADEPT
Award: $2,794,354

Cree

Cree is developing a compact, lightweight power conversion device that is capable of taking utility-scale solar power and outputting it directly into the electric utility grid at distribution voltage levels--eliminating the need for large transformers. Transformers "step up" the voltage of the power that is generated by a solar power system so it can be efficiently transported through transmission lines and eventually "stepped down" to usable voltages before it enters homes and businesses. Power companies step up the voltage because less electricity is lost along transmission lines when the…

Status: CANCELLED
State: AR
Project Term: 03/14/2018 - 03/13/2022
Program: CIRCUITS
Award: $1,910,463

Cree Fayetteville

Cree Fayetteville (operating as Wolfspeed, A Cree Company) will team with Ford Motor Company and the University of Michigan-Dearborn to build a power converter for DC fast chargers for electric vehicles using a solid-state transformer based on silicon carbide. The team will construct a single-phase 500 kW building block for a DC fast charger that is at least four times the power density of todays installed units. This device would offer significant improvements in efficiency (greater than 60% less power losses), size/weight (greater than 75% smaller size, 85% less weight), and cost (40% lower…

Status: ALUMNI
State: AR
Project Term: 02/03/2017 - 02/02/2018
Program: IDEAS
Award: $498,272

Cree Fayetteville

Cree Fayetteville will develop high voltage (10kV), high energy density (30 J/cm3), high temperature (150 °C+) capacitors utilizing chemical vapor deposition (CVD) diamond capable of powering the next generation of high-performance power electronics systems. CVD diamond is a superior material for capacitors due to its strong electrical, mechanical, and materials qualities that are inherently stable over varying temperatures. It also has similar qualities of single crystal diamond without the high cost. Commercial CVD diamond deposition will be utilized to prove the feasibility of the…

Status: ALUMNI
State: WA
Project Term: 07/01/2019 - 09/30/2022
Program: OPEN 2018
Award: $3,415,797

CTFusion

CTFusion is developing an early-stage approach to a commercially viable fusion power plant. The company will pursue higher performance in a compact fusion configuration called a spheromak through targeted upgrades of an existing plasma system. The project aims to demonstrate the required physical parameters, engineering performance, and scalability of the team's fusion concept toward an eventual electricity-producing, economical fusion power plant. CTFusion plans to 1) provide an integrated demonstration of its novel plasma sustainment method called imposed-dynamo current drive (IDCD) and…

Status: ALUMNI
State: IN
Project Term: 02/09/2016 - 08/08/2018
Program: OPEN 2015
Award: $2,073,235

Cummins Corporate Research & Technology

Cummins Corporate Research & Technology will develop an advanced high efficiency natural gas-fueled internal combustion engine for high-power distributed electricity generation. The team is seeking to achieve 55% brake thermal efficiency while maintaining low exhaust emissions. The enabling technology is wet compression, where fine droplets of water are sprayed directly into the engine cylinders, causing the charge temperature to drop and thereby prevent the onset of damaging engine knock at high compression ratios. Since it takes less energy to compress cooler air, the savings from…

Status: ACTIVE
State: DC
Project Term: 03/07/2023 - 03/06/2026
Program: CURIE
Award: $5,000,000

Curio Solutions

CurioTM will research the advanced head-end processing and fluorination steps of its UNF recycling process, NuCycleTM, at the laboratory scale to derisk the NuCycle process. NuCycle is a modular, integrated, compact, and proliferation-hardened process designed to avoid production of pure plutonium (Pu) streams and dramatically reduce waste volumes compared with existing processes. NuCycle significantly reduces facility footprints, leverages well-understood chemical processes, and accommodates a variety of fuel types, including molten salts and nitride fuels. The advanced head-end processing…

Status: ACTIVE
State: NH
Project Term: 09/21/2021 - 03/20/2024
Program: SMARTFARM
Award: $1,840,203

Dagan

Environmental drivers that cause the production and flux of nitrous oxide (N2O) and spatial and temporal variability of soil carbon stocks create challenges to cost-effectively quantify N2O emissions and soil carbon stock changes at scale. Dagan aims to build, validate, and demonstrate an integrated system to reliably and economically measure field-level soil carbon and N2O emissions. The system will consist of a field sampling and measurement system; subfield scale process modeling to improve the quantification of soil carbon and greenhouse gas emissions; a detailed model validation system…

Status: ALUMNI
State: FL
Project Term: 10/01/2010 - 02/29/2012
Program: BEETIT
Award: $681,322

Dais Analytic Corporation

Dais Analytic Corporation is developing a product called NanoAir which dehumidifies the air entering a building to make air conditioning more energy efficient. The system uses a polymer membrane that allows moisture but not air to pass through it. A vacuum behind the membrane pulls water vapor from the air, and a second set of membranes releases the water vapor outside. The membrane's high selectivity translates into reduced energy consumption for dehumidification. Dais' design goals for NanoAir are the use of proprietary materials and processes and industry-standard installation…

Status: ALUMNI
State: NH
Project Term: 01/01/2012 - 03/30/2013
Program: REACT
Award: $397,432

Dartmouth College

Dartmouth College is developing specialized alloys with magnetic properties superior to the rare earths used in today's best magnets. EVs and renewable power generators typically use rare earths to turn the axles in their electric motors due to the magnetic strength of these minerals. However, rare earths are difficult and expensive to refine. Dartmouth will swap rare earths for a manganese-aluminum alloy that could demonstrate better performance and cost significantly less. The ultimate goal of this project is to develop an easily scalable process that enables the widespread use of low-…

Status: ACTIVE
State: CA
Project Term: 07/15/2022 - 07/14/2025
Program: ONWARDS
Award: $3,608,399

Deep Isolation

Deep Isolation will develop a universal canister design compatible with waste acceptance criteria for mined and borehole repositories to support cost-effective nuclear waste disposal options and provide flexibility for a broad range of advanced fuel forms and recycling products. The conventional nuclear fuel dry storage canisters in use today will likely require repackaging or reconfiguring before disposal. Deep Isolation’s new universal canister will create an elemental waste form component that will decouple the interdependent constraints between storage, transport, and disposal. The value…

Status: ACTIVE
State: CA
Project Term: 09/22/2023 - 09/21/2025
Program: Exploratory Topics
Award: $441,674

Deep Isolation

Deep Isolation will test a range of canister designs in boreholes at the Deep Borehole Demonstration Center in Texas and assess US-based supplier capabilities in the hopes of identifying a universal canister design. Advancing a universal canister system from a conceptual development stage to a licensing stage would require full-scale test data, and help enable safe, scalable, and cost-effective disposal of the current stored used nuclear fuel as well as fuels from advanced nuclear reactors in development.

Status: ALUMNI
State: TX
Project Term: 04/24/2020 - 03/31/2022
Program: Exploratory Topics
Award: $497,397

Deep Reach Technology

Seabed mining may be the best option to fill the impending gap in terrestrial supplies for nickel, cobalt, and rare earth elements, which are increasingly used to manufacture electric vehicles and large lithium-ion batteries. Deep Reach Technology will design a novel nodule collector to minimize the impact of sediment plumes, which may disperse and cover the seabed beyond the mining area. The project uses augmented screening and seabed electrocoagulation to achieve this goal. The proposed technology has the potential to fast-track deep sea mining.

Status: ALUMNI
State: MI
Project Term: 02/01/2010 - 12/31/2013
Program: OPEN 2009
Award: $7,044,569

Delphi Automotive Systems

Delphi Automotive Systems is developing power converters that are smaller and more energy efficient, reliable, and cost-effective than current power converters. Power converters rely on power transistors which act like a very precisely controlled on-off switch, controlling the electrical energy flowing through an electrical circuit. Most power transistors today use silicon (Si) semiconductors. However, Delphi is using semiconductors made with a thin layer of gallium-nitride (GaN) applied on top of the more conventional Si material. The GaN layer increases the energy efficiency of the power…

Status: ALUMNI
State: MN
Project Term: 05/19/2021 - 05/18/2023
Program: Exploratory Topics
Award: $1,000,000

Designs by Natural Processes

Designs by Natural Processes, Inc., aims to make novel cement at ambient temperature using 55% municipal solid waste (MSW) incinerator ash. The team will add low-cost chemicals to better sequester environmentally problematic combustion gases, chemicals, and heavy metals during incineration, eliminating undesired chemicals in the ash-rich cement leachate. The team's objective is to develop an alternative to traditional ordinary Portland cement (OPC), which cannot sequester nearly as much ash (16%). OPC requires a temperature of 1300°C for its manufacture, and sets up in about a month for a…

Status: ALUMNI
State: TX
Project Term: 04/27/2015 - 10/30/2019
Program: CHARGES
Award: $3,015,779

Det Norske Veritas (DNV GL)

Det Norske Veritas (DNV GL) and Group NIRE will provide a unique combination of third-party testing facilities, testing and analysis methodologies, and expert oversight to the evaluation of ARPA-E-funded energy storage systems. The project will leverage DNV GL’s deep expertise in economic analysis of energy storage technologies, and will implement economically optimized duty cycles into the testing and validation protocol. DNV GL plans to test ARPA-E storage technologies at its state-of-the-art battery testing facility in partnership with the New York Battery and Energy Storage Technology…

Status: ALUMNI
State: MA
Project Term: 08/15/2016 - 08/14/2019
Program: NODES
Award: $2,149,963

Det Norske Veritas (DNV GL)

DNV GL together with its partners, Geli and Group NIRE, will develop an Internet of Energy (IoEn) platform for the automated scheduling, aggregation, dispatch, and performance validation of network optimized DERs and controllable loads. The IoEn platform will simultaneously manage both system-level regulation and distribution-level support functions to facilitate large-scale integration of distributed generation onto the grid. The IoEn will demonstrate a novel and scalable approach for the fast registration and automated dispatch of DERs by combining DNV GL’s power system simulation tools and…

Status: ALUMNI
State: TX
Project Term: 10/01/2012 - 04/01/2015
Program: AMPED
Award: $2,030,961

Det Norske Veritas (DNV KEMA)

Det Norske Veritas (DNV KEMA) is testing a new gas monitoring system developed by NexTech Materials to provide early warning signals that a battery is operating under stressful conditions and at risk of premature failure. As batteries degrade, they emit low level quantities of gas that can be measured over the course of a battery's life-time. DNV KEMA is working with NexTech to develop technology to accurately measure these gas emissions. By taking accurate stock of gas emissions within the battery pack, the monitoring method could help battery management systems predict when a battery is…

Status: ACTIVE
State: NY
Project Term: 05/16/2022 - 06/01/2025
Program: OPEN 2021
Award: $3,100,104

Dimensional Energy

Dimensional Energy will apply additive manufacturing (AM) of large-scale ceramics to 3D print a reactor that will efficiently convert greater than 70% of CO2 and green H2 into synthetic gas (syngas), which may be used to produce synthetic aviation fuel. The high carbon utilization and energy efficiencies of the reactor will be coupled with inexpensive renewable electricity and green electrolysis-produced H2 to enable syngas production. Further processing will yield sustainable aviation fuel and other sustainable fuels and chemicals. The ultra-high temperature reactor will include structural…

Status: ALUMNI
State: FL
Project Term: 02/01/2013 - 03/06/2017
Program: OPEN 2012
Award: $4,877,239

Dioxide Materials

Dioxide Materials is developing technology to produce carbon monoxide, or “synthesis gas” electrochemically from CO2 emitted by power plants. Synthesis gas can be used as a feedstock for the production of industrial chemicals and liquid fuels. The current state-of-the-art process for capturing and removing CO2 from the flue gas of power plants is expensive and energy intensive, and therefore faces significant hurdles towards widespread implementation. The technologies being developed by Dioxide Materials aim to convert CO2 into something useful in an economical and practical way. The…

Status: ALUMNI
State: FL
Project Term: 02/01/2016 - 01/31/2019
Program: OPEN 2015
Award: $2,000,000

Dioxide Materials

The team led by Dioxide Materials will develop an alkaline water electrolyzer for an improved power-to-gas system. The team’s electrochemical cells are composed of an anode, a cathode, and a membrane that allows anions to pass through, while being electrically insulating. High-conductivity anion exchange membranes are rare and often do not have the chemical or mechanical stability to withstand H2 production at elevated pressures. Therefore, the project is focused on developing an anion exchange membrane that is low-cost, is manufacturable in a scaleable process, and has sufficient…

Status: ALUMNI
State: MO
Project Term: 09/24/2019 - 07/24/2023
Program: OPEN 2018
Award: $4,003,475

Donald Danforth Plant Science Center

In the last decade, big data has enabled high-yield production of bioenergy crops. The drawback in agricultural systems data is that researchers are grappling with large, complex, multidimensional datasets comprised of thousands of data layers captured weekly or daily in dynamic outdoor environments. Converting all of these measurements into knowledge and actionable outcomes that keeps up with farmer and researcher demand is difficult. Tools that can automatically detect patterns in this data are needed to guide agricultural researchers to better inform experimental design and data analysis.

Status: ALUMNI
State: MO
Project Term: 01/01/2012 - 12/31/2016
Program: PETRO
Award: $7,073,289

Donald Danforth Plant Science Center

The Donald Danforth Plant Science Center will optimize light utilization in Camelina, a drought-resistant, cold-tolerant oilseed crop. The team is modifying how Camelina collects sunlight, engineering its topmost leaves to be lighter in color so sunlight can more easily reflect onto lower parts of the plant. A more uniform distribution of light would improve the efficiency of photosynthesis. Combined with other strategies to produce more oil in the seed, Camelina would yield more oil per plant. The team is also working to allow Camelina to absorb carbon dioxide (CO2) more efficiently,…

Status: ALUMNI
State: MO
Project Term: 09/15/2015 - 06/30/2020
Program: TERRA
Award: $10,596,973

Donald Danforth Plant Science Center

The Donald Danforth Plant Science Center, in collaboration with partners from seven institutions, proposes an integrated open-sourced phenotyping system for energy sorghum. Phenotyping is the assessment of observable plant traits, and is critical for breeding improvements. The team will develop a central repository for high quality phenotyping datasets, and make this resource available to other TERRA project groups and the wider community to stimulate further innovations. The team will collect data with their complete system that will include a number of components. First, the team will…

Status: ACTIVE
State: PA
Project Term: 07/15/2019 - 04/14/2024
Program: BREAKERS
Award: $899,947

Drexel University

Drexel University is proposing a solid-state MV circuit breaker based on silicon carbide devices, a resonant topology, and capacitive wireless power transfer that aims to significantly improve breaker performance for the MVDC ecosystem. The project combines innovations in using an active resonant circuit to realize zero-current switching, wireless capacitive coupling between the conduction and breaker branches to avoid direct metal-to-metal contact for rapid response speed, and wireless powering to drive the MV switches for improved system reliability.

Status: ALUMNI
State: NC
Project Term: 05/14/2015 - 11/13/2019
Program: MONITOR
Award: $3,373,669

Duke University

Duke University, in conjunction with its partners, will build a coded aperture miniature mass spectrometer environmental sensor (CAMMS-ES) for use in a methane monitoring system. The team will also develop search, location, and characterization algorithms. Duke will apply its recent innovations in mass spectrometers to increase the throughput of the spectrometer, providing continuous sampling without diminishing its resolution by integrating spatially coded apertures and corresponding reconstruction algorithms. The coded aperture will also provide advanced specificity and sensitivity for…

Status: ALUMNI
State: NC
Project Term: 06/06/2018 - 12/05/2020
Program: SENSOR
Award: $404,878

Duke University

Duke University will develop a residential sensor system that uses a dynamic meta-surface radar antenna design to determine occupancy in residential buildings. Traditional line-of-sight movement sensors suffer from high error rates. To increase accuracy, the Duke team will develop a sensor that monitors electromagnetic waveforms that are scattered both directly and indirectly off a person, eliminating the need for a direct line-of-sight between the sensor and the person. The sensor hardware continuously generates distinct microwave patterns to probe all corners of the house. Once a person…

Status: ACTIVE
State: NC
Project Term: 08/27/2020 - 08/26/2024
Program: PERFORM
Award: $2,437,438

Duke University

Duke University is developing a Grid that’s Risk-Aware for Clean Electricity (GRACE) energy management system (EMS) framework for characterizing the uncertainty of electric power system assets to optimize their performance. GRACE determines the scheduling, dispatch, and compensation of different resources in organized wholesale electricity markets and vertically integrated utilities by building upon industry-implemented market structure and algorithms to incorporate risk considerations. The team will characterize uncertainty of grid asset performance, determine risk-aware reserve targets and…