Status: ACTIVE
State: OH
Project Term: 08/13/2021 - 08/12/2024
Program: Exploratory Topics
Award: $1,600,000

Hyper Tech Research

There are two key engineering challenges in the development of 10 kV, 10 MW electric power distribution cables for double-aisle passenger aircraft. One is providing sufficient electrical insulation at high voltages and the second is transferring heat away from the conductors. Hyper Tech Research will decrease the resistivity of copper-clad aluminum conductors by a factor of three by maintaining the temperature of the conductors at around 120 Kelvin. The goal of the technology is to reduce the conductor size, cryostat size, and cable volume and weight to significantly lower the mass-…

Status: ALUMNI
State: VA
Project Term: 03/27/2020 - 03/26/2021
Program: Exploratory Topics
Award: $500,000

HyperJet Fusion

HyperJet Fusion is advancing a potentially faster and cheaper approach to fusion energy that would result in reduced energy emissions. In plasma jet driven magneto-inertial fusion (PJMIF), an array of discrete supersonic plasma jets is used to form a spherically imploding plasma liner, which then compresses a magnetized plasma target to fusion conditions. HyperJet Fusion has been developing the plasma guns required for an experimental demonstration of the plasma liner formation. The proposed project focuses on developing the magnetized plasma target. The concept could potentially introduce an…

Status: ALUMNI
State: NM
Project Term: 03/10/2014 - 06/30/2019
Program: SWITCHES
Award: $3,146,043

iBeam Materials

iBeam Materials is developing a scalable manufacturing method to produce low-cost gallium nitride (GaN) LED devices for use in solid-state lighting. iBeam Materials uses an ion-beam crystal-aligning process to create single-crystal-like templates on arbitrary substrates thereby eliminating the need for small rigid single-crystal substrates. This process is inexpensive, high-output, and allows for large-area deposition in particular on flexible metal foils. In using flexible substrates, in contrast to rigid single-crystal wafers, the ion-aligning process also enables roll-to-roll (R2R)…

Status: ALUMNI
State: NY
Project Term: 04/27/2020 - 12/31/2022
Program: DIFFERENTIATE
Award: $1,386,001

IBM T.J. Watson Research Center

IBM Research will develop a reinforcement learning (RL)-based electrical power converter design tool. Such converters are widely used and critically important in many applications. Designing a specific converter is a lengthy and expensive process that involves multiple manual steps—selecting and configuring the correct components and topologies; evaluating the design performance via simulations; and iteratively optimizing the design while satisfying resource, technology, and cost constraints. In this project, the design problem will be formulated as mixed integer optimization to be…

Status: ALUMNI
State: NY
Project Term: 10/01/2017 - 03/31/2020
Program: ENLITENED
Award: $2,424,000

IBM T.J. Watson Research Center

The IBM T.J. Watson Research Center will develop datacenter networking technology incorporating extremely fast switching devices that operate on the nanosecond scale. At the heart of the process is the development of a new type of photonic switch. The dominant switching technology today are electronic switches that toggle connections between two wires, each wire providing a different communication channel. A photonic switch toggles connections between two optical fibers, where each individual fiber themselves can carry many communication channels allowing immense numbers of data transfers.…

Status: ACTIVE
State: NY
Project Term: 10/31/2017 - 10/30/2023
Program: ENLITENED
Award: $10,059,406

IBM T.J. Watson Research Center

IBM T.J. Watson Research Center will develop a two-pronged approach to improve future datacenter efficiency.. New optical interconnect solutions can provide a path to energy-efficient datacenters at higher bandwidth levels, but they must also meet key metrics including power density, cost, latency, reliability, and signal integrity. IBM's team will use their expertise with vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers (VCSELs) to develop VCSEL-based optical interconnect technology capable of meeting the necessary future demands. VCSEL-based interconnects offer an appealing combination of low…

Status: ALUMNI
State: NY
Project Term: 08/10/2015 - 08/09/2018
Program: MONITOR
Award: $4,500,000

IBM T.J. Watson Research Center

IBM’s T.J Watson Research Center is working in conjunction with Harvard University and Princeton University to develop an energy-efficient, self-organizing mesh network to gather data over a distributed methane measurement system. Data will be passed to a cloud-based analytics system using custom models to quantify the amount and rate of methane leakage. Additionally, IBM is developing new, low-cost optical sensors that will use tunable diode laser absorption spectroscopy (TDLAS) for methane detection. While today’s optical sensors offer excellent sensitivity and selectivity, their high cost…

Status: ACTIVE
State: NY
Project Term: 10/01/2022 - 09/30/2025
Program: OPEN 2021
Award: $2,629,666

IBM T.J. Watson Research Center

IBM will develop an energy-efficient two-phase cooling system for data center servers to significantly reduce energy and water usage. The system will improve data center energy efficiency over traditionally air-cooled data centers that consume 25-35% of the total data center energy usage. The proposed system will flow non-conductive, dielectric liquid coolant within a server by placing heat extracting cold plates in direct contact with high power components (CPUs, GPUs, etc.), reducing the thermal resistance between the chip and coolant and allowing above ambient coolant temperature. This can…

Status: ALUMNI
State: ID
Project Term: 01/01/2020 - 06/30/2022
Program: Exploratory Topics
Award: $1,659,014

Idaho National Laboratory (INL)

INL and its partners are proposing a next generation metal fuel in support of a megawatt-scale compact fast reactor – being developed by Oklo Inc – that is uniquely sized for off-grid applications. The team seeks to develop a fuel with a demonstrated production process and validated performance that incorporates engineered porosity to absorb and retain produced gasses, allowing for higher operating temperatures, as well as a diffusion barrier between the fuel alloy and the cladding to avoid material degradation, which removes the need for the complicated-to-manufacture sodium bond between…

Status: ACTIVE
State: ID
Project Term: 04/04/2022 - 04/03/2025
Program: ONWARDS
Award: $2,076,343

Idaho National Laboratory (INL)

Idaho National Laboratory (INL) will develop a thermal treatment process for extracting metallic actinides as a group and separating active fission products from used metal fuels. The INL team will leverage the anticipated formation of immiscible (unmixable) liquid layers and subsequent precipitation of solid phases upon cooling to improve the purity of resulting products at a potentially lower cost. A traveling molten zone system will rapidly extract actinides from used metallic fuels. One rapid pass of the molten zone from the bottom to the top of the metallic rod incorporating species of…

Status: SELECTED
State: ID
Project Term: TBD
Program: MINER
Award: $3,143,000

Idaho National Laboratory (INL)

Idaho National Laboratory (INL) will develop a novel mineral extraction technology to transform CO2-reactive, impermeable, low-grade ores for in-situ mining, recovery of energy-relevant minerals, and CO2 storage. Once the technology achieves maturity, it could potentially replace costly, energy-intensive, high-carbon footprint underground/open-pit mining. INL will stimulate mafic-ultramafic ore bodies using an innovative electric hydraulic fracturing method followed by in-situ circulating of optimized metal leachate charged with CO2 for energy-relevant mineral leaching and CO2 mineralization…

Status: SELECTED
State: ID
Project Term: TBD
Program: CURIE
Award: $2,659,677

Idaho National Laboratory (INL)

Idaho National Laboratory (INL) will design, fabricate, and test robust anode materials for recovering actinide elements from used LWR fuels through a molten salt electrochemical process. Current anode materials, which are typically fabricated from either platinum or graphite, are expensive, degrade rapidly, contaminate the reduced actinide product, and generate greenhouse gases when used to manufacture metallic products. The proposed anode materials consist of monolithic ruthenium metal, alloys of ruthenium and iridium (with transition metals), and ruthenium- and iridium-coated electrodes.…

Status: ALUMNI
State: TX
Project Term: 01/30/2012 - 05/29/2015
Program: Solar ADEPT
Award: $2,499,787

Ideal Power

PV inverters convert DC power generated by modules into usable AC power. Ideal Power's initial 30kW 94lb PV inverter reduces the weight of comparable 30kW PV inverters by 90%—reducing the cost of materials, manufacturing, shipping, and installation. With ARPA-E support, new bi-directional silicon power switches will be developed, commercialized, and utilized in Ideal Power's next-generation PV inverter. With these components, Ideal Power will produce 100kW inverters that weight less than 100lb., reducing the weight of conventional 3,000lb. 100kW inverters by more than 95%. The new…

Status: ALUMNI
State: IL
Project Term: 12/18/2017 - 12/31/2022
Program: CIRCUITS
Award: $2,011,800

Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT)

Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT) will develop autonomously operated, programmable, and intelligent bidirectional solid-state circuit breakers (SSCB) using transistors based on gallium nitride (GaN). Renewable power sources and other distributed energy resources feed electricity to the utility grid through interfacing power electronic converters, but the power converters cannot withstand a fault condition (abnormal electric current) for more than a few microseconds. Circuit faults cause either catastrophic destruction or protective shutdown of the converters, resulting in loss of power…

Status: CANCELLED
State: IL
Project Term: 01/01/2014 - 12/31/2015
Program: RANGE
Award: $2,294,446

Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT)

Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT) is collaborating with Argonne National Laboratory to develop a rechargeable flow battery for EVs that uses a nanotechnology-based electrochemical liquid fuel that offers over 30 times the energy density of traditional electrolytes. Flow batteries, which store chemical energy in external tanks instead of within the battery container, are typically low in energy density and therefore not well suited for transportation. However, IIT’s flow battery uses a liquid electrolyte containing a large portion of nanoparticles to carry its charge; increases its energy…

Status: ACTIVE
State: IL
Project Term: 06/14/2021 - 06/13/2024
Program: Exploratory Topics
Award: $779,374

Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT)

Fault protection must be provided for future turboelectric aircraft’s medium-voltage direct current power systems, but not necessarily from conventional circuit breakers. Illinois Institute of Technology will develop a 10 kV/150A superconducting momentary circuit interrupter (SMCI) to provide fault protection with ultralow power loss (<1 W), ultrafast response (<10 μs or ten millionth of a second), and high-power density. The architecture comprises an SMCI with a fast mechanical disconnect switch. Under normal operation, the SMCI conducts a DC load current through a high-temperature…

Status: ACTIVE
State: IL
Project Term: 03/22/2022 - 03/21/2025
Program: OPEN 2021
Award: $1,885,932

Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT)

The Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT) will develop a novel electrochemical process for electrochemically synthesizing C2+ alcohols, i.e., ethanol and propanol from captured CO2, at high rates in a laboratory-scale zero-gap flow electrolyzer. The IIT team will study the effects of flue gas composition and operating conditions on the reaction kinetics parameters and mass transport rate of the flue-gas-based CO2 reduction reaction. Ultimately, an environmentally friendly, economically feasible, and energy efficient CCU process will be developed for large-scale carbon-neutral production of…

Status: ALUMNI
State: WI
Project Term: 12/19/2017 - 05/31/2022
Program: CIRCUITS
Award: $1,172,888

Imagen Energy

Imagen Energy will develop a silicon carbide (SiC)-based compact motor drive system to efficiently control high-power (greater than 500 kW) permanent magnet electric motors operating at extremely high speed (greater than 20,000 rpm). Imagen’s design will address a major roadblock in operating electric motors at high speed, namely overcoming large back electromotive forces (BEMF). Their solution hopes to maximize the capabilities of the SiC technology and associated digital control platform, thereby bringing the overall drive system performance parameters to levels unachievable by current Si-…

Status: CANCELLED
State: CA
Project Term: 02/24/2014 - 07/14/2014
Program: METALS
Award: $94,604

iMetalx Group

iMetalx is scaling up an advanced electrochemical process to produce low-cost titanium from domestic ore. While titanium is a versatile and robust structural metal, its widespread adoption for consumer applications has been limited due to its high cost of production. iMetalx is developing an new electrochemical titanium production process that avoids the cyclical formation of undesired titanium ions, thus significantly increasing the electrical current efficiency. iMetalx will test different cell designs, reduce unwanted side reactions to increase energy efficiency, and minimize the heat…

Status: ACTIVE
State: AL
Project Term: 09/30/2022 - 09/29/2024
Program: Exploratory Topics
Award: $500,000

Impact Cooling

Impact Cooling will develop a novel data center cooling solution that can cool server equipment efficiently using only air. Data centers are predicted to consume 8% of global electricity by 2030; approximately one-third of that energy is used for cooling server equipment rather than actual computations. State-of-the-art data center cooling has come from better separation of hot and cold air. State-of-the-art air-cooled data centers use air at ambient atmospheric pressure to cool the server equipment. Impact Cooling’s patented air jet impingement cooling technology can achieve dramatically…

Status: ALUMNI
State: CA
Project Term: 01/12/2018 - 05/30/2022
Program: CIRCUITS
Award: $2,235,994

Infineon Technologies

Infineon Technologies will develop a new, low-cost integrated circuit (IC) gate driver specifically for use with gallium nitride (GaN) high electron mobility transistor (HEMT) switches. The GaN HEMT switches would be used as a component for controlling variable speed electric motors in variable speed drives (VSDs). Electric motors, which account for about 40% of U.S. electricity consumption, can be made substantially more efficient by replacing constant speed motors with variable speed motors. Most VSDs today use silicon-based semiconductors, which are limited in performance compared to…

Status: ALUMNI
State: MA
Project Term: 12/12/2013 - 12/10/2016
Program: METALS
Award: $3,980,000

INFINIUM

INFINIUM is developing a technology to produce light metals such as aluminum and titanium using an electrochemical cell design that could reduce energy consumption associated with these processes by over 50%. The key component of this innovation lies within the anode assembly used to electrochemically refine these light metals from their ores. While traditional processes use costly graphite anodes that are reacted to produce CO2 during refining, INFINIUM’s anode can use much cheaper fuels such as natural gas, and produce a high-purity oxygen by-product. Revenue from this by-product could…

Status: CANCELLED
State: MA
Project Term: 02/05/2016 - 05/19/2017
Program: OPEN 2015
Award: $2,022,919

INFINIUM

INFINIUM will convert low-grade magnesium scrap into material of sufficient purity for motor vehicle components by a novel high-efficiency process using less than 1 kWh/kg magnesium product. Other magnesium purification technologies such as distillation and electrorefining use 5-10 kWh/kg, and primary production uses 40-100 kWh/kg. This is also a high-speed continuous process, with much lower labor and capital costs than other batch purification technologies. This technology could enable cost-effective recycling of magnesium, converting low-grade scrap metal into high-purity magnesium at low…

Status: ACTIVE
State: CA
Project Term: 09/02/2022 - 09/01/2024
Program: Exploratory Topics
Award: $500,000

Inlyte Energy

Inlyte Energy will engineer robust cyclability of the sodium metal halide (NaMx) battery’s iron chemistry for next-generation grid storage. The NaMx iron chemistry’s raw storage materials are table salt and iron, two of Earth’s most abundant and low-cost materials. The NaMx battery displays excellent safety, high efficiency, and a long life. Limited research on the sodium/iron chloride battery chemistry has shown variable cycling performance, the number of charge/discharge cycles it can complete before losing performance. Inlyte Energy will perform a systematic study, using a sodium/iron…

Status: ACTIVE
State: WI
Project Term: 03/15/2022 - 03/14/2025
Program: REMEDY
Award: $2,230,693

INNIO Waukesha Gas Engines

INNIO’s Waukesha Gas Engines will develop a new piston, liner, and head gasket design that dramatically reduces crevice volumes, the largest source of unburned fuel, in engine combustion chambers. The team will optimize a large-bore steel piston to achieve the same reciprocating mass as current aluminum pistons. The new technology will broadly apply to all natural-gas-fueled lean-burn engines and can be used to retrofit a fleet of existing engines with little-to-no increase in budgeted costs. The technology will reduce emissions of regulated pollutants such as carbon monoxide, volatile…

Status: CANCELLED
State: OH
Project Term: 12/01/2009 - 11/03/2011
Program: OPEN 2009
Award: $1,640,916

Inorganic Specialists

Inorganic Specialists’ project consists of material and manufacturing development for a new type of Li-Ion battery material, a silicon-coated paper. Silicon-based batteries are advantageous due to silicon’s ability to store large amounts of energy. Yet, the technology has not been able to withstand multiple charge/discharge cycles. The thinner the silicon-based material, the better it can handle multiple charge/discharge cycles. Inorganic Specialists’ extremely thin silicon-coated paper can store 4 times more energy than existing Li-Ion batteries. The team is improving manufacturing…

Status: ALUMNI
State: WA
Project Term: 04/05/2013 - 08/31/2017
Program: OPEN 2012
Award: $2,339,676

Integral Consulting

Integral Consulting is developing a cost-effective ocean wave buoy system that will accurately measure its own movements as it follows the surface wave motions of the ocean and relay this real-time wave data. Conventional real-time wave measurement buoys are expensive, which limits the ability to deploy large networks of buoys. Data from Integral Consulting’s buoys can be used as input to control strategies of wave energy conversion (WEC) devices and allow these controlled WECs to capture significantly more energy than systems that do not employ control strategies. Integral Consulting’s…

Status: ACTIVE
State: LA
Project Term: 09/18/2019 - 12/31/2023
Program: HITEMMP
Award: $1,419,417

International Mezzo Technologies

International Mezzo Technologies will design, manufacture, and test a compact, nickel-based superalloy supercritical carbon dioxide (sCO2) recuperator (a type of heat exchanger). The recuperator will incorporate laser-welded micro tubes and function at 800°C (1,472°F) and 275 bar (3,989 psi). Currently, the cost of recuperators for power systems operating in these conditions is prohibitive. Laser welding micro tubes offers a low-cost approach to fabricating heat exchangers, which could increase the economic competitiveness of sCO2 power cycles. Mezzo’s program could provide a pathway to…

Status: ALUMNI
State: MI
Project Term: 01/06/2016 - 04/05/2017
Program: IDEAS
Award: $499,999

Inventev

Inventev is developing a proof-of-concept for a commercially viable generator system that is integrated with a truck transmission. The project will involve the design and fabrication of transmission and power electronics subsystems, integration of those systems into a Ford F550 chassis-cab truck, and conversion of the standard gasoline engine to a low-pressure natural gas engine. The project aims to create a 120kW low-cost, low-emission mobile power generator using natural gas with a cost target of 6-to-7 cents per kilowatt-hour. Of particular significance is the ability to use the same…

Status: ACTIVE
State: MD
Project Term: 08/09/2021 - 08/08/2023
Program: Exploratory Topics
Award: $500,000

InventWood

InventWood proposes to develop and manufacture lightweight 3D wood corrugated honeycomb structures to replace metal counterparts. Compared with widely used aluminum, 3D wood has similar mechanical strength, possesses one-third the density and one-fourteenth the cost, and reduces CO2 emissions by 90% in its manufacture. Project goals include: (1) improving 3D corrugated wood performance to achieve a mechanical strength of up to 500 MPa; (2) improving 3D wood performance to meet structural material requirements, including bending, compression, fatigue resistance, and thermal-cycling and water…

Status: ACTIVE
State: CA
Project Term: 10/01/2021 - 09/30/2023
Program: ECOSynBio
Award: $1,657,763

Invizyne Technologies

Invizyne Technologies proposes an electrically powered cell-free enzymatic approach for upgrading ethanol into more useful chemicals. Because carbon for 99% of organic chemicals is petroleum-derived, replacing petroleum carbon with carbon captured from the atmosphere could greatly mitigate carbon emissions. Atmospheric CO2 represents a potentially limitless source of inexpensive carbon, but there are significant challenges to converting captured CO2 into useful chemicals and fuels. While recent technologies can capture CO2 by converting it into simple chemicals such as formate or ethanol,…

Status: ACTIVE
State: CA
Project Term: 08/08/2022 - 08/07/2024
Program: Exploratory Topics
Award: $496,177

Invizyne Technologies

Invizyne will develop efficient cell-free enzyme cascade reactions as an alternative, more commercially competitive approach to microbe-produced biofuels. Cell-free technology is still relatively new. However, Invizyne has already been successful in improving enzyme stability and process optimization to push down the cost curve of biofuels. The team seeks to address a barrier to market penetration for cell-free technologies by simplifying and reducing the cost of enzyme production. If successful, this approach could enable a cell-free enzyme system that produces isobutanol at below $3 per…

Status: ALUMNI
State: MA
Project Term: 01/16/2017 - 08/31/2021
Program: IONICS
Award: $6,761,565

Ionic Materials

Ionic Materials will develop a lithium metal (not lithium ion) rechargeable battery cell that employs a novel solid polymer electrolyte that enables the world’s first truly safe lithium metal rechargeable battery cell. Scientists at the City University of New York have found that Ionic Material’s proprietary ionic conducting polymer is the most highly lithium conducting solid state polymer material ever measured (at room temperature). This polymer has high ionic conductivity across a range of temperatures, can be reliably extruded into very thin films, is non-flammable, has attractive…

Status: ALUMNI
State: MA
Project Term: 04/01/2019 - 09/30/2021
Program: OPEN 2018
Award: $2,061,799

Ionic Materials

Ionic Materials will develop a more energy dense (by volume and mass) rechargeable battery based on an aluminum-alkaline chemistry. At the center of Ionic Materials’ innovation is a new polymer-based material that suppresses the formation of undesired chemical products that prevent aluminum-alkaline batteries from recharging. Aluminum is a highly abundant natural resource and costs much less than cobalt, nickel, and lithium, key elements in today’s state-of-the-art batteries. Aluminum-alkaline chemistries are also inherently safer than LIBs, making them more appropriate for use in electric…

Status: ALUMNI
State: IA
Project Term: 04/08/2020 - 05/31/2022
Program: DIFFERENTIATE
Award: $1,979,995

Iowa State University (ISU)

Iowa State University will develop novel machine learning tools to accelerate the inverse design of new microstructures in photovoltaics. The team will create a new deep generative model called bi-directional inverse design networks to combat challenges in real-world inverse design problems. The proposed inverse design tools, if successful, will produce novel, manufacturable material microstructures with improved electromagnetic properties relative to existing technology for better, more efficient solar energy.

Status: ALUMNI
State: IA
Project Term: 08/11/2016 - 12/31/2017
Program: IDEAS
Award: $371,726

Iowa State University (ISU)

Iowa State University (ISU) will develop a catalytic autothermal pyrolysis (CAP) process for the production of aromatics and olefins that refiners blend into transportation fuels. Pyrolysis is the decomposition of substances by heating - the same process used to render wood into charcoal, caramelize sugar, and dry roast coffee beans. Traditionally, energy for pyrolysis is provided through indirect heat exchange, employing high temperature heat exchangers within reactors or conveying hot solids into reactors with the feedstock. This approach complicates the design and operation of reactors…

Status: ALUMNI
State: IA
Project Term: 02/01/2017 - 09/30/2019
Program: IONICS
Award: $1,631,957

Iowa State University (ISU)

Iowa State University (ISU) will develop new lithium-ion-conducting glassy solid electrolytes to address the shortcomings of present-day lithium batteries. The electrolytes will have high ionic conductivities and excellent mechanical, thermal, chemical, and electrochemical properties. Because glasses lack grain boundaries, they will also be impermeable to lithium dendrites, branchlike metal fibers that can short-circuit battery cells. These glassy solid electrolytes can enhance the safety, performance, manufacturability, and cost of lithium batteries. In addition to the electrolyte…

Status: CANCELLED
State: IA
Project Term: 01/15/2010 - 10/14/2011
Program: OPEN 2009
Award: $2,490,248

Iowa State University (ISU)

Iowa State University (ISU) is genetically engineering a species of aquatic microalgae called Chlamydomonas for more energy efficient conversion of sunlight and carbon dioxide to biofuels. Current microalgae genetic technologies are imprecise and hinder the rapid engineering of a variety of desirable traits into Chlamydomonas. In the absence of genetic engineering, it remains unlikely that current microalgae technologies for biofuel production will be able to economically compete with traditional fossil fuels. ISU is developing a portfolio of technologies for rapid genetic modification and…

Status: CANCELLED
State: IA
Project Term: 06/01/2016 - 06/30/2018
Program: OPEN 2015
Award: $2,274,303

Iowa State University (ISU)

The team led by Iowa State University (ISU) will develop an All Solid-State Sodium Battery (ASSSB) that will have a high energy content, can easily be recycled, and rely on highly abundant and extremely low cost starting materials. Commercially available sodium-based batteries operate at elevated temperatures, which decreases the efficiency and safety of the system. The team seeks to improve all three of the main components of a sodium-based battery: the anode, cathode, and electrolyte separator. The team’s anode is a porous carbon nanotube layer that will serve as a framework on which sodium…

Status: ALUMNI
State: IA
Project Term: 06/12/2017 - 03/31/2020
Program: ROOTS
Award: $1,099,513

Iowa State University (ISU)

Iowa State University (ISU) will develop new sensors that measure the amount of nitrogen in soils and plants multiple times per day throughout the growing season. Nitrogen fertilizer is the largest energy input to U.S. corn production. However, its use is inefficient due to a lack of low-cost, effective nitrogen sensors. Year-to-year variation in nitrogen mineralization, due to differences in soil water and temperature, creates tremendous uncertainty about the proper fertilizer input and can cause farmers to over-apply. As a result, nitrogen fertilizer is lost from croplands to the…

Status: CANCELLED
State: IA
Project Term: 09/01/2018 - 08/31/2021
Program: SENSOR
Award: $330,967

Iowa State University (ISU)

Reliable, accurate CO2 measurement to inform building system operations can substantially benefit energy use in U.S. buildings. To meet this need, a demonstrated evaluation protocol is required to assess accuracy and reliability of CO2 sensing technologies across a number of influencing factors The Iowa State research team will develop comprehensive testing protocols and contribute to development of guidelines to assess the accuracy and reliability of CO2 sensing technologies being developed through the SENSOR program. The outputs of this project will also inform both the R&D and…

Status: ALUMNI
State: NM
Project Term: 01/10/2017 - 05/09/2019
Program: SHIELD
Award: $2,149,590

IR Dynamics

IR Dynamics will develop a low-cost nanomaterial technology to be incorporated into flexible window films that will improve thermal insulation and solar heat gain. The team’s nanomaterial will incorporate two materials. First, low-cost nanosheets will increase thermal resistance. Second, a new type of nanomaterial will allow heat, in the form of infrared radiation (IR) from the sun, to pass through the window when it is cold outside, helping to warm the room in cold weather. When it is hot outside, the material will block the solar IR from passing through the window and warming the interior.…

Status: ALUMNI
State: CO
Project Term: 10/01/2012 - 06/30/2015
Program: GRIDS
Award: $1,724,842

ITN Energy Systems

ITN Energy Systems is developing a vanadium redox flow battery for residential and small-scale commercial energy storage that would be more efficient and affordable than today’s best energy storage systems. In a redox flow battery, chemical reactions occur that allow the battery to absorb or deliver electricity. Unlike conventional batteries, flow batteries use a liquid (also known as an electrolyte) to store energy; the more electrolyte that is used, the longer the battery can operate. Vanadium electrolyte-based redox flow battery systems are a technology for today’s market, but they require…

Status: ALUMNI
State: CO
Project Term: 01/01/2010 - 06/30/2013
Program: OPEN 2009
Award: $5,991,065

ITN Energy Systems

ITN Energy Systems is addressing the high cost of electrochromic windows with a new manufacturing process: roll-to-roll deposition of the film onto flexible plastic surfaces. Production of electrochromic films on plastic requires low processing temperatures and uniform film quality over large surface areas. ITN is overcoming these challenges using its previous experience in growing flexible thin-film solar cells and batteries. By developing sensor-based controls, ITN's roll-to-roll manufacturing process yields more film over a larger area than traditional film deposition methods.…

Status: ALUMNI
State: CA
Project Term: 04/30/2014 - 05/18/2016
Program: RANGE
Award: $2,717,969

Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL)

NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) is developing a new metal-hydride/air battery. Current electric vehicle batteries use costly components and require packaging and shielding to ensure safety. To address this, JPL’s technology will incorporate safe, inexpensive, and high-capacity materials for both the positive and negative electrodes of the battery as part of a novel design. Additionally, JPL’s design will use a membrane developed to prevent water loss and CO2 entry within the battery. High power performance and decreased costs will be possible with the use of a single catalyst material…

Status: ALUMNI
State: MD
Project Term: 10/01/2015 - 03/31/2017
Program: IDEAS
Award: $489,889

Johns Hopkins University

Johns Hopkins University will develop and assess components of a self-powered system to convert methane (the main component in natural gas) into carbon fiber. Methane can be separated into carbon and hydrogen, or burned for energy. The team will develop processes to use methane both to power the system and serve as carbon feedstock in a four stage system. First, methane is decomposed into hydrogen and carbon, and combined into a carbon/metal aggregate. Second, the carbon/metal aggregate is melted, producing a liquid melt containing carbon dissolved within it. Third, the melt is solidified…

Status: ALUMNI
State: MD
Project Term: 02/15/2016 - 12/31/2017
Program: IDEAS
Award: $500,000

Johns Hopkins University

Johns Hopkins University will study the adsorption compression phenomenon for ways to enhance the reaction rate for commercially relevant reactions. Adsorption is the adhesion of molecules from a gas, liquid, or dissolved solid to a surface, creating layers of the “adsorbate” on the surface of the host material. The Johns Hopkins team will explore the physical state where the forces acting parallel to the surface of adsorbate molecules can in certain conditions be far higher than forces associated with adsorption of additional molecules on the surface. This phenomenon is called adsorption…

Status: ACTIVE
State: MD
Project Term: 06/28/2019 - 06/27/2023
Program: OPEN 2018
Award: $3,690,304

Johns Hopkins University

Johns Hopkins will scale up a novel process to convert natural gas into hydrogen and solid carbon with no water input while reducing carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. Leveraging industrial partners Southern Company and Cabot Corporation, the team will scale up its cyclic process based on early laboratory demonstration. ETCH, INC, is commercializing the process, which is expected to produce H2 from NG at costs comparable to the state-of-the art commercial technologies, while lowering energy input, reducing CO2 emissions, and producing high-value pure carbon materials.

Status: ACTIVE
State: MD
Project Term: 05/01/2020 - 04/30/2023
Program: Exploratory Topics
Award: $1,500,000

Johns Hopkins University

Johns Hopkins University aims to develop an energy-efficient, scalable approach to convert methane into hydrogen and valuable graphitized carbon fibers (GCFs).The team will design an electrothermal reactor to pyrolyze (decompose) methane into hydrogen and low-quality carbon products, such as graphite particles, which will then be spun and heated to GCFs. These high-quality fibers can be used for construction material applications. The fully electrified manufacturing processes will be highly scalable, and built to accommodate various feedstocks and intermittent renewable energy sources.…

Status: ACTIVE
State: MD
Project Term: 02/23/2021 - 08/22/2023
Program: Exploratory Topics
Award: $1,469,452

Johns Hopkins University

Johns Hopkins University aims to catalytically convert low-cost #3-7 plastic mixtures into para-xylene, one of the most valuable hydrocarbon products. Johns Hopkins' primary design of the hydrocracking process first converts hydrocarbon plastics selectively to volatile hydrocarbons with xylene isomers as the predominant products. Then a post-reaction separation unit derives pure para-xylene as the desired product. The unit allows recycling of the residual H2 and possibly other hydrocarbons back to the hydrocracker. The ultimate goal of this project is to enable energy-efficient and…