ARPA-E Awards $130 million for 66 power engineering projects

The Energy Department on 28 November announced 66 research projects by the advanced research projects Agency (ARPA-E) energy total $130 million received in funding through its program, selected "OPEN 2012". ARPA-E seeks transformational technologies that show promise fundamental technical but are not ready for private-sector investment. The selected projects include 11 technology areas in 24 States.

The OPEN 2012 projects focus on a wide range of technologies, including advanced fuels, vehicle design and materials, building efficiency, grid modernization, energy storage, and renewable energy.

For example, is the electron energy develop for the growing market of electric vehicle motors and generators for wind turbines, Corporation in Landisville, Pennsylvania, a technology for the production of permanent magnets, the less cost and are stronger than they are today. For another project of the University of North Dakota in Grand Forks, North Dakota, develop an air-cooled unit for power plants, which offers low environmental impact and helps maintain water and energy efficiency in power generation.

The projects were selected by a process on the basis of merit by thousands of concept paper and hundreds of applications. They are based in 24 States with approximately 47 per cent of the projects conducted by universities, 29% of small businesses, 15% of large enterprises and 7.5% from national labs and 1.5% from non-profit organizations. The announcement brings ARPA-E projects total approximately 285, for a total amount of around 770 million $ awards. See Energy Department press release.

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New ARPA-E Projects to Boost Natural Gas Vehicle Technologies

A refuse truck powered by compressed natural gas in Washington state.
Credit: Western Washington Clean Cities

The Energy Department on July 12 announced $30 million in funding for 13 research projects designed to find new ways of harnessing natural gas supplies for cars and trucks. Researchers in California, Colorado, Connecticut, Illinois, Michigan, New York, Texas, Washington, and Wisconsin will work on the initiative. The grants are made through the Energy Department's Advanced Research Projects Agency – Energy (ARPA-E). The projects are part of Methane Opportunities for Vehicular Energy, which aims to engineer lightweight, affordable natural gas tanks for vehicles and develop natural gas compressors that efficiently fuel a natural gas vehicle at home.

Today's natural gas vehicle technologies require tanks that can withstand high pressures. They are often cumbersome, and are either too large or too expensive to be suitable for smaller passenger vehicles. ARPA-E's new projects are focused on removing these barriers, which will help encourage the widespread use of natural gas cars and trucks. For example, REL, Inc. in Calumet, Michigan, will receive $3 million to develop an internal "foam core" for natural gas tanks that allows tanks to be formed into any shape. This will enable higher storage capacity than current carbon fiber tanks at one-third the cost.

The projects will also focus on developing natural gas compressors that make it easier for consumers to re-fuel at home. The Center for Electromechanics at the University of Texas at Austin will use $4 million to develop an at-home natural gas re-fueling system that compresses gas with a single piston. Unlike current four-piston compressors, these highly integrated single-piston systems will use fewer moving parts, leading to a more reliable, lighter, and cost-effective compressor. See the Energy Department press release and the complete list of projects .

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ARPA-E Issues Call for Transformational Energy Technologies

AppId is over the quota
AppId is over the quota

This is an excerpt from EERE Network News, a weekly electronic newsletter.

DOE's Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) issued a $150 million funding opportunity on March 2 that is open to all transformational energy technologies. This Open Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) is a call to scientists, engineers, and entrepreneurs to propose early-stage research projects that would not otherwise be able to attract private investment. Such projects could lead to breakthrough energy technologies. This is the second Open FOA released under ARPA-E.

The open call includes electricity generation by renewable means; electricity transmission, storage, and distribution; energy efficiency for buildings, manufacturing and commerce, and personal use; and all aspects of transportation, including the production and distribution of renewable fuels, electrification, and energy efficiency in transportation. Individual awards under the Open FOA will range between $250,000 and $10 million. See the DOE press release and the FOA announcement on the Funding Opportunity Exchange website.

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President's 2013 Energy Budget Invests in Solar, Energy Storage and ARPA-E Research

President Obama on February 13 released his Fiscal Year 2013 budget request to Congress, which proposes $27.2 billion for DOE. The blueprint includes investments in innovation, in the job-creating clean energy technologies, and in national security strategy. Specifically, the FY 2013 request promotes efforts to cut the cost of solar energy by 75% by the end of the decade and continue crosscutting research into clean energy technologies that can lead to a one-third reduction of dependence on oil by 2025.

Among the highlights: $60 million to perform critical research on energy storage systems and devise new approaches for battery storage; $350 million for the Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) to continue support for promising early-stage research projects that could deliver game-changing clean energy technologies; $120 million to support energy frontier research centers and $140 million for five existing energy innovation hubs and to establish a new hub to focus on grid systems and the tie between transmission and distribution systems. The president's FY13 budget request also highlights steps taken by DOE to reduce costs, including for example, reducing, consolidating, or moving 40% of its websites to the Energy.gov platform to increase communication and transparency, and streamline website infrastructure processes, which will save more than $10 million a year. See the DOE press release and the proposed FY 2013 DOE budget.

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