ARPA-E - Funding and Awards - Third Funding Opportunity

Third Funding Opportunity

On March 2, 2010, at the inaugural ARPA-E Energy Innovation Summit, U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu announced a third funding opportunity for ARPA-E projects. Like the second funding opportunity, ARPA-E solicited projects by category: Grid-Scale Rampable Intermittent Dispatchable Storage (GRIDS), Agile Delivery of Electrical Power Technology (ADEPT), and Building Energy Efficiency Through Innovative Thermodevices (BEET-IT). GRIDS welcomed projects that focused on widespread deployment of cost-effective grid-scale energy storage in two specific areas: 1) proof of concept storage component projects focused on validating new, over-the-horizon electrical energy storage concepts, and 2) advanced system prototypes that address critical shortcomings of existing grid-scale energy storage technologies. ADEPT focused on investing in materials for fundamental advances in soft magnetics, high voltage switches, and reliable, high-density charge storage in three categories: 1) fully integrated, chip-scale power converters for applications including, but not limited to, compact, efficient drivers for solid-state lighting, distributed micro-inverters for photovoltaics, and single-chip power supplies for computers, 2) kilowatt scale package integrated power converters by enabling applications such as low-cost, efficient inverters for grid-tied photovoltaics and variable speed motors, and 3) lightweight, solid-state, medium voltage energy conversion for high power applications such as solid-state electrical substations and wind turbine generators. BEET-IT solicited projects regarding energy efficient cooling technologies and air conditioners (AC) for buildings to save energy and reduce GHG emissions in the following areas: 1) cooling systems that use refrigerants with low global warming potential; 2) energy efficient air conditioning (AC) systems for warm and humid climates with an increased coefficient of performance (COP); and 3) vapor compression AC systems for hot climates for re-circulating air loads with an increased COP.

Secretary Chu announced the selection of 43 projects under GRIDS, ADEPT, and BEET-IT on July 12, 2010. The awards totaled $92 million and ranged from $400,000 to $5,000,000. The solicitation distribution included 14 projects in ADEPT, 17 projects in BEET-IT, and 12 projects in GRIDS. Examples of awarded projects include a "Soluble Acid Lead Flow Battery" that pumps chemicals through a battery cell when electricity is needed (GRIDS), "Silicon Carbide Power Modules for Grid Scale Power Conversion" that uses advanced transistors to make the electrical grid more flexible and controllable (ADEPT), and an "Absorption-Osmosis Cooling Cycle," a new air conditioning system that uses water as a refrigerant, rather than chemicals (BEET-IT).