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

December 05, 2012

ARPA-E Awards $130 Million for 66 Energy Technology Projects

The Energy Department on November 28 announced 66 research projects selected by its Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) to receive a total of $130 million in funding through its "OPEN 2012" program. ARPA-E seeks out transformational technologies that show fundamental technical promise but are not ready for private-sector investment. The selected projects encompass 11 technology areas in 24 states.

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

For example, for the growing market of wind turbine generators and electric vehicle motors, the Electron Energy Corporation in Landisville, Pennsylvania, will develop a technology to manufacture permanent magnets that cost less and are stronger than those available today. For another project, the University of North Dakota in Grand Forks, North Dakota, will develop an air-cooled device for power plants that offers low environmental impact and helps maintain water and power efficiency during electricity production.

The projects were selected through a merit-based process from thousands of concept papers and hundreds of applications. They are based in 24 states, with approximately 47% of the projects led by universities, 29% by small businesses, 15% by large businesses, 7.5% by national labs, and 1.5% by non-profits. The announcement brings ARPA-E's total portfolio of projects to about 285, for a total of approximately $770 million in awards. See the Energy Department press release.