ARPA-E Funding Opportunity Announcements

This announcement is purposely broad in scope, and will cover a wide range of topics to encourage the submission of the most innovative and unconventional ideas in energy technology. The objective of this solicitation is to support high-risk R&D leading to the development of potentially disruptive new technologies across the full spectrum of energy applications. Topics under this FOA will explore new areas of technology development that, if successful, could establish new program areas for ARPA-E, or complement the current portfolio of ARPA-E programs.

Targeted Topics:

A. Low-Energy Nuclear Reactions
Closed- FA Deadline 9:30 AM ET 11/15/2022

B. INcreasing Transportation Efficiency and Resiliency through MODeling Assets and Logistics (INTERMODAL)
Closed - FA Deadline 9:30 AM ET 4/11/2023

C. Creating Revolutionary Energy And Technology Endeavors (CREATE)
Closed - FA Deadline 9:30 AM ET 3/21/2023

D. Predictive Real-time Emissions Technologies Reducing Aircraft Induced Lines in the Sky (PRE-TRAILS)
Closed - FA Deadline 9:30 AM ET 4/25/2023

E. Critical Mineral Extraction from Ocean Macroalgal Biomass (Algal Mining)
Closed - FA Deadline 9:30 AM ET 5/31/2023

F. Novel Superconducing Technologies for Conductors
FA Deadline 9:30 AM 7/25/2023

This announcement is purposely broad in scope, and will cover a wide range of topics to encourage the submission of the most innovative and unconventional ideas in energy technology. The objective of this solicitation is to support high-risk R&D leading to the development of potentially disruptive new technologies across the full spectrum of energy applications. Topics under this FOA will explore new areas of technology development that, if successful, could establish new program areas for ARPA-E, or complement the current portfolio of ARPA-E programs.

Targeted Topics:

A. Low-Energy Nuclear Reactions
Closed - FA Deadline 9:30 AM ET 11/15/2022

B. RESERVED

C. Creating Revolutionary Energy And Technology Endeavors (CREATE)
Closed- FA Deadline 9:30 AM ET 3/21/2023

D. Predictive Real-time Emissions Technologies Reducing Aircraft Induced Lines in the Sky (PRE-TRAILS)
Closed - FA Deadline 9:30 AM ET 4/25/2023

E. RESERVED

F. Novel Superconducing Technologies for Conductors
FA Deadline 9:30 AM 7/25/2023

Marine carbon dioxide removal (mCDR) will be an essential component of a future negative emissions industry, which, alongside emissions reduction, is necessary to restrict global climate warming to less than 2°C and avoid global, irreversible, and catastrophic changes caused by this temperature rise. Sensing Exports of Anthropogenic Carbon through Ocean Observation (SEA-CO2) seeks to accelerate the development of the mCDR industry through the development of scalable Measurement, Reporting and Validation (MRV) technologies. MRV must be of sufficient quality to quantify carbon drawdown magnitudes, the degree of permanence, and bound the uncertainties associated with these parameters so that carbon markets can ascertain credit quality and financial institutions can make informed decisions regarding investment risk. To achieve these goals, a paradigm shift in chemical oceanographic data collection is required, moving from a single-point collection paradigm towards a goal of persistent sensing of parameters across large areas and/or volumes. In addition, regional-scale modeling of the combined major ocean carbon pathways relevant to mCDR applied to observation simulation experiments with quantifiable uncertainties as outputs are required. These technologies could also enhance our understanding of the secondary environmental effects associated with mCDR.

ARPA-E considers the following advancements ones that would most rapidly enable effective MRV and the robust establishment of financial value for the mCDR industry:

1. Sensing approaches to quantify oceanographic carbon properties, which boast:

• Large spatial scale, volumetric, or area-survey sensing capability with precision and accuracy (equivalent to bias and variance) comparable to today’s single-point state-of-the-art sensing approaches.
• Size, weight, and power requirements that enable utilization on existing ocean data collection platforms.
• Deployment periods exceeding one year without a reliance on physical human interaction.

2. Regionally focused models representing relevant ocean carbon fluxes and cycles at resolutions suitable to distinguish the additionality associated with mCDR events, with root-mean-square errors (RMSE) and anomaly correlation coefficients (ACC) at least comparable to general state-of-the-art ocean models.

Technological advances in power electronics have enabled the unprecedented growth of renewable energy sources in the electrical power grid. Power electronics innovations have brought improvements in controllability, performance, and energy availability at a specific electronic interface, but are also fundamentally changing the nature of the grid as a system. Because of the growing proportion of fast dynamic electronic interfaces relative to slow dynamic (i.e., conventional, asynchronous, machine-controlled) interfaces, grid performance, stability, and reliability are becoming increasingly jeopardized.

The goal of ULTRAFAST is to advance the performance limits of silicon (Si), wide bandgap (WBG), and ultra-wide bandgap (UWBG) semiconductor devices and significantly improve their actuation methods to support a more capable, resilient, and reliable future grid. ARPA-E expects that projects will create new material, device, and/or power module technologies that enable realization of transformative power management and control. More specifically, ARPA-E is looking for semiconductor material, device and/or power module level advances to enable faster switching and/or triggering at higher current and voltage levels for improved control and protection of the grid.

Specific categories include:

(1) Device and/or module technologies targeting protection functions at high current and voltage levels by achieving very fast by-pass, shunt, or interrupt capability at as low level of integration as possible with nanosecond-level reaction time (and corresponding slew rates).

(2) High switching frequency devices and/or modules which enable efficient, high-power, high-speed power electronics converters.

(3) Complementary technologies such as wireless sensing of voltage and current, high-density packaging with the integrated wireless actuators and device/module-level protection, power cell-level capacitors and inductors, and thermal management strategies to support (1) and (2).

Technological advances in power electronics have enabled the unprecedented growth of renewable energy sources in the electrical power grid. Power electronics innovations have brought improvements in controllability, performance, and energy availability at a specific electronic interface, but are also fundamentally changing the nature of the grid as a system. Because of the growing proportion of fast dynamic electronic interfaces relative to slow dynamic (i.e., conventional, asynchronous, machine-controlled) interfaces, grid performance, stability, and reliability are becoming increasingly jeopardized.

The goal of ULTRAFAST is to advance the performance limits of silicon (Si), wide bandgap (WBG), and ultra-wide bandgap (UWBG) semiconductor devices and significantly improve their actuation methods to support a more capable, resilient, and reliable future grid. ARPA-E expects that projects will create new material, device, and/or power module technologies that enable realization of transformative power management and control. More specifically, ARPA-E is looking for semiconductor material, device and/or power module level advances to enable faster switching and/or triggering at higher current and voltage levels for improved control and protection of the grid.

Specific categories include:

(1) Device and/or module technologies targeting protection functions at high current and voltage levels by achieving very fast by-pass, shunt, or interrupt capability at as low level of integration as possible with nanosecond-level reaction time (and corresponding slew rates).

(2) High switching frequency devices and/or modules which enable efficient, high-power, high-speed power electronics converters.

(3) Complementary technologies such as wireless sensing of voltage and current, high-density packaging with the integrated wireless actuators and device/module-level protection, power cell-level capacitors and inductors, and thermal management strategies to support (1) and (2).

The GOPHURRS program aims to reduce costs, increase speed, and improve the reliability and safety of undergrounding operations through the development of technologies focused on automation, damage prevention, and error elimination. GOPHURRS technologies will shift the paradigm of undergrounding from digging to drilling in order to leave the surface nearly untouched. The focus will be to develop transformative technologies capable of achieving autonomous/trenchless utility installation while also avoiding hidden underground obstacles with advanced look-ahead sensors. In addition, GOPHURRS aims to reduce the life cycle cost of an underground power system by developing reliable cable joint designs and installation systems.

If successfully developed, the technologies envisioned would help accelerate grid expansion and also improve the speed of underground construction of other types of infrastructure through automation, as well as the safety of the operators and surrounding communities. The development of GOPHURRS technologies is an urgent matter due to the need for increased undergrounding to improve reliability and resilience in the face of growing severe weather-related threats resulting from climate change and will help the United States position as a global leader in the delivery of clean, affordable, equitable, and climate-resilient electricity.

Specific technology categories include:

1. High-speed construction tools with maneuverability to install underground conduits with minimal disruption to the surface, where the installed conduits are suitable for pulling medium voltage (5 – 46 kV) power cables.
2. Sensors that characterize near-surface geology, underground obstacles, and existing underground infrastructure in order to assist underground construction operations at the required speed and to minimize risk of utility strikes and cross-borings.
3. Automated cable splice installation systems as well as novel splice designs to ensure error-free and safe installation of cable joints.

The GOPHURRS program aims to reduce costs, increase speed, and improve the reliability and safety of undergrounding operations through the development of technologies focused on automation, damage prevention, and error elimination. GOPHURRS technologies will shift the paradigm of undergrounding from digging to drilling in order to leave the surface nearly untouched. The focus will be to develop transformative technologies capable of achieving autonomous/trenchless utility installation while also avoiding hidden underground obstacles with advanced look-ahead sensors. In addition, GOPHURRS aims to reduce the life cycle cost of an underground power system by developing reliable cable joint designs and installation systems.

If successfully developed, the technologies envisioned would help accelerate grid expansion and also improve the speed of underground construction of other types of infrastructure through automation, as well as the safety of the operators and surrounding communities. The development of GOPHURRS technologies is an urgent matter due to the need for increased undergrounding to improve reliability and resilience in the face of growing severe weather-related threats resulting from climate change and will help the United States position as a global leader in the delivery of clean, affordable, equitable, and climate-resilient electricity.

Specific technology categories include:

1. High-speed construction tools with maneuverability to install underground conduits with minimal disruption to the surface, where the installed conduits are suitable for pulling medium voltage (5 – 46 kV) power cables.
2. Sensors that characterize near-surface geology, underground obstacles, and existing underground infrastructure in order to assist underground construction operations at the required speed and to minimize risk of utility strikes and cross-borings.
3. Automated cable splice installation systems as well as novel splice designs to ensure error-free and safe installation of cable joints.

The Advanced Research Projects Agency – Energy (ARPA–E) is considering issuing a new Exploratory Topic under Funding Opportunity Announcements (FOAs) DE‐ FOA‐0002784 and DE‐FOA‐0002785 to develop standardized evaluation(s) of Connected and Autonomous Vehicle (CAV) efficiency technologies in support of projects supported under the ARPA-E NEXT-Generation Energy Technologies for Connected and Automated on-Road-vehicles (NEXTCAR) Program.

The ARPA-E NEXTCAR Program has funded the development of new and emerging vehicle dynamic and powertrain (VD&PT) control technologies that can reduce the energy consumption of future vehicles through the use of connectivity and vehicle automation. Vehicle energy improvement technologies include, but are not limited to, advanced technologies and concepts relating to full vehicle dynamic control, powertrain control, improved vehicle and powertrain operation through the automation of vehicle dynamics control functions, and improved control and optimization facilitated by connectivity. Phase II of the Program launched in 2021 and is funding a subset of the technologies developed in Phase I to improve the energy efficiency of Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) evels 4 and 5 CAVs by 30%. These improvements will reduce the energy consumed by future individual vehicles undergoing automated operation, either in isolation or in cooperation with other vehicles. More information on the ARPA-E NEXTCAR program itself may be found here and details of the Phase II projects are available here.

To demonstrate and quantify these energy savings, innovation will be required to evaluate efficiency in the automated vehicle space and assign value to those savings for evaluation of the viability of these technologies for integration into the future CAV fleet. If issued, this Exploratory Topic will likely consist of two complementary tasks.

(1) CAV Testing Facility: Focused on developing the infrastructure needs and requirements to evaluate the energy efficiency of CAV technologies under development in normal driving conditions in a controlled environment.

(2) Real-World Driving Scenarios: Focused on developing driving routes utilizing augmented reality, which are representative of real-world driving scenarios, as well as maneuvers and conditions occurring on these routes to accurately assess and quantify the energy and emissions benefits of NEXTCAR Phase II technologies.

As a general matter, ARPA–E strongly encourages outstanding scientists and engineers from different organizations, scientific disciplines, and technology sectors to form new project teams. Multidisciplinary and cross-sector collaboration spanning organizational boundaries enables and accelerates the achievement of scientific and technological outcomes that were previously viewed as extremely difficult, if not impossible. Furthermore, ARPA-E strongly encourages involving industry partners to advise and collaborate with these project teams, with the goal of achieving successful industry adoption and integration of the innovative technologies these projects teams develop.

A Teaming Partner List is being compiled to facilitate the formation of new project teams. ARPA-E intends to make the Teaming Partner List available on ARPA–E Exchange (https://ARPA–E-foa.energy.gov), ARPA–E’s online application portal, in May 2022. Once posted, the Teaming Partner List will be updated periodically, until the close of the Full Application period, to reflect new Teaming Partners who have provided their information.

Any organization that would like to be included on the Teaming Partner List should complete all required fields in the following link: https://arpa-e-foa.energy.gov/ApplicantProfile.aspx. Required information includes: Organization Name, Contact Name, Contact Address, Contact Email, Contact Phone, Organization Type, Area of Technical Expertise, and Brief Description of Capabilities.

By submitting a response to this Announcement, respondents consent to the publication of the above-referenced information. By facilitating this Teaming Partner List, ARPA–E does not endorse or otherwise evaluate the qualifications of the entities that self-identify for placement on the Teaming Partner List. ARPA–E will not pay for the provision of any information, nor will it compensate any respondents for the development of such information. Responses submitted by any means other than via the link provided above will not be considered.

This Announcement does not constitute a Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA). No FOA exists at this time. Applicants must refer to the final Exploratory Topic, expected to be issued in June 2022 under the FOAs noted at the beginning of this Teaming Partner List, for instructions on submitting an application, the desired technical metrics, and for the terms and conditions of funding.

The Advanced Research Projects Agency – Energy (ARPA–E) intends to issue a new Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) that seeks to enable the accurate, spatially scaled and temporally persistent measurement and validation of marine Carbon Dioxide Removal (mCDR) techniques (which includes “direct ocean capture” or “DOC”), in which CO₂ is captured from the atmosphere and surface oceans before sequestration at depth. While direct air capture (or “DAC”) approaches can be validated easily through direct measurement of CO₂ collected, the same cannot be said for mCDR techniques, which may involve complex reactions over a very large surface or volume of the ocean over comparatively long periods of time, during which a fraction of the carbon drawn down may be re-emitted to the atmosphere. The envisioned program aims to vastly expand our ability to measure carbon flux parameters in the ocean, enabling comprehensive Measurement, Reporting and Validation (MRV) of mCDR and the creation of a data-driven, model-based marine carbon accounting framework. This program effort would consist of a primary technical area focused on new sensor development and a supporting technical area focused on the development of targeted regional-scale marine CDR models and accompanying carbon accounting processes. Scalable, cost-effective technologies that perform MRV for various mCDR approaches are a critical need in this highly active space where claims of efficacy and permanence cannot yet be rigorously substantiated. Such technologies could also ensure that the quantity and quality of removals are correctly valued in carbon markets and support any economic incentive to accelerate the adoption of mCDR to remove historic emissions. Validation of sequestered carbon will promote the commercialization of mCDR techniques that are most effective and energy efficient in carbon removal rather than those that are merely easiest to implement but may not actually be as effective or may be so energy intensive themselves that they result in poor overall net lifetime carbon removal.

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ARPA–E held a workshop on these topics on June 15-16, 2022. Information from this workshop can be found at the event webpage (https://arpa-e.energy.gov/events/marine-carbon-sensing-workshop). The component information remains consistent, but the scope and structure of the program have been updated from that presented in the workshop slides.

As a general matter, ARPA-E strongly encourages outstanding scientists and engineers from different organizations, scientific disciplines, and technology sectors to form project teams. Interdisciplinary and cross-sector collaboration spanning organizational boundaries enables and accelerates the achievement of scientific and technological outcomes that were previously viewed as extremely difficult, if not impossible.

The Teaming Partner List is being compiled to facilitate the formation of new project teams. The Teaming Partner List will be available on ARPA-E eXCHANGE (https://arpa-e-foa.energy.gov), ARPA-E’s online application portal, starting November 18, 2022. The Teaming Partner List will be updated periodically, until the close of the Full Application period, to reflect new Teaming Partners who have provided their information.

Any organization that would like to be included on this list should complete all required fields in the following link: https://arpa-e-foa.energy.gov/Applicantprofile.aspx. Required information includes: Organization Name, Contact Name, Contact Address, Contact Email, Contact Phone, Organization Type, Area of Technical Expertise, and Brief Description of Capabilities.

By submitting a response to this Notice, you consent to the publication of the above-referenced information. By facilitating this Teaming Partner List, ARPA-E does not endorse or otherwise evaluate the qualifications of the entities that self-identify themselves for placement on the Teaming Partner List. ARPA-E will not pay for the provision of any information, nor will it compensate any respondents for the development of such information. Responses submitted to other email addresses or by other means will not be considered.

This Notice does not constitute a FOA. No FOA exists at this time. Applicants must refer to the final FOA, expected to be issued in February 2023, for instructions on submitting an application and for the terms and conditions of funding.

Update as of 02/16/2023: The FOA associated with this Teaming Partner List can be found at https://arpa-e-foa.energy.gov/Default.aspx#FoaIdb1b3992f-760d-4e21-a6c3-77e81de98cd3

The Advanced Research Projects Agency Energy (ARPA-E) intends to issue a Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) entitled Grid Overhaul with Proactive, High-speed Undergrounding for Reliability, Resilience, and Security (GOPHURRS & GOPHURRS SBIR/STTR) to solicit applications for financial assistance to fund technologies to transform the construction of underground medium voltage power distribution grids in urban and suburban areas by rapidly drilling shallow subsurface along the terrain and concurrently installing conduits, while avoiding hidden underground obstacles (e.g., geologic anomalies, existing infrastructure) with advanced look-ahead sensors, and reducing human errors for cable splice installations.

The program's overarching goal is to significantly reduce the cost, increase the speed, reduce errors, and improve the safety of the undergrounding operations and the surrounding community, resulting in rapid expansion and conversion of the distribution grid to an underground system, providing greater reliability, resilience, and security of power infrastructure in the United States.

To achieve this goal, GOPHURRS intends to fund innovative underground civil construction technologies that are minimally disruptive to the surface (e.g., small rig footprint, fast mobilization/demobilization, low power requirement, low noise and hazardous wastes), automated to the greatest extent possible (with the ultimate goal of autonomous drilling, concurrent construction of conduits, ducts, vaults, and automated cable splicing), and equipped with enhanced situational intelligence (e.g., real-time detection of other buried utilities and obstacles, steerable drilling tools to avoid damages) will need to be developed.

ARPA-E held a workshop on this topic in July 2022; Information on this workshop can be found at https://arpa-e.energy.gov/events/undergrounding-workshop.

As described in more detail below, the purpose of this announcement is to facilitate the formation of new project teams to respond to the upcoming GOPHURRS FOA. The FOA will provide specific program goals, technical metrics, and selection criteria; and the FOA terms are controlling. For purposes of the Teaming Partner List, the following summarizes current planning for the FOA:

ARPA-E anticipates that the FOA will target research of three technical categories with an option to develop an integrated system of more than one category:

Category 1: Construction tools with high speeds (complete conduit installation within boring time of conventional tools) and maneuverability in order to create >5" I.D. conduits suitable for pulling medium voltage power cables at depths of up to 6 feet with minimal disruptions to the surface.

Category 2: Sensors that characterize near-surface geology, existing underground infrastructure and obstacles in order to provide real-time, look-ahead underground intelligence to assist underground construction operations with required speed and minimal risk of utility strikes and cross borings.

Category 3: Automated cable splicing machines that can fully or partially automate steps involved in cable splicing in order to eliminate human errors and to further improve the reliability of underground power lines. Advanced splices with maching operable designs and/or improved performance.

Expertise in the following Technical Areas may be useful in responding to the FOA: (i) drilling tools and operations (e.g. experience in drilling for infrastructure installation, oil and gas, mining, geothermal exploration), (ii) robotics and remote operations, (iii) underground civil construction and engineering, (iv) materials, coatings, liners for power conduit construction, (v) additive/subtractive manufacturing, (vi) integrated multi-sensor platforms, (vii) AI/ML, data analytics, and digital twin, (viii) near-surface characterization (ix) novel underground sensors based on emerging technologies (e.g., quantum sensors).

As a general matter, ARPA-E strongly encourages outstanding scientists and engineers from different organizations, scientific disciplines, and technology sectors to form new project teams. Interdisciplinary and cross-sector collaboration spanning organizational boundaries enables and accelerates the achievement of scientific and technological outcomes that were previously viewed as extremely difficult, if not impossible.

ARPA-E is compiling a Teaming Partner List for GOPHURRS & GOPHURRS SBIR/STTR as an optional tool that potential applicants may choose to utilize to facilitate the formation of new project teams and identify potential collaborations. Teaming partners include organizations and individuals who can offer expertise, facilities, or other complementary resources toward a potential ARPA-E project. The teaming list identifies partners' capabilities as well as their areas of interest, understanding that expertise and experience in one field can often be applied successfully to a new field. This list is completely voluntary to participate in and utilize. ARPA-E will not identify or facilitate connections through the teaming list and participation in the list has no bearding whatsoever on the evaluation of applications submitted to the GOPHURRS & GOPHURRS SBIR/STTR FOAs.

The Teaming Partner List is being compiled to facilitate the formation of new project teams. The Teaming Partner List will be available on ARPA-E eXCHANGE (https://arpa-e-foa.energy.gov), ARPA-E’s online application portal, starting in November 2022. The Teaming Partner List will be updated periodically, until the close of the Full Application period, to reflect new Teaming Partners who have provided their information.

Any organization that would like to be included on this list should complete all required fields in the following link: https://arpa-e-foa.energy.gov/Applicantprofile.aspx. Required information includes: Organization Name, Contact Name, Contact Address, Contact Email, Contact Phone, Organization Type, Area of Technical Expertise, and Brief Description of Capabilities.

By submitting a response to this Notice, respondents consent to the publication of the above-referenced information. By facilitating and publishing this Teaming Partner List, ARPA-E is not endorsing, sponsoring, or otherwise evaluating the qualifications of the individuals and organizations that are self-identifying themselves for placement on this Teaming Partner List. ARPA-E reserves the right to remove any inappropriate responses to this Announcement (including lack of sufficient relevance to, or experience with, the technical topic of the Announcement). ARPA-E will not pay for the provision of any information, nor will it compensate any respondents for the development of such information. Responses submitted to other email addresses or by other means will not be considered.

This Notice does not constitute a Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA). No FOA exists at this time. Applicants must refer to the final FOA, expected to be issued in March 2023, for instructions on submitting an application, the desired technical metrics, and for the terms and conditions of funding.

Update as of 3/30/23: The FOAs associated with this Teaming Partner List can be found at GOPHURRS FOA and GOPHURRS SBIR/STTR FOA.

The Advanced Research Projects Agency Energy (ARPA-E) intends to issue a Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) entitled Unlocking Lasting Transformative Resiliency Advances by Faster Actuation of power Semiconductor Technologies (ULTRAFAST), targeting development and demonstration of semiconductor material, device and/or power module technologies to create more capable power electronics building blocks for the future grid. More specifically, ARPA‑E is looking for semiconductor material, device and/or power module level advances to enable faster switching and/or triggering at higher current and voltage levels for improved control and protection of the grid.

Separate categories targeting faster switching semiconductor devices or power modules for higher-bandwidth control, and/or higher current and voltage slew rates for triggering and protection, both at higher voltage and current ratings, are envisioned to allow for the broadest range of approaches, although technology developments that can simultaneously address both necessary functions are preferred.

ARPA-E held a workshop on this topic in October 2022; Information on this workshop can be found at https://arpa-e.energy.gov/events/ultra-fast-triggered-devices-workshop.

Individual semiconductor devices and/or modules operating at high voltages and current ratings are desired to reduce the number of stacked devices in power modules, stacked modules in power cells (half-bridge, full-bridge, flying capacitor, etc.), and stacked cells in multi-level converters for medium- and high-voltage applications. Reducing the required number of devices and modules will be necessary to improve overall system reliability, complexity, and (eventually) cost. Increasing the switching speed is desired to continue the trend of reducing passives’ volume and increasing overall converter power density. Furthermore, decreasing the switching times (increasing slew-rates) leads to a reduction in switching losses thus relaxing the critical thermal management requirements but worsening the electromagnetic interference (EMI) which directly impacts the converter reliability. One way to minimize these issues is to wirelessly trigger semiconductor devices and modules (some examples are Photoconductive Semiconductor Switch (PCSS) and Light-Triggered Thyristor (LTT) that utilize optical energy for switching, but there may be other wireless means to do so). Hence, ARPA-E desires solutions which mitigate EMI issues while simultaneously providing semiconductor devices and/or modules capable of operating at high switching frequencies, and featuring high slew-rates, current and voltage levels. Of interest is also wirelessly powered gate driver, associated voltage and current sensors, as well as wireless transfer of control signals and data, all of which can significantly mitigate EMI problems.

Similarly, ARPA-E is interested in new device concepts that promise performance at the required levels. Novel device concepts that span across categories are encouraged, as are ideas that allow incorporation of protection functions within a device or module.

Program category one seeks device and/or module technologies targeting protection functions at high current and voltage levels. As such, ARPA-E desires functionality that enables, very fast by-pass, shunt, or interrupt capability at as low level of integration as possible with nanosecond-level reaction time (and corresponding slew rates). Depending on the type of operation, there are different requirements on the efficiency and reliability. For example, protection device/module operating in-line (normally-on) is expected to function with higher efficiencies to minimize conduction loss and consequent thermal management requirements. For protection devices that are shunt-connected (normally-off), voltage withstand capability, very low leakage current, and extremely fast turn-on are essential attributes. For both types of protection device reliability of fault handling will be demonstrated through the number of operating (on-off) cycles. Because advances in category one target protection functions, their temporal performance is characterized by how quickly they can reach their final state, that is by the current and voltage slew rates, rather than by switching speed. Temporal and efficiency requirements of this program point to an all-solid-state solution, although other innovations are possible.

Category two addresses the need for high switching frequency devices and/or modules which enables high-power, high-speed power electronics converters for future grid. High efficiency is paramount, while reliability will be assessed through a device/module lifetime (hours of continuous operation). Category two devices or modules can additionally feature some or all protection functions from category one, offering a switch with unparalleled performance specifications.

Demonstration of device and/or module technologies developed under category one and two is expected. This can encompass verification of performance at the next level of system integration, such as a circuit, for example a buck, boost, half/full-bridge or other, relevant, converter structure. Teams should have a demonstration plan and justification in light of a potential technology application.

Category three targets supporting technologies for category one and category two, such as wireless sensing of device voltage and current, high-density packaging of multi-die power modules with the integration of wireless actuators and device/module-level protection, power cell-level capacitors and inductors, thermal management strategies, etc. While category three is distinct, it is expected that capabilities developed therein will be demonstrated in a system context corresponding to the next level of integration, such as devices/modules developed in categories one and two, or via suitable alternatives and overall demonstration strategy. Thus, performance targets for category three encompass and support those for categories one and two.

Due to a complex cross-disciplinary nature of the intended program, ARPA-E strongly encourages outstanding scientists and engineers from different organizations, scientific disciplines, and technology sectors with expertise in power electronics, optoelectronics, photonics, and other related fields, to form new project teams. Interdisciplinary and cross-sector collaboration spanning organizational boundaries enables and accelerates the achievement of scientific and technological outcomes that were previously viewed as extremely difficult, if not impossible.

The Teaming Partner List is being compiled to facilitate the formation of new project teams. The Teaming Partner List will be available on ARPA-E eXCHANGE (https://arpa-e-foa.energy.gov), ARPA-E’s online application portal, starting December 2022. The Teaming Partner List will be updated periodically, until the close of the Full Application period, to reflect new Teaming Partners who have provided their information.

Any organization that would like to be included on this list should complete all required fields in the following link: https://arpa-e-foa.energy.gov/Applicantprofile.aspx. Required information includes: Organization Name, Contact Name, Contact Address, Contact Email, Contact Phone, Organization Type, Area of Technical Expertise, and Brief Description of Capabilities.

By submitting a response to this Notice, respondents consent to the publication of the above-referenced information. By facilitating and publishing this Teaming Partner List, ARPA-E is not endorsing, sponsoring, or otherwise evaluating the qualifications of the individuals and organizations that are self-identifying themselves for placement on this Teaming Partner List. ARPA-E reserves the right to remove any inappropriate responses to this Announcement (including lack of sufficient relevance to, or experience with, the technical topic of the Announcement). ARPA-E will not pay for the provision of any information, nor will it compensate any respondents for the development of such information. Responses submitted to other email addresses or by other means will not be considered.

This Notice does not constitute a Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA). No FOA exists at this time. Applicants must refer to the final FOA, expected to be issued in early 2023, for instructions on submitting an application, the desired technical metrics, and for the terms and conditions of funding.

Update as of 2/24/23: The FOAs associated with this Teaming Partner List can be found at https://arpa-e-foa.energy.gov/Default.aspx#FoaId271e6ddc-b639-44aa-9c97-7eb5e7b635bc and https://arpa-e-foa.energy.gov/Default.aspx#FoaIdee37c915-189b-41f7-bbca-4f3b1ac77ba3.

The Advanced Research Projects Agency – Energy (ARPA-E) intends to issue a new Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) in 2023 to solicit applications for financial assistance to support the scaling of promising ARPA-E-funded technologies into early commercial products.

As described in more detail below, the purpose of this announcement is to facilitate collaborations among performing teams to respond to the upcoming FOA. The FOA will provide specific Program goals, technical metrics, and selection criteria and the FOA terms. For the purposes of the Teaming Partner List, the following summarizes current planning for the FOA:

The Seeding Critical Advances for Leading Energy technologies with Untapped Potential 2023 (SCALEUP 2023) solicitation provides a vital mechanism for the support of innovative energy R&D that complements ARPA-E’s primary R&D focus on early-stage transformational energy technologies that still require proof-of-concept.

ARPA-E’s mission is to develop transformational energy technologies in support of U.S. national security and economic competitiveness. ARPA-E funds the R&D of technologies to build and maintain U.S. technological leadership in highly competitive global energy markets, thus supporting American jobs and economic growth. ARPA-E’s authorizing statute directs the Agency to develop linkages between its sponsored applied research and the marketplace. These linkages are central to realizing the public’s return on technology investments.

An enduring challenge to ARPA-E’s mission is that even technologies that achieve substantial technical advancement under ARPA-E support are at risk of being stranded in their development path once ARPA-E funding ends (averaging $2.5M over three years). ARPA-E-funded technologies typically face significant remaining technical and commercial risks upon completion of an award’s funding period. Experience across ARPA-E’s diverse energy portfolios, and with a wide range of investors, indicates that pre-commercial “scaling” projects are critical to establishing that performance and cost parameters can be met in practice for these very early-stage technologies. These pre-commercial scaling projects aim to translate the performance achieved at bench scale to commercially scalable versions of the technology, integrate the technology with broader systems, provide extended performance data, and validate the manufacturability and reliability of new energy technologies. (These projects are often termed “pre-pilot” development in different industries.) Success in these scaling projects would enable industry, investors, and partners to justify substantial commitments of financial resources, personnel, production facilities, and materials to develop promising ARPA-E technologies into early commercial products.

The SCALEUP 2023 FOA builds upon ARPA-E-funded technologies by scaling those that have the potential for the greatest impact, consistent with ARPA-E's mission. Stranding promising ARPA-E-funded technologies in their development pathways leaves substantial intellectual property developed with American taxpayer dollars vulnerable to adoption by foreign competitors, who can and do capture it for continued development – and economic benefit – overseas. This harms national competitiveness, as U.S. industries often lose the lead on the development, scaling, and manufacturing of technologies necessary to compete in rapidly evolving global energy markets. These scaling energy technology projects will meet ARPA-E’s statutory direction to achieve the above goals by “accelerating transformational technological advances in areas that industry by itself is unlikely to undertake because of technical and financial uncertainty”.

ARPA-E strongly encourages different organizations with outstanding entrepreneurial scientists and engineers along with commercialization and financial entities across different business sectors to participate in this Program. Interdisciplinary and cross-sector collaboration spanning organizational boundaries enables and accelerates the achievement of scientific and technological outcomes that were previously viewed as extremely difficult, if not impossible.

ARPA-E is compiling a Teaming Partner List for SCALEUP 2023 as an optional tool that potential applicants may choose to utilize to facilitate the formation of new project teams and identify potential collaborations. Teaming partners include organizations and individuals who can offer expertise, facilities, or other complementary resources toward a potential ARPA-E project. The teaming list identifies partners’ capabilities as well as their areas of interest, understanding that expertise and experience in one field can often be applied successfully to a new field. This list is completely voluntarily to participate in and utilize. ARPA-E will not identify or facilitate connections through the teaming list and participation in the list has no bearing whatsoever on the evaluation of applications submitted to the SCALEUP 2023 FOA.

The Teaming Partner List is being compiled to facilitate the formation of new project teams. ARPA-E intends to make the Teaming Partner List available on ARPA-E eXCHANGE (http://arpa-e-foa.energy.gov), ARPA-E’s online application portal, starting in May 2023. The Teaming Partner List will be updated periodically, until the close of the Full Application period, to reflect the addition of new Teaming Partners who have provided their information.

Any organization that would like to be included on the Teaming Partner list should complete all required fields in the following link: https://arpa-e-foa.energy.gov/Applicantprofile.aspx. Required information includes: Organization Name; Contact Name; Contact Address; Contact Email; Contact Phone; Organization Type; Area of Technical Expertise; and Brief Description of Capabilities.

By submitting a response to this Notice, you consent to the publication of the above-referenced information. By facilitating and publishing this Teaming Partner List, ARPA-E is not endorsing, sponsoring, or otherwise evaluating the qualifications of the individuals and organizations that are self-identifying themselves for placement on this Teaming Partner List. ARPA-E reserves the right to remove any inappropriate responses to this Announcement (including lack of sufficient relevance to, or experience with, the technical topic of the Announcement). ARPA-E will not pay for the provision of any information, nor will it compensate any respondents for the development of such information. Responses submitted via email or other means will not be considered.

This Notice does not constitute a FOA. No FOA exists at this time. Applicants must refer to the final FOA, expected to be issued in 2023, for instructions on submitting an application and for the terms and conditions of funding.

The Advanced Research Projects Agency Energy (ARPA-E) intends to issue a Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) entitled Revolutionizing Ore to Steel to Impact Emissions (ROSIE), targeting new technology pathways to enable zero direct process emissions in ironmaking (i.e., zero-process-emission ironmaking) and ultra-low life cycle emissions for steelmaking at scale.

As described in more detail below, the purpose of this announcement is to facilitate the formation of new project teams to respond to the upcoming ROSIE FOA. The FOA will provide specific program goals, technical metrics, and selection criteria; and the FOA terms are controlling. For purposes of the Teaming Partner List, the following summarizes current planning for the FOA.

ARPA-E has identified two Technical Categories for ROSIE’s low emission iron and steel opportunities. Technical Category A ends with an iron product; Technical Category B ends with a steel product. Proposers in both categories must address emissions associated with ironmaking while producing either a relevant iron or steel product. An iron product may be a final product for direct use or it may be iron designed to be used in further steelmaking; the steel product must be a deliverable product in an existing or projected steel market.

ARPA-E held a workshop on this topic in September 2021; Information on this workshop can be found at https://arpa-e.energy.gov/events/zero-emission-iron-steelmaking-workshop.

The draft technical section FOA language is included as Attachment A to this document and the draft Cost and LCA Estimator Tool is included as a separate Attachment B. NOTE: THE ISSUED FOA, INCLUDING TECHNICAL SECTION AND LCA ESTIMATOR TOOL, WILL BE CONTROLLING, NOT THESE DRAFT DOCUMENTS, THOUGH NO MAJOR CHANGES ARE ANTICIPATED.

The following is a non-exhaustive list of the technologies that will be of interest for the ROSIE Program. All technologies must satisfy specified zero-emissions-ironmaking criteria.

• Aqueous electrowinning of ores: in acidic, basic, or neutral media; including the potential for the acids/bases to be produced on-site and recycled;
• Non-aqueous electrolysis of ores: using electrolytes of molten salts and eutectics; innovations in novel electrodes that will withstand operating conditions;
• H₂ plasma-based ironmaking: using microwave, arc, or other plasma generation methods;
• Biomass-based ironmaking: the use of low-cost emerging bio-feedstocks; innovative ways to process these feedstocks into bioreductants for specific utility in ironmaking;
• Biological and biomimetic ironmaking: siderophore derivatives or other catalyst mimics that selectively bind iron cations from ore and reduce them;
• Novel thermochemical ironmaking: methods to use nontraditional reductants, recycled carbon, or other new thermochemistry to process realistic feedstocks;
• Ironmaking from unconventional ores: mine tailings and other wastes; especially, taconite or other ores found substantially in the United States; co-production of iron and other metals or byproducts as enabled by using mixed-metal ores; and
• Other novel technologies: to produce iron from raw iron resources with zero greenhouse gas (GHG) process emissions.

The scope of the ROSIE program is framed to advance high-potential, high-impact technologies with the potential to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from ironmaking to zero. Submissions that do not represent a significant innovation in ironmaking technology are out of scope. These are examples of technology concepts that would not meet the success criteria of this program:

• Adding carbon capture to blast furnaces
• Transitioning from direct reduced iron (DRI) using natural gas to DRI using hydrogen (H₂)
• Recycling of steel scrap or improvements to scrap processing

The ROSIE program goals are to develop low emissions ironmaking technologies that have the potential to scale to meaningful production levels at cost parity with existing technologies. The performance metrics will include the amount of non-biogenic greenhouse gas emissions from ironmaking process; the cradle-to-gate lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions; the process and product scalability; the target cost per tonne of product; and the target lab scale prototype at end of the project.

Several additional considerations will also be used for proposal evaluation, including the energy per tonne of iron or steel product; the process byproducts or waste streams; the process flexibility; the product viability; the pathway to scale from lab (grams/hour) to pilot plant (tonnes/year); and the final product qualification requirements.

ARPA-E project teams are required to construct and execute a commercialization strategy that is unique to their technology. Technology-to-market risks that may be addressed include the availability of the reductant for a chosen process, which may be electricity, hydrogen, sustainable carbon, or other technology-specific reagents. Other underlying cost and risk drivers that may be addressed include availability of the appropriate domestic ore feedstock and uncertainty in electricity pricing. To assist in assessing the potential for technology development and application, a basic Ironmaking Cost and Life Cycle Assessment Estimator Tool has been provided along with this announcement (Attachment B). The goal of this tool is to enable fair comparison of technologies using input data (e.g., CO₂ footprint of grid electricity) from a standard library.

ARPA-E is not interested in projects that exclusively consider the reduction of relatively pure iron oxide to iron. Successful applications need to demonstrate the reduction of iron oxide feedstock under conditions that will be industrially relevant to the commercial deployment of the proposed technology.

Due to a complex cross-disciplinary nature of the intended program, ARPA-E strongly encourages outstanding scientists and engineers from different organizations, scientific disciplines, and technology sectors with expertise in power electronics, optoelectronics, photonics, and other related fields, to form new project teams. Interdisciplinary and cross-sector collaboration spanning organizational boundaries enables and accelerates the achievement of scientific and technological outcomes that were previously viewed as extremely difficult, if not impossible.

The Teaming Partner List is being compiled to facilitate the formation of new project teams. The Teaming Partner List will be available on ARPA-E eXCHANGE (http://arpa-e-foa.energy.gov), ARPA-E’s online application portal, starting May 2023. The Teaming Partner List will be updated periodically, until the close of the Full Application period, to reflect new Teaming Partners who have provided their information.

Any organization that would like to be included on this list should complete all required fields in the following link: https://arpa-e-foa.energy.gov/Applicantprofile.aspx. Required information includes: Organization Name, Contact Name, Contact Address, Contact Email, Contact Phone, Organization Type, Area of Technical Expertise, and Brief Description of Capabilities.

By submitting a response to this Notice, respondents consent to the publication of the above-referenced information. By facilitating and publishing this Teaming Partner List, ARPA-E is not endorsing, sponsoring, or otherwise evaluating the qualifications of the individuals and organizations that are self-identifying themselves for placement on this Teaming Partner List. ARPA-E reserves the right to remove any inappropriate responses to this Announcement (including lack of sufficient relevance to, or experience with, the technical topic of the Announcement). ARPA-E will not pay for the provision of any information, nor will it compensate any respondents for the development of such information. Responses submitted to other email addresses or by other means will not be considered.

This Notice does not constitute a Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA). No FOA exists at this time. Applicants must refer to the final FOA, expected to be issued in June 2023, for instructions on submitting an application, the desired technical metrics, and for the terms and conditions of funding.

The draft technical section and LCA tool included as attachments to this Teaming Partner List will be discussed by ARPA-E Program Director Jenifer Shafer on June 15, 2023, at an ARPA-E Industry Day.

Introduction

ARPA-E has as one of its goals the development of energy technologies that improve the management, cleanup, and disposal of radioactive waste and spent nuclear fuel. To meet this goal, ARPA-E has established a suite of programs (GEMINI, MEITNER, ONWARDS, CURIE) that have the potential to reduce the volume of radioactive waste by a factor of 10 or more and the needed time for storage by a comparable amount. Nuclear transmutation of key fission products and actinides in the remaining radioactive waste has the potential to reduce the volume and storage time by additional orders of magnitude. The purpose of this RFI is to solicit input for a potential future ARPA-E program focused on the development of technologies to support advances in nuclear transmutation with the desired goal to reduce the volume, radiotoxicity, and storage time of spent nuclear fuel. Generation of valuable isotopes, semiconductor production, and radioisotopes are also of interest to this RFI.

Consistent with the agency’s mission, ARPA-E is seeking novel and disruptive technologies that are early in the R&D cycle. ARPA-E seeks to include input from the developers and end-users of such technologies, including national laboratories, universities, private industry, and the medical community. ARPA-E is particularly interested in transmutation enabling technologies, and it is specifically interested in how such technologies can improve the reliability and duty cycles of transmutation systems while reducing capital and operating costs.

Understanding the economic factors that would lead to a transmutation facility are invaluable to a potential program. Reprocessing of waste may be needed for efficient transmutation. The location of this reprocessing facility, whether located at the waste generating sites, or at the transmutation location will impact the economics. Additionally, depending on the size of the transmutation facility, there may be several facilities constructed in order to reduce quantities of waste to the desired metric. Funds for the decommissioning of reactors as well as the nuclear waste fund may be available for these types of activities.

The questions below are intended to allow relevant stakeholders a mechanism to provide input on:

(i) metrics to gauge the success of transmutation of spent nuclear fuel;

(ii) advancements in transmutation enabling technologies, including accelerator-driven systems and current and advanced generation reactors, and non-neutron sources; and

(iii) economic factors for the operation of transmutation facilities.

Responses to the questions below will help ARPA-E to refine its success metrics for a potential program aimed at the reduction of radiotoxicity, volume, and storage time of spent nuclear fuel through the use of transmutation. ARPA-E does not expect any one respondent to answer all, or even many, of these prompts. Simply indicate the group and question number in your response. Appropriate citations are encouraged. Respondents are also welcome to address other relevant avenues/technologies that are not outlined below.

Areas that are not Considered for this RFI:

• General discourse on nuclear energy and waste disposal strategies
• Transmutation initiated by fusion processes
• Fission-fusion hybrid devices
• Separations of minor actinides from used nuclear fuel
• The use of transmutation to produce medical radioisotopes

THIS IS A REQUEST FOR INFORMATION ONLY. THIS NOTICE DOES NOT CONSTITUTE A FUNDING OPPORTUNITY ANNOUNCEMENT (FOA). NO FOA EXISTS AT THIS TIME.

Respondents shall not include any information in their response to this RFI that might be considered proprietary or confidential.

Responses to this RFI should be submitted in PDF format to the email address ARPA-E-RFI@hq.doe.gov by 5:00 PM Eastern Time on June 12, 2023.