Researchers paid by the US government have helped develop some of the most important inventions of the last 100 years – from the personal computer to the Internet to satellite navigation technology GPS. Now the country is attempting a similar push on energy.
The agency behind many of the breakthroughs of the last few decades is the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, or DARPA for short. Founded in 1958 as part of the US Department of Defense, the research agency funded science and accompanied defense-related technologies from idea to implementation. It is regarded worldwide as a role model for governments that want to support cutting-edge research.
Modeled on DARPA, ARPA-E was formed as part of the US Department of Energy in 2007 to promote similar energy innovations. Since then, ARPA-E has awarded more than $3 billion in grants to more than 1,400 energy research projects, helping bring new technologies to market. US Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm sees ARPA-E as a “moonshot factory” for the government, reminiscent of NASA’s moon landing activities.
Which technologies will become important in the energy sector
Now everything should go much faster. ARPA-E sworn in its new director, Evelyn Wang, in January. Wang is taking a leave of absence from her position as head of the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) to run the agency. Speaking to MIT Technology Review, she discusses what’s next for energy technology, the challenges ahead, and how to really measure advances in early-stage research.
What role do you think ARPA-E plays in advancing energy technology today? How does it relate to the US Department of Energy?
When it comes to energy technologies, it sometimes takes a decade before they can really be used sensibly and effectively. I think a lot of the work that the regular Department of Energy focuses on is road mapped and focused on short-term wins.
We, on the other hand, focus on the high-risk, potentially lucrative and transformative processes. I think we cover a pretty wide range when it comes to bringing something new from basic research to the practical implementation of a prototype that can be used commercially in the future.
So there are complementary aspects. We often diverge because we’re working on these really risky, longer-term technological innovations. This is where ARPA-E is a major force, as we’re tackling things that we don’t know if work or not, but that could potentially change the energy landscape. I think that’s something that many other facilities don’t do.
Semiconductor Materials and Ocean Projects
Which areas in the energy sector are ripe for innovation?
In the short term, we think a lot about how we can improve semiconductor materials, for example, in order to create a more efficient electricity grid. We are also working on burying the networks more – such underground cables are of great importance in many of our recent projects.
The ocean is an area that we’ve started exploring in the energy space — and I think that’s an untapped space in terms of funding within the Department of Energy. For example, we’ve been thinking a lot about techniques for storing carbon dioxide in the sea – validation and measurement is really crucial to understand how much CO₂ is actually being sequestered there. And I think there are other opportunities in terms of raw materials and how we might be able to harness such critical minerals from the sea.