Efficiency

Recently, we had an opportunity to sit down with Dr. Jack Lewnard, program director for ARPA‑E REcyle Underutilized Solids to Energy (REUSE) program to discuss the transformation from plastic and paper trash to energy treasure.

As Dr. Atkinson’s term as an ARPA-E Program Director comes to a close, we sat down with him to reflect on his ARPA-E experience, the NEXTCAR program and the future of powertrain technologies, and what’s next for him.

Under ARPA-E’s statutory charter, one of our key goals is to develop technology that contributes to the reduction of energy-related emissions. Our recently announced FLExible Carbon Capture and Storage (FLECCS) program - led by Program Director Dr. Scott Litzelman - focuses on this goal, by developing CCS technologies that enable power generators to be flexible and responsive to grid conditions in a high variable renewable energy (VRE) penetration environment. We recently sat down with Dr. Litzelman to get some additional insight into the FLECCS program, and the needs it aims to address.

One of the most popular parts of the yearly Summit is ARPA-E’s Technology Showcase, where current and previous ARPA-E awardees, as well as a select group others, display their projects for attendees to see, interact with, and experience themselves. No visit to the ARPA-E Summit is complete without a walk of the showcase floor, and since we’re less than one month out, we’ve put together a quick “cheat-sheet” on the this year’s Tech Showcase Demonstrations.

We recently sat down with Dr. Babson to discuss how he became interested in energy, his journey serving in various roles across the federal government, and the future of bioenergy and agricultural systems.

In July, ARPA-E will head west and bring the 10th ARPA-E Energy Innovation Summit to Colorado. This annual conference and technology showcase convenes some of America’s best minds in business, academia, and government to focus on new and innovative ways to conquer America’s energy challenges.

We sat down with ARPA-E Program Director, Dr. Rachel Slaybaugh, as she reflected on her experience attending the very first ARPA-E Energy Innovation Summit Student Program back in 2010.