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Category: Energy R&D

Department of Energy Announces Details on Hubs

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Department of Energy to Invest $366M in Energy Innovation Hubs

Funding Opportunity Announcement for Fuels from Sunlight Hub is Issued

Washington, DC – U.S. Department of Energy Secretary Steven Chu today outlined the Department’s plans to invest up to $366 million to establish and operate three new Energy Innovation Hubs focused on accelerating research and development in three key energy areas.  Each Hub, to be funded at up to $122 million over five years, will bring together a multidisciplinary team of researchers in an effort to speed research and shorten the path from scientific discovery to technological development and commercial deployment of highly promising energy-related technologies. 

 “Given the urgency of our challenges in both energy and climate, we need to do everything we can to mobilize our Nation’s scientific and technological talent to accelerate the pace of innovation,” said Secretary Chu.  “The DOE Energy Innovation Hubs represent a new, more proactive approach to managing and conducting research.  We are taking a page from America’s great industrial laboratories in their heyday.  Their achievements—from the transistor to the information theory that makes modern telecommunications possible—are evidence that we can build creative, highly-integrated research teams that can accomplish more, faster, than researchers working separately.”

The Hubs are part of a broad-based clean energy research strategy by the Obama Administration that will harness America’s innovation machine to achieve the breakthroughs we need.

This strategy includes three new initiatives which are designed to complement each other: Continue reading “Department of Energy Announces Details on Hubs”

ARPA-E Fellowship Opportunity Announced

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December 8, 2009

Department of Energy Announces Fellows Program for Advance Research Energy Projects

Announcement comes on the heels of ARPA-E’s 2nd Funding Opportunity

Cambridge, MA – The Department of Energy’s Advanced Research Projects Agency – Energy (ARPA-E) announced today the creation of the ARPA-E Fellows Program at an event with Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s students.  ARPA-E Director, Dr. Arun Majumdar, made the announcement during a presentation to the MIT Energy Club and called on the next generation of energy leaders to join ARPA-E.  Today’s announcement follows US Energy Secretary Steven Chu’s announcement that the Department is making $100 million in Recovery Act funding available to accelerate innovation in green technology, increase America’s competitiveness and create jobs.
 
“We need the best and the brightest to help shape our nation’s energy future,” said Dr. Majumdar. “The ARPA-E Fellows Program gives us the opportunity to invest in our up and coming researchers and entrepreneurs as we continue to look for creative and inventive approaches to transform the global energy landscape while advancing America’s technology leadership.”
The ARPA-E Fellows Program will consist of highly technical scientists and researchers, who will actively help create the strategic direction and vision of the country’s first agency devoted exclusively to transformational energy technology research and development. Fellows will support ARPA-E’s Program Directors in program creation, while also undertaking independent explorations of promising future research areas for the agency. Fellows will also engage with world class researchers and innovators to develop theses for high impact ARPA-E research program areas, prepare energy technology and economic analyses, and make recommendations to DOE senior management.

Program participants will be expected to have strong technical backgrounds and deep expertise in at least one energy technology related field. Senior Fellows should have more than three years of relevant work experience in energy innovation related fields, while Fellows will represent postdoctoral researchers and recent graduates with less than three years of work experience.  Participants will be competitively selected from the best and the brightest up and coming researchers and entrepreneurs in the U.S. energy sector. 

ARPA-E Fellow terms will not exceed two years.  All ARPA-E Fellows and Senior Fellows are full-time federal employees paid at a competitive salary.

Interested candidates should visit ARPA-E’s Job Opportunities page to learn more.

Media contact(s):
(202) 586-4940

New ARPA-E Grant Opportunities Announced

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Washington, D.C. – U.S. Secretary of Energy Steven Chu announced that a second round of funding opportunities for transformational energy research projects is available through ARPA-E. At a joint event with Commerce Secretary Gary Locke, Secretary Chu reported that $100 million in Recovery Act funding will be made available to accelerate innovation in green technology, increase America’s competitiveness and create jobs. The announcement comes in advance of the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen, Denmark.

Note: Concept Papers are Due on January 15, 2010

Funding Opportunity Announcements

Timeline Slipping for Major Legislation

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Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman John Kerry (D-MA) announced this week that a climate bill will not likely emerge before the spring of 2010. The announcement confirms that at least 1 of 3 (and likely all 3) of President Obama’s top legislative initiatives for 2009 will slip into 2010 -the other two being health care and student aid reform. Some proponents of the three pieces of legislation hoped to move to completion this year, as to avoid political considerations made by the 2010 mid-term election season. The cap-and-trade climate legislation, introduced by Senator Kerry and Senator Boxer (D-CA), initially drew support from accross the aisle; as Senator Lindsay Graham (R-SC) came out in support of the effort. However, since then, the bill has garnered little bipartisan support; passing the Senate Energy and Public Works Committee without Rebuplican support on the panel and after a boycott of the mark-up. At present, it appears that Senator Kerry is trying to put together a compromise that will garner the 60 votes necessary to break a filibuster; much the same tactic that is being employed by Majority Leader Reid in advancing a health-care overhaul.

Given that the Senate companion bill to the House Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act (SAFRA) has been linked to the passage of health care reform, student aid reform remains on hold. Leaders on the Hill have indicated that both chambers will likely be in session until the third full week of December.

Senate Environment & Public Works Committee Approves Climate Legislation

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Today, the Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee approved its climate change mitigation legislation -despite a boycott of the markup by the minority party. Republicans wanted more analysis from the EPA on the impacts of the legislation. The Senate bill, which requires 60 votes on the floor to move to a final vote, will likely require significant modification to pass.

Senators Kerry (D-MA), Graham (R-SC), and Lieberman stated today that they intend to work on a compromise with business groups and the White House that can garner 60 votes. The three offered few details on what the essential elements of a compromise bill would include.

Of note to our community in the legislation:

Investments in Advanced Energy Research and Development- 4% (compared to 1.5 % in House legislation) of distributed allowances in 2012 and 2013, 2% in 2014 and 2015, and 1.7% of allowances in subsequent years will be allocated for research on advanced energy technologies, including funding for applied research at “Clean Energy Innovation Centers” at research universities and institutions.