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ARPA-E Changing What's Possible

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ARPA-E Funding Opportunity Announcement
March 15, 2022
The U.S. Department Of Energy (DOE) today announced up to $48 million in funding for a new ARPA-E program that will support the deployment of Advanced Nuclear Reactor (AR) technology by providing safe and sustainable domestic fuel stocks.

The Converting UNF Radioisotopes Into Energy (CURIE) program focuses on substantially reducing the disposal impact of used nuclear fuel (UNF) and supporting a comprehensive national strategy to deal with waste safely and securely.

“CURIE will fuel advanced reactors and provide important clean energy elements, all while drastically reducing waste," said Dr. Jennifer Gerbi, Acting Director of ARPA-E. “With this new program, we're emphasizing safeguards and lowered costs as we provide clean energy technology options for the future."

CURIE seeks to develop innovative separations, online monitoring, and materials accountancy technologies that would support the domestic production of AR fuel feedstocks or important commercial radioisotopes and critical minerals.CURIE also aims to support system design studies related to fuel recycling, separations technologies with improved proliferation resistance, and minimization of waste volumes.

Announcement of Teaming Partner List for an Upcoming FOA: Converting UNF Radioisotopes into Energy (CURIE)
January 24, 2022
The Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) is considering issuing a Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) for a new program entitled Converting UNF Radioisotopes Into Energy (CURIE). This new program will fund innovative technologies and approaches that will significantly improve the economics of commercial nuclear fuel reprocessing facilities, improve reprocessing material accountancy while decreasing materials attractiveness, and drastically reduce the volume of high-level waste (HLW) requiring permanent disposal. An ARPA-E workshop was held in July 2021 to help identify and refine metrics for this new program; presentations from that workshop can be found here. The following paragraphs summarize the motivation for CURIE and the current planning for the CURIE FOA. 

U.S. Department of Energy Announces $100 Million to Support Cutting-Edge Clean Energy Technologies - New Funding Supports American Manufacturing of Clean Energy Technologies That Have Shown Potential for Commercialization
December 16, 2021
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) today issued a funding opportunity announcement (FOA) for up to $100 million to support the deployment of novel technologies that can significantly change how communities, industries and businesses reduce emissions, promote energy efficiency, and drive grid modernization. The funding program, administered by DOE’s Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E), supports President Biden’s Building a Better America agenda by lowering emissions, generating good-paying jobs and securing U.S. leadership on clean energy technologies.

“Transitioning to 100% carbon-free energy will require new technologies that reshape the way we approach everything from heating and cooling our homes to how we power our vehicles,” said U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm. “DOE is prioritizing the domestic commercialization of emerging technologies that can accelerate the clean energy transition, reduce our carbon footprint and support small businesses that contribute to America’s manufacturing future.”​
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RFI-0000059: Announcement of Teaming Partner List for an Upcoming FOA: Seeding Critical Advanced for Leading Energy Technologies with Untapped Potential 2021 (SCALEUP 2021)
October 12, 2021​
(ARPA–E) intends to issue a new Funding Opportunity Announcement (“FOA”), “Seeding Critical Advances for Leading Energy technologies with Untapped Potential 2021 (SCALEUP 2021),” expected to be issued in 2021, to solicit applications for financial assistance to support the scaling of promising ARPA-E-funded technologies into early commercial products​.
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U.S. Department of Energy Announces $40 Million to Reduce Fuel Waste from Advanced Nuclear Reactors
May 19, 2021
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) today announced up to $40 million in funding for a new Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) program that will limit the amount of waste produced from advanced nuclear reactors, protecting the land and air and increasing the deployment and use of nuclear power as a reliable source of clean energy. 

“More than half of our zero carbon energy is generated from nuclear power, and through this groundbreaking research we can expand nuclear's potential,” said Secretary of Energy Jennifer M. Granholm. “America is an innovation leader, and DOE is proud to invest in the next generation of nuclear energy technologies that will power the nation and protect our environment.” 

Nuclear power is one of the most reliable sources of energy in America, and the largest domestic source of clean energy—providing 52% of the nation’s carbon-free electricity in 2020, and about a fifth of U.S. electricity overall. Nuclear power production, however, produces approximately 2,000 metric tons of used fuel each year that must be disposed and safely stored.
ARPA-E Announces New Funding Opportunity: DE-FOA-0002166: Seeding Critical Advances for Leading Energy Technologies with Untapped Potential 2019 (SCALEUP)
December 17, 2019
The Seeding Critical Advances for Leading Energy technologies with Untapped Potential (SCALEUP) 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.[1] These linkages are central to realizing the public's return on technology investments.

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ARPA-E Announces New Funding Opportunity to Develop Tools to Improve Advanced Nuclear Reactor Design
October 2, 2019

Earlier this week ARPA-E  issued a funding opportunity announcement (FOA) of up to $35 million in funding for a new program, Generating Electricity Managed by Intelligent Nuclear Assets (GEMINA). GEMINA projects will develop tools and systems to enable more flexible, less costly nuclear power plants. 

The GEMINA program will develop digital twin technology for advanced nuclear reactors, using artificial intelligence and advanced modeling controls to create tools that introduce greater flexibility in nuclear reactor systems, increased autonomy in operations, and faster design iteration. The development of these digital twins will work towards a goal to contribute to a 10x reduction in operating and management (O&M) costs at advanced reactor power plants.

For more information on ARPA-E's GEMINA program, click here. The deadline to submit a concept paper for GEMINI is 9:30 a.m. ET on November 13, 2019. Additional information, including the full FOA and how to find project teaming partners, is available on ARPA-E's online application portal, ARPA-E eXCHANGE.


Announcement of Teaming Partner List for an upcoming Funding Opportunity Announcement: "Optimal Operations and Maintenance for Advance Reactors"
September 18, 2019
The Advanced Research Projects Agency – Energy (ARPA–E) intends to issue a new Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) in September 2019 to solicit applications for financial assistance to develop innovative technologies for the optimization of operations and  maintenance (O&M) of advanced nuclear reactors. As described in more detail in the links below, the purpose of this announcement is to facilitate the formation of new project teams to respond to the upcoming FOA. The FOA will provide specific program goals, technical metrics, and selection criteria and the FOA terms are controlling.

DOE ANNOUNCES 10 PROJECTS TO SUPPORT ADVANCED NUCLEAR REACTOR POWER PLANTS
June 4, 2018
ARPA-E provides up to $24 million for technologies to enable lower cost, safer advanced nuclear plant designs
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced up to $24 million in funding for 10 projects as part of a new Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) program: Modeling-Enhanced Innovations Trailblazing Nuclear Energy Reinvigoration (MEITNER). MEITNER teams will identify and develop innovative technologies that enable designs for lower cost, safer, advanced nuclear reactors.
ARPA-E | DOE Announcement of 10 projects 

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​DOE ANNOUNCES NEW FUNDING OPPORTUNITY TO SUPPORT ADVANCED NUCLEAR REACTOR POWER PLANTS
October 20, 2017
ARPA-E Provides up to $20 Million in Funding for Technologies to Enable Lower Cost, Safer Advanced Nuclear Plant Designs
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced up to $20 million in funding for projects as part of a new Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) program: Modeling-Enhanced Innovations Trailblazing Nuclear Energy Reinvigoration (MEITNER). MEITNER projects seek to identify and develop innovative technologies that can enable designs for lower cost, safer, advanced nuclear reactors. The ARPA-E team developed this funding opportunity in close coordination with DOE’s Office of Nuclear Energy.
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