OPEN 2015
In 2015, ARPA-E issued its third open funding opportunity designed to catalyze transformational breakthroughs across the entire spectrum of energy technologies. ARPA-E received more than 2,000 concept papers for OPEN 2015, which hundreds of scientists and engineers thoroughly reviewed over the course of several months. In the end, ARPA-E selected 41 projects for its OPEN 2015 program, awarding them a total of $125 million in federal funding. OPEN 2015 projects cut across ten technology areas: building efficiency, industrial processes and waste heat, data management and communication, wind, solar, tidal and distributed generation, grid scale storage, power electronics, power grid system performance, vehicle efficiency, storage for electric vehicles, and alternative fuels and bio-energy.
Much of ARPA-E's funding is awarded to projects in specific energy-related technology areas, but ARPA-E also provides open funding opportunities for high-potential projects that address the full range of energy-related technologies and concepts. ARPA-E's "OPEN" funding opportunities are announced periodically and evaluated based on their compatibility with ARPA-E's mission, the novelty of their approach to energy innovation, and the extent to which they meet technical needs currently underserved by other parts of Department of Energy (DOE) or the private sector.
If successful, the game-changing projects from OPEN 2015 would help ARPA-E achieve its mission and ensure the U.S. maintains a technological lead in developing and deploying advanced energy technologies.
Increased access to and use of domestically produced sources of energy would help reduce U.S. dependence on foreign oil and increase our nation's energy security.
Developing new and renewable sources of energy would reduce our reliance on fossil fuels that create harmful greenhouse gas emissions and contribute to global warming.
Inexpensive sources of energy would help the millions of American consumers and small business owners who can't afford the energy they need to live and work.
For a detailed technical overview about this program, please click here.
