Background

The Collaboratory hosted a free November 28, 2017 ARPA-E Workshop inviting any researchers, scientists, industry partners, financing partners and interested parties to join us in discussing how teams could write successful ARPA-E open solicitation proposals if the FOA was released. We had over 170 participants both in person and on the live stream.  Click here to watch Nov 28 workshop sessions including the PowerPoint presentations from speakers.

As of December 13, 2018 the ARPA-E open funding solicitation came out called “OPEN 2018” with an expected award up to $100 million in funding across dozens of potentially transformational early-stage energy projects. The role of the Collaboratory will be to help connect potential teams together, aggregate information that is sent in and then disperse out to the whole for the purposes of teaming.  Click here to download a document containing Aggregated participant information for Nov 28 ARPA-E Workshop who wanted to share their information which included their expertise, interest, short bio and contact information.

While ARPA-E typically awards funding to projects in specific technology areas, the agency’s open solicitations invite researchers and engineers to submit proposals for high potential, high-impact projects that address the full range of energy related technologies and concepts. Projects will be 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 the Department of Energy or the private sector’s R&D efforts.

ARPA-E funds research on and the development of high-potential, high-impact energy technologies that are too early for private-sector investment. The agency focuses on technologies that can be meaningfully advanced with a modest investment over a defined period of time in order to catalyze the translation from scientific discovery to early-stage technology. For the latest news and information about ARPA-E, its programs and the research projects currently supported, see: http://arpa-e.energy.gov/ .

The OPEN 2018 technical categories and subcategories of interest

1) Grid; 2) transportation; 3) building efficiency; 4) power generation & energy production — fossil/nuclear; 5) power generation – renewable; 6) bioenergy; 7) other energy technologies

Self-identified potential energy-specific team culminating from Nov 28 2017 ARPA- E workshop

If you are interested in receiving a first draft of participants who have self-identified their expertise and interest in specific energy-related topic areas during the Nov. 28, 2017 ARPA-E Workshop, email Maury.Dobbie@coloradocollaboratory.org . The Collaboratory’s goal is to help form teams that will answer the ARPA-E OPEN 2018 FOA. If you are seeking potential partners, the Collaboratory will aggregate non-proprietary descriptions and resend them out to everyone. Concept papers are due to the agency on February 12, 2018. The concept paper can’t exceed 4 pages in length. If you would like to add others to the document or make corrections, please respond to Maury Dobbie, Executive Director of the Collaboratory at Maury.Dobbie@coloradocollaboratory.org or call 970-682-5707 if you have questions.

ARPA-E Open 2018 solicitation details

What is OPEN 2018?

Approximately every three years, ARPA-E issues OPEN Funding Opportunity Announcements (FOAs) as a means to address the full range of energy-related technologies and fund those potentially disruptive technology concepts not currently supported through an ARPA-E focused FOA. ARPA-E supports transformational energy research that can be meaningfully advanced with a small investment over a defined period of time.

What kind of projects will ARPA-E fund?

A broad variety of projects will be welcomed, and examples include electricity generation by both renewable and non-renewable means; electricity transmission, storage, and distribution; energy efficiency for buildings, manufacturing and commerce, and personal use; and all aspects of transportation, including the production and distribution of both renewable and non-renewable fuels, electrification, and transportation energy efficiency. For examples of past OPEN projects, click here.

How do we apply to OPEN 2018?

The terms of the FOA are controlling – these web pages are only a partial summary of the FOA requirements

  1. Read through the current version of the OPEN 2018 Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA).
  2. Learn more about past OPEN projects to better understand the types of projects ARPA-E funds.
  3. Explore the OPEN 2018 teaming partner list to see what organizations and experts may be interested in partnering to further your technology.
  4. Register to apply for this FOA via ARPA-E eXCHANGE, ARPA-E’s online application portal. For detailed guidance on using ARPA-E eXCHANGE, please refer to the ARPA-E eXCHANGE User Guide.
  5. Submit a Concept Paper by 5 pm E.T. on February 12, 2018. Please refer to the FOA for Concept Paper guidelines.
  6. ARPA-E will review your Concept Paper and may encourage you to submit a Full Application. Please refer to the FOA for more information.

How can I find partners to team up with?

The Collaboratory suggests starting with those in your own back yard.  Reach out to Collaboratory Executive Director, Anja Richmond, to ask for an aggregated document created by the Collaboratory that will help you reach out to others to see if they are interested in teaming up. We encourage multi-disciplinary groups from Colorado along with other states. If we are missing someone, be sure to send to Anja.Richmond@coloradocollaboratory.org and they will be added to the list. The next draft of the list will go out so you can see who else is interested.

Colorado has ranked #3 in the past in ARPA-E projects — our goal is to rise to #1 in the nation!

ARPA-E aims to bring together different technical communities to solve big energy challenges and fill the gaps or “whitespace” in a field. We strongly encourage scientists from different disciplines and technology sectors to come together for interdisciplinary and cross-sector collaboration spanning organizational boundaries. This enables and accelerates the achievement of extremely hard-to-reach outcomes, making the impossible possible.

ARPA-E is compiling a Teaming Partner List for OPEN 2018 to facilitate the formation of new project teams and encourage collaboration. Teaming partners include organizations and individuals who can offer expertise, facilities, or other complementary resources toward a potential ARPA-E project. The teaming list identifies partners’ capabilities as well as their areas of interest, understanding that expertise and experience in one field can often be applied successfully to a new field. This list is completely voluntarily to participate in and utilize. ARPA-E will not identify or facilitate connections through the teaming list, but encourages researchers to reach out to other potential partners themselves to explore teaming opportunities. Please read the full terms of the Teaming Announcement, which can be found on ARPA-E eXCHANGE.

You can learn more about the funding opportunity here. You can visit the teaming list to find potential partners, available here. Concept papers are due to the agency on February 12, 2018.

For more information, please visit ARPA-E’s website.

OPEN 2018 Award overview

For more info: https://arpa-e-foa.energy.gov/#FoaIded06b7da-00fc-49eb-9ac0-22e052e62640

  • ARPA-E expects to make approximately $100 million available for new awards under this FOA, subject to the availability of appropriated funds. ARPA-E anticipates making approximately 30-50 awards under this FOA. ARPA-E may issue one, multiple, or no awards.
  • Individual awards may vary between $500,000 and $10 million.
  • The period of performance for funding agreements may not be less than 18 months and may not exceed 36 months.
  • ARPA-E encourages applications stemming from ideas that still require proof-of-concept R&D efforts as well as those for which some proof-of-concept demonstration already exists.
  • Submissions requiring proof-of-concept R&D can propose a project with the goal of delivering on the program metric at the conclusion of the period of performance. These submissions must contain an appropriate cost and project duration plan that is described in sufficient technical detail to allow reviewers to meaningfully evaluate the proposed project. If awarded, such projects should expect a rigorous go/no-go milestone early in the project associated with the proof-of-concept demonstration. Alternatively, submissions requiring proof-of-concept R&D can propose a project with the project end deliverable being an extremely creative, but partial solution. However, the Applicants are required to provide a convincing vision how these partial solutions can enable the realization of the program metrics with further development.
  • Applicants proposing projects for which some initial proof-of-concept demonstration already exists should submit concrete data that supports the probability of success of the proposed project.
  • ARPA-E will provide support at the highest funding level only for applications with significant technology risk, aggressive timetables, and careful management and mitigation of the associated risks.
  • ARPA-E will accept only new applications under this FOA. Applicants may not seek renewal or supplementation of their existing awards through this FOA.
  • ARPA-E plans to fully fund your negotiated budget at the time of award.