An Assessment of ARPA-E
2017

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In 2005, the National Research Council report Rising Above the Gathering Storm recommended a new way for the federal government to spur technological breakthroughs in the energy sector. It recommended the creation of a new agency, the Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy, or ARPA-E, as an adaptation of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) model—widely considered a successful experiment that has funded out-of-the-box, transformative research and engineering that made possible the Internet, GPS, and stealth aircraft. This new agency was envisioned as a means of tackling the nation's energy challenges in a way that could translate basic research into technological breakthroughs while also addressing economic, environmental, and security issues.

Congress authorized ARPA-E in the 2007 America COMPETES Act and requested an early assessment following 6 years of operation to examine the agency's progress toward achieving its statutory mission and goals. This report documents the results of that assessment. It includes both an operational assessment of the agency's funding programs and a technical assessment of its awards, to the extent possible.

Additional materials

Press Release
Scientific, Inventive, and Market Engagement Metrics of ARPA-E Awards
The Impact of Active Program Management on Innovation at ARPA-E

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280 pages · 6 x 9 · paperback
ISBN Paperback: 0-309-45945-1
ISBN Ebook: 0-309-45946-X
DOI: https://doi.org/10.17226/24778

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National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2017. An Assessment of ARPA-E. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press.

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Front Matter i-xviii
Summary 1-14
1 Introduction 15-20
2 Overview of ARPA-E 21-46
3 ARPA-E's Internal Operations: Culture, People, and Processes 47-90
4 Technical Assessment 91-136
References 137-148
Appendix A: Committee Member Biographies 149-158
Appendix B: Disclosure of Conflict of Interest 159-160
Appendix C: Methods Used to Assess ARPA-E 161-182
Appendix D: Case Studies Used to Assess ARPA-E's Operations and Potential to Achieve Energy Impacts 183-240
Appendix E: Glossary of Abbreviations and Acronyms 241-244
Appendix F: Request for Data from ARPA-E, Input from Other Offices at the Department of Energy, and Agendas for Committee's Public Information Gathering Sessions 245-260
Appendix G: Consultants' Reports of Data Analysis 261-262

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An Assessment of ARPA-E (2017)

Chapter: Appendix G: Consultants' Reports of Data Analysis

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An Assessment of ARPA-E (2017)

Chapter: Appendix G: Consultants' Reports of Data Analysis