Funder · Federal agency

Advanced Research Projects Agency — Energy

Invests ARPA-E, the Department of Energy office backing bold, high-impact energy technology projects.

United Statesarpa-e.energy.gov

Key stats

Annual funding$350M

Programs8

Active grants1

Total grants5

About

The Advanced Research Projects Agency–Energy (ARPA-E) was chartered in 2007 by the America COMPETES Act and began operations in 2009. Modeled on DARPA, it sits within DOE but operates as a high-autonomy program office. ARPA-E funds projects that exhibit transformative potential — technologies that, if successful, could create entirely new learning curves rather than improve existing ones.

As of 2…

Programs & grants under this funder

ARPA-E OPEN

Funds United States energy teams with broad innovation support for high-impact technology development.

ARPA-E E-FAST Climate / ARPA-E Carbon Programs

Funds United States climate and carbon innovators through climate-focused energy programs.

ARPA-E HORNIG (Gen IV reactors)

Funds United States nuclear ventures for Gen IV reactor research and advanced reactor design.

ARPA-E IGNIITE

Funds United States energy innovators through ARPA-E IGNIITE for high impact exploratory technology.

ARPA-E IMPACT / SCALEUP

Funds United States energy and advanced technology scale-up work from concept validation to real world impact.

ARPA-E PERFORM Performance-Based Energy Resource Feedback

Funds United States energy teams with performance-based programs for better power infrastructure.

ARPA-E

Supports United States energy breakthroughs with high-risk funding for advanced innovation technologies.

4 grants

ARPA-E OPEN (next cycle)

Between cycles

$150M pool

ARPA-E Focused Technology Programs

Between cycles

$140M pool

ARPA-E IGNIITE (Early-Career Innovators)

Funds United States geothermal R&D teams developing super-hot reservoir technologies through ARPA-E cooperative agreements.

Parent entityUS Department of Energy

Last verified: 13 May 2026Source: arpa-e.energy.gov