ARPA-E

ARPA-E OPEN (next cycle)

Funds high-risk energy technologies in United States with cross-cutting potential for climate and industrial transformation.

⚠ This may reflect a past cycle — verify the current call on the funder's site.

ARPA-E OPEN is the Advanced Research Projects Agency – Energy's broad-aperture call for transformational energy technologies that do not fit within the agency's existing focused programs. It is the largest and most inclusive ARPA-E solicitation by eligibility, accepting proposals from companies, universities, non-profits, and national laboratories across any energy technology domain that addresses ARPA-E's core mission. The most recent completed cycle — Vision OPEN 2024 (DE-FOA-0003387) — allocated $150 million across approximately 50 projects with individual awards ranging from $250,000 to $10,000,000 and a median of roughly $3,000,000. ARPA-E's agency budget was approximately $460 million in FY2024 before a congressional cut to roughly $350 million for FY2026. Vision OPEN 2024 defined three mission themes: greenhouse-gas-free abundant primary energy, intermodal energy transport, and sustainable carbon transition for polymers and materials. The next OPEN cycle has not been formally announced as of mid-2026; the historical biennial pattern (2018, 2021, 2024) suggests the next cycle would post in 2026 or 2027 subject to budget availability.

All ARPA-E awards are structured as cooperative agreements rather than conventional grants, meaning ARPA-E program directors maintain active involvement throughout the project lifecycle, including milestone reviews and technical pivots. Cost share is required: for-profit applicants typically contribute 20% of project cost from non-federal sources, while universities and non-profits face lower thresholds. Project duration is typically 24 to 36 months. U.S. registration and operations are required for the lead applicant; foreign entities may participate as subrecipients with justification. TRL window is 2 to 5 — ARPA-E is explicitly not a commercialization program; it targets high-risk, potentially transformative research. Applications must be submitted through the ARPA-E eXCHANGE portal; Grants.gov submissions are not accepted.

The three-stage application process — concept paper, full application by invitation, then reply to reviewer comments — means only a fraction of concept paper submitters advance to full proposals. A successful OPEN concept paper identifies a specific technical approach to a high-impact energy challenge, provides quantitative performance targets, and demonstrates why the approach is currently underfunded by the private sector and existing government programs. ARPA-E program directors assess proposals against the ARPA-E technical and commercial impact criteria, and selectees receive intensive program management support rather than hands-off grant administration. Organizations that have previously received ARPA-E funding and reached TRL 5 or above may be eligible for the separate SCALEUP Ready mechanism.