30 Jul 2019 BPC Action Supports ARPA-E Reauthorization Bill in Energy and Environment
Bipartisan Policy Center Associate Director for Energy Innovation and American Energy Innovation Council (AEIC) Staff Director, Dr. Addison K. Stark, Ph.D. released the following statement on the ARPA-E Reauthorization Act:
“We applaud the Advanced Research Projects Agency – Energy (ARPA-E) Reauthorization Act, sponsored by Reps. Johnson (D-TX) and Lamb (D-PA). Increased authorized funding for ARPA-E is needed to ensure the U.S. remains globally competitive and maintains a global technological leadership position in the development and commercialization of advanced energy technologies. ARPA-E provides crucial early-stage funding, technical support, and commercialization expertise for off-roadmap opportunities pursued neither by private firms nor other funding agencies, including other programs and offices in DOE. The National Academies 2017 assessment of ARPA-E found it has:
- Focused on the most transformative technology opportunities
- Avoided duplicating research already underway
- Supported projects that have since attracted significant private follow-on funding for technologies that are now beginning to enter the commercial market
“Since its creation in 2009 until March of 2019, ARPA-E invested $2 billion in R&D funding to more than 800 projects, which led to:
- ARPA-E projects have attracted $2.9 billion in private-sector follow-on investment in 145 projects
- 76 new companies have been formed
- ARPA-E projects have led to 346 patents being issued by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office
- 131 projects have partnered with other government agencies for further development
- 2,489 peer-reviewed journal articles have been published
“We echo the call from the AEIC to grow ARPA-E to $1 billion annually. Given the above impact, this is one of the best potential returns on energy innovation investment available today.”
