An Assessment of ARPA-E

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. Table of ContentsFront MatterSummary1 Introduction2 Overview of ARPA-E3 ARPA-E's Internal Operations: Culture, People, and Processes4 Technical AssessmentReferencesAppendix A: Committee Member BiographiesAppendix B: Disclosure of Conflict of InterestAppendix C: Methods Used to Assess ARPA-EAppendix D: Case Studies Used to Assess ARPA-E's Operations andPotential to Achieve Energy ImpactsAppendix E: Glossary of Abbreviations and AcronymsAppendix F: Request for Data from ARPA-E, Input from Other Officesat the Department of Energy, and Agendas for Committee's PublicInformation Gathering SessionsAppendix G: Consultants' Reports of Data Analysis