Bill to reauthorize ARPA-E introduced in House

Published on July 30, 2019 by Dave Kovaleski


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A bill to reauthorize the Department of Energy’s (DOE) Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) for another five years was introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives.

The ARPA-E Reauthorization and Reform Act of 2019, introduced by Rep. Frank Lucas (R-OK), includes a gradual funding increase of $27 million per year. ARPA-E was established in 2007 to improve American economic and energy security. The bill refocuses ARPA-E on this mission and the development of technologies that decrease foreign energy imports, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, increase energy efficiency, improve nuclear waste cleanup, strengthen the electric grid, and lessen the environmental impact of all forms of energy production.

“ARPA-E is meant to advance truly cutting-edge technologies to revolutionize energy production, development, and use in America. To do that, it needs to be able to operate on the frontline of new research, focusing on transformational technologies that are too high-risk for industry investment,” Lucas, ranking member on the House Science, Space, and Technology Committee, said. “This bill empowers ARPA-E to work exclusively on this kind of disruptive innovation, ensuring its resources aren’t being drained by duplicative research or technology that could be better developed by private industry. The gradual funding increase in this legislation reflects the fact that ARPA-E’s high-risk, high-reward approach to technology development has the potential to dramatically improve American energy and represents a tremendous return on investment.”

Further, the bill gives the Secretary of Energy the flexibility to identify other challenges suited for ARPA-E’s research capabilities.