ARPA-E

Name

ARPA-E

Legal name

Advanced Research Projects Agency for Energy

Website

https://arpa-e.energy.gov

Company type

Private

Founded year

2007

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Washington

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Others, Marketing or Sales

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

ARPA-E is a U.S. Department of Energy agency that funds transformative, high-risk energy technology research through competitive grant programs and cooperative agreements. It does not sell products or services; instead it disburses federal appropriations to researchers, startups, universities, and national laboratories via programs such as OPEN, SCALEUP, QC3, CURIE, ONWARDS, PROPEL-1K, CATALCHEM-E, RECOVER, REEACH, GLASING, NEWTON, and ENCODE.

Product overview

ARPA-E (Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy) is a U.S. Department of Energy agency that funds transformative energy technology research through competitive grant programs. It does not develop or sell products; rather, it provides funding to external researchers, companies, and institutions through programs such as the Quantum Computing for Computational Chemistry (QC3) program, CURIE program for nuclear recycling, ONWARDS program for nuclear waste reduction, PROPEL-1K for energy storage, CATALCHEM-E for catalyst development, RECOVER for critical mineral extraction, and SCALEUP/OPEN programs for scaling innovations. ARPA-E's offerings consist entirely of funding programs and initiatives rather than commercial products or services.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• OPEN Program OPEN is ARPA-E's standing funding program offering grants to support early-stage, high-risk, high-reward energy technology concepts, aimed at researchers, startups, and institutions developing transformative energy innovations.
• SCALEUP Program SCALEUP is ARPA-E's funding program designed to support scaling of promising ARPA-E-funded energy technologies toward commercial readiness, targeting previous ARPA-E awardees and other energy technology developers.
• Innovator Hub The Innovator Hub is ARPA-E's online portal that lists funding opportunities, programs, and projects, and serves as the entry point for researchers, startups, and institutions seeking ARPA-E funding.
• Investor Hub The Investor Hub is ARPA-E's referral platform that connects ARPA-E-funded clean energy technology innovators with private investors, supporting the catalytic-capital sequence from federal grants to mainstream private investment.
• ARPA-E Annual Summit The ARPA-E Annual Summit is the agency's flagship annual conference that convenes researchers, industry representatives, investors, and policymakers to showcase ARPA-E-funded energy technology innovations and facilitate connections across the innovation ecosystem.
• Quantum Computing for Computational Chemistry (QC3) Program QC3 is ARPA-E's funding program supporting the development of quantum algorithms for computational chemistry, catalyst discovery, and materials simulation, targeting quantum computing companies and their partners.
• Fusion Research Funding Program ARPA-E's fusion research funding initiative supports fusion energy developers and researchers pursuing commercial fusion power, with $135 million committed over 18 months as announced in April 2024.
• Superhot Rock Geothermal Research Program ARPA-E's superhot rock geothermal program is a $215 million funding initiative targeting the development of next-generation geothermal energy systems capable of tapping superhot rock resources.
• CATALCHEM-E Program CATALCHEM-E is ARPA-E's funding program supporting AI-driven and autonomous laboratory approaches to industrial catalyst development, with $34 million awarded across 12 projects.
• PROPEL-1K Program PROPEL-1K is ARPA-E's $30 million funding program supporting high-energy-density storage solutions targeting aviation, railroad, and maritime transportation applications.
• CURIE Program CURIE is ARPA-E's funding program supporting the development of modeling and assessment tools for commercial nuclear fuel recycling facilities, with consortia such as the EPRI-led MARIE project.
• ONWARDS Program ONWARDS is ARPA-E's funding program supporting technologies that reduce nuclear waste footprints, with grant-funded projects such as Universal Canister Systems for advanced reactor waste.
• RECOVER Program RECOVER is ARPA-E's $25 million funding program supporting the development of technologies that recover critical minerals, including rare earth elements, from waste streams and unconventional sources.
• REEACH Program REEACH is ARPA-E's funding program supporting the development of high-power, lightweight fuel cell technologies for electric aviation applications, engaging major aerospace and automotive industry partners.
• GLASING Program GLASING is ARPA-E's funding program supporting the development of advanced automation and manufacturing technologies for ultra-high-efficiency window glass.
• NEWTON Program NEWTON is ARPA-E's funding program supporting the development of proliferation-resistant spent nuclear fuel recycling technologies in collaboration with national laboratories.
• ENCODE Project ENCODE is an ARPA-E-funded project applying quantum-enhanced computing to optimize U.S. energy grid operations, led by Infleqtion in partnership with national laboratories and utilities.

Quantifiable outcome

• Catalytic capital sequence: government grants through philanthropic investors to mainstream infrastructure funds essential for bringing first-of-a-kind energy technologies to commercial scale
• +2 more outcomes

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

13 partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• PhasecraftcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 17 June 2026Phasecraft secured a $4.5 million ARPA-E contract to develop quantum algorithms for catalyst discovery under the Quantum Computing for Computational Chemistry program. Partners include Johnson Matthey, Harvard, and QuEra.
• SHINE TechnologiescoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 17 June 2026SHINE Technologies joined an EPRI-led consortium backed by ARPA-E under the CURIE program to develop MARIE, a modeling tool to assess feasibility of commercial nuclear fuel recycling facilities.
• Project Omega (Nuclear Technology Startup)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 February 2026Project Omega emerged from stealth with $12 million seed round to develop proliferation-resistant spent nuclear fuel recycling technology in collaboration with Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, supported by ARPA-E's NEWTON programme.
• Stony Brook UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerResearchers at Stony Brook University developed MATRICY technology through ARPA-E's ONWARDS program, exceeding the program's goal of reducing nuclear waste footprints tenfold.
• Alice & BobcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAlice & Bob, a Paris and Boston-based quantum computing company, was awarded $3.9 million from ARPA-E to develop fault-tolerant quantum algorithms for discovering rare-earth-free permanent magnets. Collaboration includes Los Alamos National Laboratory, GE Vernova, and Professor Emanuel Gull.
• InfleqtioncoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerInfleqtion received $3.9 million in ARPA-E funding under the Quantum Computing for Computational Chemistry initiative to develop quantum algorithms for discovering new high-temperature superconductors.
• InfleqtioncoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerInfleqtion executed a $6.2 million ENCODE project with ARPA-E focused on applying quantum-enhanced computing to optimize U.S. energy grid operations, involving collaboration with Argonne National Laboratory, NLR, EPRI, and ComEd.
• Deep IsolationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDeep Isolation and partners delivered Project UPWARDS, a first-of-a-kind Universal Canister System for advanced nuclear reactor waste, completed with $3.6 million ARPA-E ONWARDS grant. NAC International intends to integrate the system into licensed storage systems.
• General AtomicscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerU.S. Secretary of Energy visited General Atomics' fusion research facilities including DIII-D National Fusion Facility and inertial confinement fusion target fabrication spaces, highlighting the company's role in U.S. national security and commercial fusion energy.
• UC DaviscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerUC Davis was awarded $3 million from ARPA-E to engineer acid-tolerant microbes capable of extracting rare earth elements from acidic wastewater streams as part of ARPA-E's $25 million RECOVER program.
• UConn ResearcherscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerUConn researchers received $5M cooperative agreement under ARPA-E's REEACH program to develop high-power lightweight solid oxide fuel cell technology for electric aviation, engaging with Boeing, RTX, Rolls-Royce, Nissan, Johnson Matthey, and UC Berkeley.
• V-GlasscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerV-Glass was awarded $1 million by ARPA-E under the GLASING program to develop novel automation and manufacturing technology for ultra-high efficiency windows. This is V-Glass's first ARPA-E award and seventh DOE grant.
• SyntericcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSynteric, a Materic LLC portfolio company, partnered with National Laboratory of the Rockies and Packet Digital on an ARPA-E funded project called 'Breaking the Board' to develop monolithic ceramic heat exchangers.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• DARPA: Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency is the direct institutional model on which ARPA-E was patterned. Both operate as federal ARPA-style agencies funding high-risk, high-reward R&D outside traditional grant mechanisms, but DARPA focuses on defense technologies while ARPA-E focuses on energy.
• In-Q-Tel: In-Q-Tel is the U.S. intelligence community's strategic venture capital arm, investing in early-stage technology companies to deliver capabilities to the CIA and broader IC. It is comparable to ARPA-E as a federally-aligned catalytic capital provider that targets high-risk technology bets.
• Defense Innovation Unit (DIU): DIU accelerates adoption of commercial technology into the U.S. military. Like ARPA-E, it bridges federal funding and private-sector innovators, but with a defense customer rather than an energy mission.
• ARPA-H: Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health is the sister agency within the ARPA family, modeled directly on ARPA-E and DARPA. It uses the same program-director-driven, milestone-based funding model but applies it to biomedical research, making it structurally identical to ARPA-E.
• BARDA: Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority, part of HHS, applies an advanced-development, milestone-driven funding model to accelerate medical countermeasures. It is comparable to ARPA-E in funding translational R&D through structured program management rather than investigator-initiated grants.

Broad incumbents

• DOE Office of Science: The Department of Energy's largest federal science funding arm supports fundamental research across national laboratories and universities. Compared with ARPA-E, it has a broader, more established portfolio of basic research rather than transformational energy-applied R&D.
• National Science Foundation (NSF): NSF is the principal U.S. federal agency funding non-medical basic research at universities and colleges. It overlaps with ARPA-E in funding early-stage energy-related research but is a much larger, slower-moving institution with broader mandate.
• DOE Loan Programs Office (LPO): The LPO provides loan guarantees and direct loans for clean energy and advanced-vehicle projects. It complements ARPA-E in the DOE catalytic-capital stack but operates at the commercial-scale deployment stage rather than the early-R&D stage.

Emerging players

• Breakthrough Energy Ventures: Founded by Bill Gates, Breakthrough Energy Ventures is a private venture fund backing companies developing transformative energy technologies. It overlaps with ARPA-E in targeting the same set of high-risk climate-energy startups but uses private capital rather than federal appropriations.

Others

• Advanced Research Projects Agency for Energy (ARPA-E CIRCULAR): Within DOE, the Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations (OCED) and similar demonstration-stage programs are complementary to ARPA-E's earlier-stage funding, forming the upstream/downstream pair in the federal clean-energy commercialization pipeline.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/ARPAE
• Facebookfacebook.com/arpaegov
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/advanced-research-projects-agency-energy-arpa-e-

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments110 records

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Frequently asked questions about ARPA-E