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Words like “biofuels” and “power electronics” usually conjure up images of labs and power lines, not biology class. But what better place is there to start innovation than in the classroom? The Department’s Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) fosters this philosophy during the annual Energy Innovation Summit.

America’s entrepreneurs are on the front lines of the global clean energy race, and the Department of Energy and the Administration want to hear from you about the barriers that are standing in your way and what we can do to help remove them.

Awarded under the Energy Department's Innovation Ecosystem Development Initiative, Fraunhofer TechBridge is using the funding to deliver “U-Launch” awards to services that catalyze growth for promising early-stage cleantech companies.

After a rigorous testing process, Energy Department project partners at ThermoChem Recovery International (TRI) have validated a process that converts wood waste and forest residue into clean, renewable fuel.

Tapping the entrepreneurial spirit of its Silicon Valley surroundings, Lawrence Livermore National Lab has a legacy that includes the launch of hundreds of successful companies. During just the past 20 years, five entrepreneurs from the Lab have founded four companies with a current market capitalization of $8.4 billion.

A new prototype network transmits at about 100 Gigabits per second (Gbps), which is about 10 times faster than most commercial Internet providers, and approximately 50,000 times faster than scientists (or anyone else) can send information via their iPhones. Learn how it will provide the opportunity for greater insight into scientific and societal challenges.
 


Air duct system leaks cost Americans $5 billion every year. A simple mist now on the market -- developed by Berkeley Lab -- can seal thousands of leaks in 4 to 8 hours, saving a home owner on average $600 to $850 a year.

A new kind of thyristor – an electronic switch – has the potential to change the landscape for power control and conversion.
 And it's thanks to a partnership between the Energy Department’s Sandia National Laboratory (SNL) and GeneSiC Semiconductor that this technology is now on the market. Learn more.

With the passing of Halloween, millions of pounds of pumpkins have turned from seasonal decorations to trash destined for compost heaps or landfills. But in Oakland, California, a public utility district are using discarded pumpkins and other food waste as a source of renewable electricity.

Entrepreneurs and small businesses are drivers of job creation and innovation in America. The Energy Department supports many small businesses that are pushing the limits of what was previously thought to be possible. Two of these game-changing companies are Semprius, Inc., and Simbol, Inc.

From advanced battery technologies and new biofuel technologies to clean energy generation and energy efficient products and buildings, the Department’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) has played an important role in bringing novel technologies from lab to market. Learn more about this thriving innovating engine.

A revolutionary new turbine technology for hydropower plants is one step closer to its first commercial deployment. The Alden Fish-Friendly Turbine could change the game for hydropower generation in the United States, and it is likely to have significant export potential.