NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC NEWS

Storage, Biofuel Lead $156 Million in Energy Research Grants

By Josie Garthwaite, For National Geographic News

PUBLISHED September 30, 2011

Can the energy of the sun be stored in molten glass, supercritical fluids, or metal? Can genetic engineering squeeze more biofuel from pine trees or tobacco? Can new alloys be created to replace the rare earth minerals so important to alternative energy?

These are among 60 research projects named Thursday to share in $156 million in U.S. government grants to push the cutting edge of energy technology. It is the fourth round of funding in the U.S. Department of Energy’s two-year-old ARPA-E (Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy) program, an effort to inject support into “high-risk, high-payoff” research on energy.

ARPA-E is modeled after DARPA, the Pentagon’s long-running program to support innovative military systems research, which is credited with the advances in computing networking that paved the way for the Internet. Energy Secretary Steven Chu, long before he took office, was among a vanguard of scientists who urged a similar concerted research program to spur advances in energy technology.

Each of the 60 new grantees is receiving an average of $2 million to $3 million, although a few biofuels grants are for more than $5.5 million. But the point of the federal funds and vote of confidence is to spur more private investment in the needed research. ARPA-E Director Arun Majumdar said in a call with reporters that 11 previous projects that received $40 million in ARPA-E grants have since secured as much as $200 million in pr­ivate investment.

Among the biofuel grantees in the new funding round was the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center in St. Louis, Missouri. It landed about $5.52 million to genetically engineer a variety of the crop camelina that would produce more oil per acre for fuel.

A Chicago-based company called Chromatin secured nearly $5.77 million to lead efforts to engineer sugar-rich sweet sorghum so that the plants will produce more farsenene, which can be converted into a type of diesel fuel.

And the University of Florida scored the largest grant, for nearly $6.37 million, for research efforts focused on pine trees, which naturally produce the liquid biofuel turpentine. With support from ARPA-E, the researchers hope to develop pine trees that can produce and store vastly more turpentine, to the point where less than 25,000 acres (10,117 hectares) of forest could supply turpentine for 100 million gallons (378 million liters) of fuel per year.

Universities will lead half of the projects in this latest round, while small businesses will head up nearly a quarter. National labs, nonprofits, and large businesses like General Electric will lead the rest.

A total of $31.6 million will go toward projects focused on early-stage development of alternatives to rare earth elements, which are used in a wide range of high-tech products, including computers, military gear, wind turbines, and hybrid car batteries.

As much as 90 percent of the world’s supply of these metals currently comes from China. And although mines in California and Australia are expected to begin producing rare earths within the next few years, and geologists have identified large deposits of the elements in southern Afghanistan, China’s recent moves to limit exports of the metals has created a sense of urgency around the kind of projects being backed by ARPA-E—a manganese-based replacement for rare earth magnets used in wind turbines and electric vehicles, for example.

“Rising rare earth prices have already escalated costs for some energy technologies and may jeopardize the availability and widespread adoption of many critical energy solutions by U.S. manufacturers,” the agency said in a press release issued Thursday.

In Search of Storage

The largest portion of new funds ($37.3 million) announced will go toward development of low-cost thermal storage. Of course, using heat to generate electricity or mechanical power is hardly new: Cogeneration, or combined heat and power, systems accounted in 2008 for more than half of total national power production in Denmark, nearly 40 percent in Finland and more than 30 percent in Russia—compared to only 9 percent in the United States, according to a report from the Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

But the ARPA-E projects are meant to take leaps in the realm of storage and transfer of heat for solar power, nuclear energy, and electric vehicles. A team led by the University of Utah, for example, will focus on a “hot and cold battery” that, if successful, would provide climate control for electric vehicles without draining the electric battery. And a project led by the University of South Florida would cut thermal energy storage system costs by as much as 75 percent if it succeeds in developing a new kind of so-called “phase-change” materials to transfer heat. These materials take advantage of the energy transfer that occurs when a material changes phases, as when ice changes from solid to liquid.

The company NAVITASMAX of Chandler, Arizona, will receive an $800,000 grant for a one-year proof-of-concept program aimed at creating fluids with extremely high heat capacity to provide low-cost storage of energy at concentrating solar or nuclear power plants. Halotechnics, of Emeryville, California, is receiving $3.3 million for its research into low melting-point molten glass as an energy storage medium.

Abengoa Solar, the Lakewood, Colorado-based division of Spanish company Abengoa, received $3.6 million to develop a high-efficiency solar-electric conversion tower. Coupled with new thermal energy storage, it aims to reduce the cost of concentrating solar power systems by 30 percent.

The latest grants come at a time of uncertainty for ARPA-E. Although President Obama has requested an expanded $505 million budget for the program in the 2012 fiscal year, Thursday’s awards mark the end of funds appropriated to the program by Congress for the 2011 fiscal year. While budget knives are out in some quarters of Capitol Hill for energy programs in the wake of federally supported solar innovator Solyndra’s bankruptcy, others say programs like ARPA-E are woefully underfunded. The Breakthrough Institute, a nonprofit advocacy organization, has argued that the agency should be funded at $1.5 billion annually as part of a massive U.S. government funding commitment needed in clean energy research.

In his conference call with reporters, Majumdar acknowledged a “tough budget climate.” But he added, “I’m confident that Congress will look at the value of this program and support it.”

$1 mil grant helps entrepreneur in quest to solve energy challenges

By Alison Stanton on January 21, 2012

Ever felt that you’re the consummate queen of multi-tasking? Follow Kelly Herbst around for a couple of days.

As president and founder of NAVITASMAX, a renewable energy storage company at Innovations Incubator in westChandler, Herbst spends her days learning all she can about sustainable and environmentally friendly ways to provide energy for the Earth.

As Mom to four curious children, Herbst spends her evenings striving to answer thought-provoking questions like, “Why can’t we use the sun and wind to power the world all the time?”

It is questions like these, Herbst says, that inspire her to work even harder to find an answer to energy needs around the country and eventually around the globe.

“In response, I combined my observations in art, nature and science to envision a novel solution that will enable widespread deployment of renewable energy by providing a system that is efficient, inexpensive and environmentally friendly,” she said.

Thanks to a $1 million grant recently awarded to NAVITASMAX, Herbst’s company may soon be one step closer to bringing real answers to her children’s questions by solving some of our country’s most challenging energy storage issues.

The grant was awarded from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy for its groundbreaking energy research for energy storage.

Herbst said that ARPA-E’s mission is to fund projects that will develop technologies designed to reduce the country’s dependence on foreign energy imports, minimize energy-related emissions and improve energy efficiency across the country.

“NAVITASMAX will develop a novel heat storage method for concentrating solar applications that will improve thermal energy density, or amount of heat storage, over existing systems by a factor of 10,” Herbst said, adding that her company assembled a team of leading scientists, engineers, and manufacturers to help solve some of the most challenging energy storage issues.

“The project team includes Harvard University, Cornell University, Nano Terra and Barber-Nichols, and it will conduct a one-year ‘proof-of-concept seedling’ program that will enable low-cost efficient thermal energy storage.”

Herbst said she has been fascinated for some time by the interconnectedness of science, art and nature. Upon completion of her studies toward an MBA, she went to work for a start-up company in the environmental industry.

“After having four children I became even more interested in environmental issues. I am a dreamer, an innovator,” she said, adding that she and everyone at NAVITASMAX is honored to have been chosen for such a prestigious award.

“This has truly been a labor of love by everyone involved,” she said.

“ARPA-E is one of the highest profile Department of Energy programs in our country,” Herbst said.  “Their focus is to fund highly innovative and transformational energy related technologies.

“As John F. Kennedy said, ‘We need men—and women—who can dream of things that never were.’  We need entrepreneurs, scientists, artists and engineers to transform their dreams into reality.”

Energy Innovation Summit, Washington DC

NAVITASMAX to be Featured Among Transformational Technologies at ARPA-E 2012 Energy Innovation Summit

Chandler, AZ – NAVITASMAX is honored to announce its selection for the prestigious Technology Showcase at the ARPA-E Energy Innovation Summit 2012 in Washington, DC February 27-29.  This Summit brings together America’s best minds in academia, business and government to advance energy technology innovation. The Summit features high-profile speakers including U.S. Secretary of Energy Steven Chu, Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates, President Bill Clinton and ARPA-E Director Arun Majumdar.

NAVITASMAX is a 2011 Awardee of the ARPA-E High Energy Advanced Thermal Storage (HEATS) Program and will exhibit its novel thermal energy storage technology to more than 2,000 national leaders, top researchers, investors, entrepreneurs and government officials.  “NAVITASMAX is addressing a critical challenge in our world for efficient, cost-effective thermal energy storage solutions to maximize the use of domestic renewable energy resources,” said NAVITASMAX President Kelly Herbst. 

Herbst was inspired by her children’s questions as to “Why can’t we use the sun and wind to power the world all the time?”  In response, she combined her observations in art, nature and science to envision a novel solution.  The NAVITASMAX ARPA-E HEATS team includes world leaders from Cornell, Harvard Nano Terra and Barber-Nichols.  NAVITASMAX is headquartered in Chandler, AZ and is pleased to be part of the Chandler Innovations Science & Technology Incubator.

The third annual ARPA-E Energy Innovation Summit will take place February 27 -29, 2012 at the Gaylord Convention Center just outside Washington, D.C. To learn more please visit: www.energyinnovationsummit.com

AltEnergyMag

NAVITASMAX Selected to Showcase Technology at Leading Energy Storage Conference

Visit http://www.chandleraz.gov/ed for further information

NAVITASMAX to be featured at ESA California Event May 20-22

05/09/13, 10:24 PM | Solar & Wind

Chandler, AZ – NAVITASMAX has been selected for the prestigious Technology Showcase at the Electricity Storage Association's (ESA) 23rd Annual Conference May 20-22, 2013 in Santa Clara, CA. This annual conference is the leading event which brings together America's best minds in academia, business and government to advance energy storage technology innovation and policy.

The conference features speakers Chairman Jon Wellinghoff of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), Stephen Berberich, President and CEO of California Independent System Operator (CAISO), Terry Boston, President and CEO of PJM Interconnection, and Katherine Hamilton, Director of ESA's Advocacy Council.

NAVITASMAX is an awardee of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) ARPA-E High Energy Advanced Thermal Storage (HEATS) Program to develop its novel thermal energy storage technology for Concentrating Solar Power (CSP). This event will give NAVITASMAX the opportunity to showcase its technology to national leaders, top researchers, investors, entrepreneurs and government officials.

The company was previously an ARPA-E GRIDS finalist for grid scale electrical energy storage.

"There is a critical need for efficient, cost-effective energy storage solutions that will maximize the use of domestic renewable energy sources," said NAVITASMAX President Kelly Herbst. "Our company is addressing that critical challenge and we are pleased to see that the ESA recognized the applicability of our technology to both thermal and electrical energy storage markets."

Herbst created NAVITASMAX after being inspired by her children's questions as to "why can't we use the sun and wind to power the world all the time?" In response, she combined her observations in art, nature and science to envision a novel solution. The NAVITASMAX ARPA-E HEATS team includes leading experts from Harvard University, Cornell University and Barber-Nichols. NAVITASMAX is headquartered in Chandler, AZ and is pleased to be part of the Chandler Innovations Science & Technology Incubator.

The 23rd annual ESA Conference will take place May 20-22, 2013 at the Hyatt Regency Santa Clara, CA To learn more please visit: www.electricitystorage.org/annual_meeting_site/2013/23rd_annual_conference

About NAVITASMAX
NAVITASMAX is a Renewable Energy Storage company. The NAVITASMAX technology will enable widespread deployment of renewable energy. This technology will revolutionize energy storage by providing a system that is efficient, inexpensive and environmentally friendly. Founder Kelly Herbst was inspired by her children's questions as to "Why can't we use the sun and wind to power the world all the time?" In response, she combined her observations in art, nature and science to envision a novel solution. The NAVITASMAX ARPA-E team includes leading experts from Harvard University, Cornell University and specialty manufacturer Barber-Nichols. NAVITASMAX is headquartered in Chandler, AZ and is pleased to be part of the Chandler Innovations Science & Technology Incubator.

About ESA
The Electricity Storage Association is an international trade association established to promote the development and commercialization of competitive and reliable energy storage systems for the electricity industry. The Annual Conference is the energy storage industry's leading event developed by the industry to support the advancement of the industry. With over 500 attendees, this year's conference, Energy Storage: Turn It On, will be focused on demonstrating that energy storage is economical, clean, reliable, and available for today in a variety of applications. Combined with the over 30 select companies participating in the Technology Showcase, this is the leading energy storage event. www.electricitystorage.org

About ARPA-E
The Advanced Research Projects Agency – Energy (ARPA-E) is a new agency within the U.S. Department of Energy – and the first to focus exclusively on breakthrough energy technologies that could radically change the way we use energy. Rather than performing research directly, ARPA-E invests in high-risk, high-reward energy technologies being developed by universities, startups, small businesses, and corporations. Our staff combines industry-leading scientists, engineers, and investment executives to identify promising solutions to the nation's most critical energy problems and to fast-track top technologies towards the marketplace – which is critical to securing the nation's global technology leadership and creating new American industries and jobs. www.arpa-e.energy.gov

About Innovations Incubator
The Innovations Incubator was developed by the City of Chandler in order to bring additional high-waged technology jobs to the community by providing start-up companies space to work and grow. The Incubator gives Chandler the opportunity to grow its own businesses in the cutting edge fields of biotechnology, bioinformatics, software design, nanotechnology, medical devices, renewable energy and others. For more information visit www.chandleraz.gov/ed

Energy Deals Blog - An Iteknowledgies International site

NAVITASMAX Selected to Showcase Technology at 2011 ARPA-E Energy Innovation Summit

November 20, 2011 · by Iteknowledgies · in ELECTRICITY, FUNDING 


NAVITASMAX, Dow, Lockheed Martin to be featured at DC Event February 28 – March 2

CHANDLER, Ariz. – NAVITASMAX is excited to announce its selection for the prestigious Technology Showcase at the ARPA-E Energy Innovation Summit, co-hosted by the Department of Energy’s Advanced Research Projects Agency – Energy (ARPA-E) and the Clean Technology and Sustainable Industries Organization (CTSI). Hundreds of top technologists and cutting-edge clean tech organizations competed to participate in the Showcase, a hallway of America’s most promising prospects for winning the future in energy.

As one of ARPA-E’s selected organizations, NAVITASMAX will exhibit its Novel Grid Scale Renewable Energy Storage Technology to nearly 2,000 national leaders gathering to drive long-term American competitiveness in the energy sector, including top researchers, investors, entrepreneurs, corporate executives and government officials. More than 200 groundbreaking technologies from ARPA-E awardees, corporations, National Labs and Department of Energy R&D programs will be featured at the event.

“This Summit brings together organizations that understand the need to collaborate and partner to bring the next generation of energy technologies to market,” said NAVITASMAX President, Kelly Herbst. “It’s a rare and exciting opportunity to have so many key players in the energy community together under one roof and we look forward to sharing our Novel Grid Scale Renewable Energy Storage Technology with other innovators and investors at the Technology Showcase.”

Research and business development teams from 14 Corporate Acceleration Partners committed to technology commercialization will also be present including Dow, Bosch, Applied Materials and Lockheed Martin.

The Summit also features high-profile speakers including U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu, ARPA-E Director Arun Majumdar, U.S. Navy Secretary Raymond Mabus, former California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and Bank of America Chairman Charles Holliday.

The second annual ARPA-E Energy Innovation Summit will take place February 28 – March 2, 2011 at the Gaylord Convention Center just outside Washington, D.C. To learn more or to register please visit: www.ct-si.org/events/EnergyInnovation.

About NAVITASMAX
NAVITASMAX is a Grid Scale Renewable Energy Storage company. The NAVITASMAX technology will enable widespread deployment of renewable energy. This technology will revolutionize energy storage by providing a system that is efficient, inexpensive and carbon-negative. Founder Kelly Herbst was inspired by her children’s questions as to “Why can’t we use the sun and wind to power the world all the time?” In response, she combined her observations in art, nature and science to envision a novel solution. The NAVITASMAX ARPA-E team includes world leaders from Cornell, Harvard and specialty manufacturer Barber-Nichols. NAVITASMAX is headquartered in Chandler, AZ and is pleased to be a part of the Chandler Innovations Science & Technology Incubator.

About ARPA-E
The Advanced Research Projects Agency – Energy (ARPA-E) is a new agency within the U.S. Department of Energy – and the first to focus exclusively on breakthrough energy technologies that could radically change the way we use energy. Rather than performing research directly, ARPA-E invests in high-risk, high-reward energy technologies being developed by universities, startups, small businesses, and corporations. Our staff combines industry-leading scientists, engineers, and investment executives to identify promising solutions to the nation’s most critical energy problems and to fast-track top technologies towards the marketplace – which is critical to securing the nation’s global technology leadership and creating new American industries and jobs. http://www.arpa-e.energy.gov

About CTSI
The Clean Technology & Sustainable Industries Organization (CTSI), a 501c6 non-profit industry association, represents the organizations developing, commercializing, and implementing energy, water, and environmental technologies. Clean technologies offer much needed solutions to growing resource security and sustainability concerns and are critical to maintaining economic competitiveness. CTSI brings together global leaders for advocacy, community development, networking, and information sharing to help bring these needed technologies to market more rapidly. Visit http://www.ct-si.org for more information.

ARPA-E Changing What's Possible

 

UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

ARPA-E HEATS PROGRAM

High Energy Advanced Thermal Storage

Program Description: 

The projects that make up ARPA-E's HEATS program, short for "High Energy Advanced Thermal Storage," seek to develop revolutionary, cost-effective ways to store thermal energy. HEATS focuses on 3 specific areas: 1) developing high-temperature solar thermal energy storage capable of cost-effectively delivering electricity around the clock and thermal energy storage for nuclear power plants capable of cost-effectively meeting peak demand, 2) creating synthetic fuel efficiently from sunlight by converting sunlight into heat, and 3) using thermal energy storage to improve the driving range of electric vehicles (EVs) and also enable thermal management of internal combustion engine vehicles.

Innovation Need: 

Thermal energy--or heat energy--is involved in over 90% of all energy technologies. There is a critical need to find efficient, cost-effective ways to store it. Many HEATS projects are focused on finding ways to efficiently and cost-effectively store solar thermal energy so that solar power plants can generate electricity 24 hours a day instead of just when the sun's out--significantly improving the plant's capacity and dramatically increasing its ability to power more homes and businesses. HEATS projects are also focused on finding cost-effective and efficient ways to store nuclear energy so that emissions-free nuclear power plants can deliver on-demand peak power. This is important because today nuclear energy is only used for baseload power generation and can't ramp up to meet peak-power demand. Other HEATS projects are finding ways to use thermal energy to produce synthetic fuel from sunlight, and several HEATS projects are focused on modular thermal energy storage advancements that could provide heating and cooling to the passenger cabin in an electric vehicle (EV) without draining the electric batteries--helping the vehicle travel farther.

Potential Impact: 

If successful, HEATS projects would advance thermal energy storage technologies and find ways for solar power plants to generate electricity 24 hours a day, for nuclear power plants to contribute to meet peak demand, for vehicles to operate on synthetic fuel derived from the sun's heat, and for EVs with improved HVAC systems to travel farther.

Security: 

Cost-effective thermal energy storage would enable increased use of domestic solar and nuclear energy resource, and increased use of thermal fuels and EVs would reduce U.S. reliance on fossil fuels--strengthening the nation's energy security.

Environment: 

Thermal energy power generation could help decrease fossil-fuel-based electricity use and harmful emissions from coal-burning power plants. Widespread use of EVs would also help reduce harmful emissions from the transportation sector.

Economy: 

Thermal energy storage systems could make it less expensive to generate power from nuclear and renewable solar energy, which in turn could help stabilize electricity rates for consumers. Advancements in thermal fuels and EVs could spur economic growth in those industries.

Contact:

Program Director Name:

Dr. James Klausner; Dr. Eric Rohlfing; Dr. Jason Rugolo