In support of President Biden's Investing in America agenda, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) today announced $63.5 million for four transformative technologies through the Seeding Critical Advances for Leading Energy technologies with Untapped Potential (SCALEUP) program. The four projects have demonstrated a viable path to market and represent technologies focused on aerogels for energy-efficient insulated glass units, thermal batteries to supply combined heat and power from renewable electricity, energy-dense solid state batteries, and cement decarbonization. SCALEUP supports the Biden-Harris Administration’s efforts to advance critical research and development helping to propel America’s energy innovation leadership on the global stage.  

“America is an innovation superpower, and President Biden is helping to scale up the next generation of clean energy solutions that will advance the nation even further toward our net-zero goals,” said U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm. “By catalyzing the commercialization of promising technologies, we are empowering the private sector to go all in to boost American manufacturing, strengthen national security and ensure our competitive edge.” 

The SCALEUP program provides new funding to previous ARPA-E awardees that have successfully de-risked their technology and established a viable route to commercial deployment. 

The four projects selected as part of the latest SCALEUP program are: 

• AeroShield Materials (Waltham, MA) will develop a pilot manufacturing facility for aerogels for high-efficiency insulated glass units that will enable residential and commercial buildings to become more energy efficient, meeting current and future ENERGY STAR targets for windows. (Award amount: $14,500,000) 

• Antora Energy (Sunnyvale, CA) will scale up production of its thermal battery technology, which turns low-cost renewable energy into reliable, on-demand heat and power for industrial facilities, enabling rapid decarbonization of the industrial sector. (Award amount: $14,500,000) 

• Ion Storage Systems (Beltsville, MD) will support domestic manufacturing of next generation solid-state lithium-metal batteries and accelerate commercialization of the technology into the electric vehicle market. (Award amount: $20,000,000) 

• Queens Carbon (Pine Brook, NJ) will develop an on-site pilot facility capable of producing carbon-neutral supplemental cementitious materials using industry standard raw materials to support decarbonized cement production. (Award amount: $14,500,000)

This is the third cohort of projects selected under the SCALEUP program, and you can access full project descriptions for the technologies above on the ARPA-E website. 
 
One of the project teams from the initial SCALEUP—Natron Energy, a global leader in sodium-ion battery technology—recently began commercial-scale operations at its manufacturing facility in Holland, Michigan. 

LongPath Technologies—another awardee from the initial SCALEUP—has created a paradigm shift in methane detection and mitigation by developing technologies capable of detecting over 90% of methane leaks down to 0.2 kg/hr from nearly a mile away. LongPath recently received an LPO loan guarantee of $189 million. 

Finally, Sila—a next-generation battery materials company also funded under SCALEUP—was selected to received up to $100 million in funding through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) to support the build-out of a facility in Moses Lake, Washington. Early ARPA-E funding and SCALEUP support were instrumental in the company’s success, and continued support demonstrates how critical President Biden’s whole-of-government strategy is to supporting energy technology from early stages, such as R&D, to full-scale deployment.  

In 2021, ARPA-E issued the second SCALEUP program, which went on to support work in hybrid electric aircraft; high-power density magnetic components; efficient, cost-effective and compact U.S.-manufactured electric vehicle charging equipment; wood products that are stronger, lighter and less expensive than structural steel; rare earth-free permanent magnets; floating offshore wind; and geomechanical energy storage. 

The SCALEUP program has successfully demonstrated what can happen when technical experts are empowered with the commercialization support to develop a strong pathway to market, and this latest cohort furthers the Biden-Harris Administration’s commitment to supporting American energy innovation.