The Advanced Research Projects Agency – Energy (ARPA-E): Assessing the Agency’s Progress and Promise in Transforming the U.S. Energy Innovation System
Opening Statement By Chairman Bart Gordon
Good morning. I want to welcome everyone to this hearing on the Advanced Research Projects Agency – Energy, or ARPA-E. It was almost a year ago that ARPA-E received startup funding from the Recovery Act. We can consider this hearing their first annual check-up.
Today we will discuss the rather brief but dynamic history of ARPA-E, including some of the early achievements and future plans for the agency. We will also hear from witnesses on the role of ARPA-E in the larger energy technology landscape, and how it can best be positioned to serve as a driver of job creation and technological competitiveness in the U.S.
This Committee has a lot invested in ARPA-E. Though the America COMPETES Act was very much a product of bipartisan negotiations between the House and Senate, it is really this Committee that has led the charge in ensuring that ARPA-E became a reality.
In 1958 DARPA was created in response to Sputnik, and today we must respond to the serious threat of China and others that see leadership in clean energy technology development as key to economic growth.
Just as the originators of DARPA can look back on its successes – the internet, stealth technology, GPS - I firmly believe that, in the not-so-distant future, members of this Committee will look back on our role in the formation of ARPA-E and take great pride in the technological breakthroughs and new industries that will inevitably result from its work. ARPA-E will in turn serve as a model for innovation in other programs within DOE and other federal agencies.
We were very fortunate that the President chose Dr. Steven Chu to lead the Department. Along with Dr. Vest, Secretary Chu was instrumental in seeing that the National Academy of Science’s “Rising Above the Gathering Storm” report included a recommendation to establish ARPA-E. They clearly understood the threats to competitiveness called for new models for research and development.
As Tom Donohue, the CEO of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, said in a hearing last week,
“The creation of ARPA-E represents a bold step towards bypassing some of the traditional ‘stove-piping’ that frequently hinders the efficiency and expediency of research and development at DOE and its National Laboratories.”
Over the last four years I have become a believer that the DARPA model will work for energy, and that it was just what the Department needed to overcome long-standing institutional barriers to innovation.
I think we can all appreciate a small, non-bureaucratic group of very talented individuals armed with the resources to quickly respond to high-risk technical challenges and, just as quickly, terminate unneeded projects. This team has the singular mission to do whatever it takes to develop the most cutting edge clean energy technologies and get them into the marketplace as quickly as possible.
I have followed very closely the progress of ARPA-E, and I can safely say that I am very encouraged by what I have seen. Dr. Majumdar and his team understand their mission better than anyone. They understand that their charge is to be innovative not only in the projects they undertake, but also in how they undertake them. They appear unafraid of confronting the traditional bureaucratic hurdles and trying new models for spurring innovation.
Witnesses
Panel
0 - Dr. Arun Majumdar
Director Advanced Research Projects Agency – Energy (ARPA-E) Advanced Research Projects Agency – Energy (ARPA-E)
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0 - Dr. Charles Vest
President National Academy of Engineering National Academy of Engineering
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0 - Dr. Anthony Atti
President and CEO Phononic Devices, Inc. Phononic Devices, Inc.
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0 - Dr. John Pierce
Vice President Dupont Applied Science – Biotechnology Dupont Applied Science – Biotechnology
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0 - Mr. John Denniston
Partner Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers
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