Fusion Focus at Congressional Hearing on “ARPA-E’s role in Developing Breakthrough Technologies”
On March 12, the Energy Subcommittee of the House Science, Space, and Technology Committee held a Congressional hearing on “Bridging the Valley of Death: ARPA-E’s Role in Developing Breakthrough Technologies”. The U.S. Department of Energy’s Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA-E) program has helped accelerate the development of a multitude of breakthrough technologies, including fusion energy.
In his opening remarks, Committee Chairman Frank Lucas noted the important role ARPA-E has played for various sectors.
It supports fundamental research over a wide range of breakthrough energy technology areas, including transportation biofuels, long term energy storage, and fusion power, just to name a few.
Chairman Frank Lucas, House Science, Space, and Technology Committee
Energy Subcommittee Chairman Brandon Williams noted ARPA-E’s impact in fostering the fusion industry.
“Over the last fifteen years, ARPA-E has been instrumental in the development of a wide variety of revolutionary technologies such as fusion energy, advanced nuclear, and energy storage.
Chairman Brandon Williams, Energy Subcommittee, House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology
Starting with the ALPHA program in 2015 and progressing to the Chadwick program in 2024, ARPA-E has accelerated efforts to deploy the first fusion power plant. Early investments in novel reactor designs and material sciences have been vital to decreasing institutional risk across the industry. And they’ve helped with the maturation of leading players such as Helion and Commonwealth Fusion Systems who benefited from these early programs.”
ARPA-E programs have funded at least six fusion firms. Five of the milestone public-private partnership awardee companies are a direct result of ARPA-E programs – one is FIA member Zap Energy, represented at the hearing.
Witnesses and their testimonies:
- Dr. Ryan Umstattd, Vice President, Product & Partnerships, Zap Energy
- The Honorable Lane Genatowski, Former Director, ARPA-E, U.S. Department of Energy
- Mr. Tim Lust, Chief Executive Officer, National Sorghum Producers
- Dr. Tim Held, Chief Technology Officer, Echogen Power Systems
Funding government programs that promote breakthrough technology development is critical to accelerating commercial deployment. The Fusion Industry Association supports the work of ARPA-E in bridging public and private sector efforts.
You can watch the full hearing here:
