ARPA-E

About this programme

ARPA-E — the Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy — is an agency inside the U.S. Department of Energy that funds the discovery of high-risk, high-potential energy technologies. Its own framing: "the disruption wing of the Department of Energy" — an agency of energy scientists, technologists, entrepreneurs, engineers, and industry visionaries focused on American-made energy. Since 2009, ARPA-E has provided $4.29 billion in funding to more than 1,750 energy ideas.

ARPA-E targets technologies that are too early or too risky for private-sector investment, but that could be meaningfully advanced with a defined amount of funding and active, time-boxed project management. Its stated goals include reducing energy imports, improving nuclear fuel and waste management, improving energy infrastructure resilience and efficiency, and reducing energy-related emissions.

The agency's projects are directed by Program Directors who serve limited terms — a structure Congress built to keep a steady stream of disruptive technical thinking flowing through the agency and to avoid bureaucratic slowdown. ARPA-E has "substantial involvement" in every project it funds: it sets and monitors technical milestones and can restructure or terminate a project quickly if those milestones aren't met.

ARPA-E funds work through Notices of Funding Opportunities (NOFOs) — focused, technology-specific solicitations that open and close on their own schedule, plus periodic OPEN NOFOs that accept ideas across any energy technology area. There is no single standing ARPA-E "program" to apply to; applicants track the current list of open NOFOs and apply to the one that matches their technology.

How it works

Most NOFOs run a two-stage process: a short Concept Paper first, followed — if ARPA-E encourages it — by a Full Application. ARPA-E reviews every Concept Paper and sends a notification letter (by email, to the technical and administrative contacts registered in ARPA-E eXCHANGE) stating whether it encourages or discourages a Full Application. Only applicants with a compliant, responsive Concept Paper on file by the deadline may submit a Full Application — and a discouraged Concept Paper can still be carried forward into a Full Application if the applicant chooses.

ARPA-E does not accept unsolicited proposals and does not perform pre-submission assessments of ideas — funding is only available through an open NOFO. All applications are submitted through ARPA-E eXCHANGE, the agency's online application portal, which hosts NOFO-specific Concept Paper and Full Application templates.

Awards are typically issued as Cooperative Agreements, under which ARPA-E has substantial involvement in a project's direction, not as unconditional grants. For teams led by a Federally Funded Research and Development Center (FFRDC) or DOE national lab, ARPA-E executes a separate funding agreement (often a DOE/NNSA Work Authorization) alongside a Cooperative Agreement with the rest of the project team.

Cost sharing applies to most NOFOs (SBIR/STTR NOFOs are the standard exception). Cost share is calculated as a share of Total Project Cost — Cost Share % = Cost Share ÷ (Cost Share + Federal share) — and can be met with cash or approved in-kind contributions, but not with other federal funds, IR&D funds, or previously reimbursed federal expenditures. Large businesses seeking patent rights under the class patent waiver must contribute 20% cost share on their portion of the project regardless of the overall project cost-share rate; small-business-led teams performing more than 80% of the project work may qualify for a first-year cost-share grace period. Cost share commitment letters aren't required at Concept Paper or Full Application stage — only during award negotiations.

Selected teams do not begin project work on the strength of a selection notice alone — award negotiations (including cost share, IP terms, and budget) must be finalized and the agreement executed first. Recipients then report periodically on technical and financial progress against the milestones ARPA-E built into the award.

Who can apply

Eligibility is set NOFO-by-NOFO in each notice's "Eligible Applicants" section, but the general rules ARPA-E applies across NOFOs are consistent. For-profit companies of any size, universities, non-profits, and individuals are typically eligible applicants, though any award to an individual must be made to a business entity the individual forms.

Foreign entities are generally eligible to apply, but ARPA-E will only make an award to a U.S.-incorporated affiliate or subsidiary (incorporated in the U.S. or a U.S. territory) acting as the Project Team Lead. A "foreign work waiver" can be requested — via the Business Assurances and Disclosures Form — to allow a discrete portion of project work to happen outside the U.S.; approval is case-by-case, and as a general rule all project work must be performed in the United States or its territories.

State, local, and Tribal government entities are typically eligible as members of a Project Team, but not as the standalone applicant or Project Team Lead. Federally Funded Research and Development Centers (FFRDCs) cannot apply as a standalone applicant either.

A separate SBIR/STTR track uses the U.S. Small Business Administration's size standards (by NAICS code) to define an eligible small business. Applicants must obtain a Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) via the System for Award Management (SAM) before an award can be made — the Project Team Lead must be fully SAM-registered before submitting; subrecipients need only a UEI or a UEI in process. For-profit entities must be formally incorporated by the time of award.

How to apply

1. Review the list of open NOFOs on ARPA-E eXCHANGE (arpa-e-foa.energy.gov) and identify the one that matches your technology — ARPA-E does not accept unsolicited proposals outside an open NOFO.
2. Obtain a Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) and, as the prospective Project Team Lead, complete SAM.gov registration — required before an award can be made.
3. Register in ARPA-E eXCHANGE and download the NOFO-specific Concept Paper template; ARPA-E strongly encourages using it, though all Concept Papers must meet the content/format requirements in the NOFO itself.
4. Submit the Concept Paper by the deadline listed on the NOFO cover page and in eXCHANGE. Only compliant, responsive submissions are reviewed; late submissions are deemed noncompliant and are not considered.
5. Wait for ARPA-E's notification letter, sent by email to the registered technical and administrative points of contact, stating whether ARPA-E encourages or discourages a Full Application.
6. If proceeding, prepare and submit the Full Application using the NOFO's templates — the Project Team can be expanded or modified at this stage, and the requested federal funding amount can be revised up or down from the Concept Paper figure. Only one Full Application may be submitted per compliant Concept Paper.
7. If selected for award negotiations, work with ARPA-E's Grants Officer to finalize cost share, IP terms (an IP and Data Management Plan is due within 6 weeks of award), and budget. Project work cannot begin before the funding agreement is executed.
8. Once under award, submit periodic technical and financial progress reports against the milestones built into the Cooperative Agreement; ARPA-E does not offer formal debriefings to unsuccessful applicants.

Documents you’ll typically need

• Unique Entity Identifier (UEI), obtained through SAM.gov
• Concept Paper, using the NOFO-specific template on ARPA-E eXCHANGE (includes an optional Bibliographic References section, which does not count against the page limit)
• Full Application, using the NOFO's Technical Volume and Summary Slide templates
• Business Assurances & Disclosures Form (BADF) — includes any foreign entity participation or foreign work waiver requests
• Budget Justification Workbook
• Indirect Rate Proposal — required at award negotiation only for applicants without a federally approved indirect cost rate agreement (a de minimis rate option is available)
• Letters of support — not accepted at Concept Paper stage; optional at Full Application stage as a separate upload, not part of the Technical Volume
• Intellectual Property and Data Management Plan — due within 6 weeks of award, not required at application stage

Frequently asked

Reviewed 2026-08-16. Programmes change — confirm current eligibility, amounts and deadlines on the official page before you apply. CapEasy is a private consultancy and is not affiliated with any government authority.