The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DoE) Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) has announced $30 million in funding across three programs intended to help the country’s energy consumers reduce electricity costs, develop ultra-high-density energy storage systems for national security technologies, and support energy innovators.

The allocation consists of $15 million for the second phase of ARPA-E’s Jumpstart Opportunities to Unleash Leadership in Energy Storage with 1K Energy Storage Systems (JOULES-1K) program, $5 million for four projects under the Galvanizing Leaps in Advanced Super INsulating Glass (GLASING) program, and $10 million for 18 early career energy innovators selected for its 2025 Inspiring Generations of New Innovators to Impact Technologies in Energy (IGNIITE) program.

Funding for the JOULES-1K program will be allotted to six projects.

The agency said that for the second phase of JOULES-1K, it selected projects from the first phase that demonstrated the most promising energy storage chemistry in 1 kWh test systems. It also tested the projects’ 1 MWh performance and cost models.

The JOULES-1K program covers systems that can achieve an energy density of at least 1,000 Wh/kg and 1,000 Wh/l at the end of their service life and at the net-energy system level. JOULES 1K technologies must be able to increase their energy density by four times compared to current advanced storage systems.

ARPA-E stated that successful technologies would enable significant performance improvements in drones, robots, electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft, and other applications.

The funding for the GLASING program will be used to research and develop energy-loss-preventing window technologies that would reduce power costs for businesses and homeowners.

Projects under this program aim to develop low-cost, high-performance vacuum-insulated glazing to deliver triple the thermal performance of the current widely used double-pane windows. These projects aim to achieve this while maintaining competitive costs and optical clarity.

DoE stated that GLASING technologies will help make high-performance windows practical and affordable for existing buildings and newer construction projects.

ARPA-E will allocate up to $10 million for 18 ‘early-career’ energy innovators selected under its 2025 IGNIITE program. This program supports early-career engineers and scientists pursuing disruptive, unconventional, high-risk, high-reward ideas that could lead to transformative technologies.

Each project under IGNIITE will be eligible for up to $500,000 to work on innovations across technical areas such as critical minerals, fusion concepts, advanced materials, geothermal energy, battery and component manufacturing, grid and oil and gas technologies, and industrial and water efficiency systems.

In 2023, DOE allocated up to $30 million to support the cost reduction related to extracting rare earths and other essential minerals and materials from domestic coal-based sources.