Advanced Research Projects Agency

The Department of Energy Advanced Research Projects Agency is a civilian sub-agency within the Department of Energy that funds transformative early-stage research and technology development in energy and environmental solutions through competitive grants and selective contract engagement. ARPA-E operates under congressional charter and focuses on technologies that can advance from scientific discovery to early deployment within a defined funding window.

ARPA-E's contract footprint is narrow and highly concentrated. The agency has issued 100 total awards since 2011, with combined potential value of $465.1 million and $404.2 million obligated. Recent contract volume shows growth: 3 awards in 2022, 4 in 2023, 12 in 2024, 13 in 2025, and 11 year-to-date in 2026. The most recent award is dated 2026-09-30. Booz Allen Hamilton dominates the prime contractor base, holding 21 of the last five years' 36 recorded contract awards and $238.6 million in combined potential value—82 percent of recent award count and 52 percent of recent combined potential value. The competitive field is highly concentrated; the top five by award count account for 82 percent of recent awards. Ninety-six percent of awards carry no set-aside designation, with only 3 percent small-business and 1 percent 8(a) sole-source awards among the portfolio.

ARPA-E's grant operation dominates its funding footprint. The agency has obligated $3.12 billion in federal grant dollars across 1,472 total awards since 2010, with combined total funding (federal plus non-federal share) reaching $4.05 billion. Grant volume in recent years reached 155 awards in 2024, declined to 62 in 2025, then rebounded to 120 in 2026; two future-dated awards appear in the source (1 in 2027, 1 in 2028). Cooperative Agreements comprise 83 percent of awards, with Project Grants at 16 percent and Block Grants under 1 percent. The grant recipient base is highly fragmented. The top five recipients by both award count and federal dollars—led by Massachusetts Institute of Technology (14 awards, $30.2 million), University of Wisconsin System (13 awards, $30 million), and University of Texas at Austin (13 awards, $24.9 million)—collectively account for only 10 percent of recent award count and 4 percent of federal dollars, with 595 distinct recipients across the portfolio.

Two recent grant solicitations with November 20, 2026 due dates target subsurface resource research. The Unlocking New Levels of Output and Capacity for Key Subsurface Resources SBIR/STTR program (DE-FOA-0003631) restricts applicants to small businesses and offers Cooperative Agreements or Grants. The companion Unlocking New Levels of Output and Capacity for Key Subsurface Resources program (DE-FOA-0003630) accepts unrestricted applicants and offers Cooperative Agreements or other assistance structures.