New award to university of north texas control no. 3387-2349 vision open 2024 project title: high efficiency, resilient transformers for next generation power distribution systems university of…

The Department of Energy Advanced Research Projects Agency awarded a $1.696 million Cooperative Agreement to the University of North Texas on October 13, 2025, under ARPA-E (CFDA 81.135) to develop high-efficiency, resilient distribution transformers for next-generation power distribution systems. The university will develop new magnetic materials that reduce losses in distribution transformers, which step down medium-level voltage to service-level voltage for end-use consumption. Over 50 million transformers currently operate in the electric grid; although individual transformer efficiencies exceed 98 percent, aggregate losses from their abundance constitute a major fraction of total network losses. The project aims to improve energy efficiency of electricity transmission and distribution, reduce emissions, and maintain U.S. competitiveness in advanced energy technologies.

Performance runs through October 30, 2028, at the University of North Texas in Denton, Texas. The University of Pittsburgh assists with laboratory-scale and industrial-scale annealing studies to develop Goss texture in alloys, microstructural and magnetic property characterization using optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, electron backscatter diffraction, and X-ray diffraction, assessment of microstructural and texture uniformity through sheet thickness, and characterization of properties from industrial trials following industry standards. Advanced Optical Technologies Inc. delivers large-area texture imaging of grain-oriented electrical steel samples using laser polarized-light microscopy, including grain statistics, parsable segmentation files, and summary reports, and conducts in-kind research and publication of optical grain contrast models in etched electrical steel. The award obligated $1.696 million as of the stated date.

New award to university of north texas control no. 3387-2349 vision open 2024 project title: high efficiency, resilient transformers for next generation power distribution systems university of north texas will develop distribution transformers used to step-down medium-level voltage to service-level voltage for end-use electrical consumption are a critical component of the electrical distribution infrastructure with over 50 million transformers currently in use in the electric grid. Although these transformers have efficiencies greater than 98%, the losses in these transformers constitute a major fraction of the total losses in the network due to their abundance. The proposed project aims to develop new magnetic materials that will lower these losses thereby improving the energy efficiency of electricity transmission and distribution thereby reducing emissions and ensuring that the united states maintains a technology in developing advanced energy technologies.