The U.S. Department of Energy's Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E)—an incubator for “out-of-the-box” transformational energy research and development—has announced a new initiative that will create, test, and deploy advanced electric-grid technologies.

In partnership with Charlotte, North Carolina-based Duke Energy, one of the largest electric power companies in the United States, and with the Palo Alto (News - Alert), Calif.-based Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI), a non-profit research organization that focuses on the electric power utility industry worldwide, the ARPA-E will explore and commercialize technologies that have the promise of reducing customers’ energy costs and strengthening the electric grid.

Specifically, the research aims to advance smart grid developments, grid-scale energy storage, power electronics, and energy efficient cooling technologies, among others.

"This partnership with the utility industry will move promising technologies from the lab into the marketplace at a much faster pace," said DOE Secretary Steven Chu.

ARPA-E received $400 million funding in April 2009 through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). The ARPA-E is modeled after the successful Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), established in 1958 to prevent strategic surprise from negatively impacting U.S. national security and to create strategic advantage for the United States by maintaining the military’s technological superiority. The DARPA has been responsible for technological innovations such as the Internet and the stealth technology found in the F117A and other modern fighter aircraft.

Unlike conventional Department of Energy research, ARPA-E funds concepts that industry alone cannot support, but which would dramatically benefit the nation. Its high-risk, high-reward programs seek to substantially reduce foreign energy imports, cut energy-related greenhouse gas emissions, and improve efficiency across the energy spectrum. This new umbrella deal, which will allow for similar partnerships with other utilities, comes two months after ARPA-E announced six of its projects have secured more than $100 million in outside private capital investment.

"ARPA-E is spurring innovation in a way that could help transform not just the energy sector, but the economy as a whole," said Duke Energy (News - Alert) CEO Jim Rogers. "Our nation is at an energy crossroads, and we must develop and deploy advanced sources of clean, reliable, affordable energy more rapidly."

"Technology innovation will be key to success as we embrace the challenge of providing reliable, affordable, and sustainable electricity," said Michael Howard (News - Alert), president and CEO of EPRI.

Mark McGranaghan, vice president of Power Delivery and Utilization for EPRI, currently serves as the Institute’s executive responsible for research and development related to electricity transmission, distribution, energy efficiency, and electric transportation. He joined EPRI in 2007 after more than 20 years at Duke Energy, where he held various engineering and management positions, including key responsibilities for both nuclear and fossil generating plants.

Under the terms of the agreement, ARPA-E will facilitate the exchange of information between ARPA-E-supported projects, EPRI, and Duke Energy, which delivers energy to approximately 4 million U.S. customers in five states. Duke Energy could deploy and test ARPA-E technologies at various power plants or wind farms. The technologies may also be studied at the company's McAlpine substation, a test-bed for renewable, grid storage and smart grid technologies, or at the company's Envision Center, a smart grid demonstration and testing facility in Erlanger, Ky.

EPRI, whose members represent more than 90 percent of the electricity generated in the United States, will offer test-bed facilities at two of its research laboratories: a transmission and distribution research facility in Charlotte, N.C. and at its Knoxville, Tenn. laboratory, where testing is conducted on consumer electronics, lightings, smart grid components, heating and cooling systems and electric vehicle infrastructure requirements.

Duke Energy, a public company, has approximately 35,000 megawatts of electric generating capacity in the Carolinas and the Midwest, and natural gas distribution services in Ohio and Kentucky. Its commercial and international businesses own and operate diverse power generation assets in North America and Latin America, including a portfolio of renewable energy assets.