ARPA-E: Working to Change What’s

Possible

Research Triangle Cleantech Cluster Advisory Council Meeting

Morrisville, NC

David Henshall, Tech to Market Advisor, ARPA-E

david.henshall@hq.doe.gov

October 16, 2014

The ARPA-E Mission

1

Catalyze and support the development of

transformational, high-impact energy technologies

Reduce Imports

Reduce Emissions

Improve Efficiency

Ensure America’s

‣ National Security

‣ Energy Security

‣ Economic Security

‣ Technological Lead

2

A Brief History of ARPA-E

Funding Distribution (Lead Institution)

Investing in America’s

Best and Brightest

Universities

35%

Small

Businesses

37%

Large

Businesses

19%

National

Labs 6%

Non-profits

3%

• 2007

‣America COMPETES Act signed, authorizing ARPA-E

• 2009 ‣ American Recovery &

Reinvestment Act signed, providing $400M to establish ARPA-E

• 2014 ‣ Over $1B invested ‣ 375 projects funded

ARPA-E Invests in Transformational and Disruptive

Technologies

time

co

st / p

erf

orm

an

ce

existing learning curve

new learning curve

tipping

point

transformational

transformational & disruptive

Steam-powered Cugnot (1769)

Benz Motorwagen (1885)

Ford Model T

(1914)

3

U.S. Energy Generation and Consumption

4

Focused Programs

5

Transportation

Energy

Technologies

Stationary

Energy

Technologies

REMOTE

RANGE

MOVE

PETRO

Electrofuels

BEEST

METALS SBIR/STTR REACT AMPED HEATS

Solar

ADEPT

BEETIT

GRIDS

IMPACCT

GENI

ADEPT

FOCUS

SWITCHES

375 energy technology projects within 20 focused programs and 2 open solicitations

REBELS

Efficiency Stationary

Storage Stationary Generation

Grid Modernization

Renewable Power Carbon Capture

Transportation Storage

Vehicle Design

Advanced Fuels

Focused Programs

ARPA-E Program Framing Questions

7

What is the problem to

be solved? What is the current

state of R&D? How is

the proposed program

a transformative and

disruptive approach?

What are the program

goals and how will

progress towards those

goals be measured?

What research

communities need to

be brought together?

How does the program

complement R&D

efforts in other DOE

programs, federal

agencies, and the

private sector?

Why is now the right

time to solve this

problem?

What happens at the conclusion of the

program? What are the barriers to

commercialization and how might

these problems be overcome?

If successful, how will the proposed

program impact one or more of

ARPA-E’s mission areas?

Adapted from the DARPA Heilmeier questions

ARPA-E Program Development Cycle

9

If it works…

will it matter?

What does it do?

What is the adoption process

and what are the barriers?

Why is it possible now but

wasn’t before?

How much will it cost to

develop? To produce?

How long will it

take to develop?

Who will buy this?

What problem does it

solve?

What are the risks and

payoffs?

Measuring ARPA-E’s Success

MOVING TECHNOLOGY TOWARD MARKET ‣ Partnerships with Other Government Agencies

‣ Licensing/Acquisition by an Established Firm

‣ Licensing/Acquisition Resulting in a Spinoff

‣ Private-Sector Funding

‣ Growth of Existing Company (e.g., Organic Growth)

BREAKTHROUGH ACHIEVEMENTS ‣ Patents

‣ Publications

OPERATIONAL EXCELLENCE ‣ Expedited program development and project selection

‣ Aggressive performance metrics

10

ARPA-E CASE STUDY:

WIDE BAND-GAP SEMICONDUCTOR

POWER ELECTRONICS

11

Benefits of WBG in Power Electronics

‣ High operating temperature

‣ High reliability

‣ Higher efficiency

– Lower Rdson

– Lower switching energy

‣ Less expensive systems

‣ Lighter weight system

‣ Higher power density

12

Higher mobility;

• higher switching frequency

• smaller, lighter, cheaper

passives

• lower conduction losses, lower

switching losses

• higher efficiency

• lower cooling

requirements

ADEPT Agile Delivery of Electric Power

Technologies

Highlights

• High energy density, high temperature capacitors

• Low loss, high frequency magnetic materials

• Wide bandgap switches (GaN, 600V+ / SiC 10kV+)

• Advanced circuit topologies and converter architectures

Goals

• Increase energy efficiency of

power conversion systems

• Enable high efficiency, high

power density power electronics

Kickoff Year 2010

Projects 13

Investment $37.7

Million

13

ADEPT Program Technical Targets

14

Voltage

& Power

Applications

Efficiency Switching

Frequency

Power

Density

> 100 V

10-50 W > 93% > 5 MHz > 300 W/in3

> 600 V

3-10 kW > 95% > 1 MHz > 150 W/in3

13 kV

1 MW > 98% >50 kHz N/A

SiC Bi-Directional Vehicle Battery Charger

15

Parameter Baseline Prototype

Volumetric

Power

Density

7.4 W/in3

(387.5 in3 )

83.3 W/in3

(73.2 in3)

Gravimetric

Power

Density

0.44 kW/kg

(6.6 kg )

3.8 kW/kg

(1.6 kg)

Power 2.88 kW 6.1 kW

Efficiency - 95% peak

The charger was

integrated into a 2010

model Toyota Prius

Plug-in Hybrid

10x Increase in Power

Density and Increased

Efficiency

ADEPT PROGRAM TO SWITCHES PROGRAM

16

Transportation

Energy

Technologies

Stationary

Energy

Technologies

REMOTE

RANGE

MOVE

PETRO

Electrofuels

BEEST

METALS SBIR/STTR REACT AMPED HEATS

Solar

ADEPT

BEETIT

GRIDS

IMPACCT

GENI

ADEPT

FOCUS

SWITCHES

REBELS

Focus Areas

• Large area, low cost bulk GaN substrates

• High current density vertical GaN transistors

• Low cost, foundry-based, SiC device fabrication

• Proof-of-concept diamond power semiconductor devices

Goals

• Reduce the barriers to widespread

deployment of low-loss WBG

power semiconductor devices in

stationary and transportation

energy applications.

Kickoff Year 2014

Projects 14

Investment $27 Million

SWITCHES Strategies for Wide-bandgap,

Inexpensive Transistors for

Controlling High Efficiency Systems

GaN

Substrates

Diodes &

Transistors

Diamond SiC

Diodes & Transistors Diodes & Transistors

18

SWITCHES primary technical targets were set to

achieve high performance and market viability

ID Parameter Primary targets

1.1 Discrete Device Cost (Packaged) <= $0.10 /A

1.2 Drain-Source Breakdown Voltage >= 1200 V (VDSS @ TC = 25°C and VGS = 0)

1.3 Continuous Drain Current Rating

(Single Die) >= 100 A (ID @ TC = 25°C and VGS <= 20 V)

1.4 Operating Junction Temperature -55 °C to 150 °C

1.5 IOFF/ ION Ratio > 106

1.6 Vth (not applicable to diodes) > 2 V @ ID = 5 mA

1.7 Dynamic Performance Hard switched boost (PFC) converter at f

>= 40 kHz, VOUT = 800 V, IMAX = 50 A.

ID Parameter Secondary targets

2.1 Specific RDSON < 3 mΩ*cm2 @ VGS = 15 V

2.2 Switching Loss EON+EOFF < .5 mJ @ 800 V and 50 A

19

Program Objective: Understand Learning Curve

for WBG- PE Solutions

20 Insert Presentation Name

Via

bili

ty in

Po

we

r E

lectr

on

ics

Time

• What is the learning curve for each technology?

• We need to monitor progress of each technology and determine viability

Simplified Power Electronics Value Stream

Materials

• Raw materials

• Equipment

• Substrate

• Epi

Discrete Device

• Design

• Fab

• Test

• Modeling

• Thermal considerations

Module Build

• Thermal considerations

• Reliability

• Testing

Converter/ Inverter Build

• Capacitors

• Resistors

• Busbar

• Connectors

• Inductors/ transformers

Integrated Systems

• PFC

• PV Inverters

• HEV

• Motor Drives

• Aerospace

21 Insert Presentation Name

New materials and processes

here (SWITCHES focus) Enable redesigns here Yield end-user

gains here

Materials Devices & packaging Inverters Systems

Pathways to Low Cost Gallium Nitride Devices

• Lateral conduction: Low current

density/die area, die size increases

directly with breakdown voltage

• Heteroepitaxy makes high voltage,

high current devices (>100A)

extremely challenging

22 T. Uesugi and T. Kachi, Which are the Future GaN Power Devices for Automotive Applications, Lateral Structures or Vertical Structures?, CS

MANTECH Technical Digest, Toyota, 2011.

Lateral GaN High Electron

Mobility Transistors (HEMTs)

• Higher current densities

• Breakdown voltage handled vertically

• Higher thermal performance

• Challenge: Requires bulk GaN substrates

Vertical GaN Transistors

Pathways to Low Cost SiC and Diamond Devices

• SiC MOSFETs currently 3-5X more

expensive than Si devices ($/A).

• Challenges:

• Low channel carrier mobilities

• High temperature processing

• Dedicated, custom (low volume)

SiC fabrication facilities.

23

Silicon Carbide

• Diamond material advantages:

• Very high bandgap (5.45 eV)

• Superior thermal conductivity

• High electron mobility

• Why now?

• Availability of single crystal substrates

• p-type and n-type epi growth

• Improved low resistance contacts

• Demonstration of (low current) BJT

Diamond

Images: Cree, Rohm, Element 6

Kato et al., Diamond & Related Materials 34 (2013), 41-44

Example of Efficiency Improvement with WBG

Devices

24 Source: Yole Developpement SA (2012, March 22) “GaN Power Electronics Slow ramp-up

but huge expectations... ” Webcast

Moving Beyond First Adopters

WBG blue laser

diodes enabled Blu-

Ray technology

adoption, about half

a billion sold in 5

years

25

LED’s were the first

wide-spread

commercialization of

WBG technology, VW

Beetle dashboard in ’97

Power electronics in automotive,

PV inverter applications

10X better FIT (failure in time)

than Si

Since 2002, WBG devices have had over one trillion device

hours in the field in power electronics applications

WBG Power Electronics Market

‣Markets

26 Insert Presentation Name

SWITCHES

IGBT Market by application – Global (2012)

0

500

1000

1500

2000

2500

3000

3500

4000

4500

Industrial Drives Renewables Traction Consumer Automotive Other

Sale

s,

($M

illio

ns)

Source: IHS, “Power Semiconductor Discretes and Modules- World – 2013, December 2013

Summarize

ARPA-E mission is to catalyze and support the development of transformational, high-impact energy technologies

– create a more secure, affordable, and sustainable American energy future

Mission is achieved by investing in early-stage high potential energy projects which can fundamentally change energy technology.

Projects must matter by moving towards commercialization.

The depth of knowledge gained through active project management provides great insights to America’s energy future.

28

ARPA-E Opportunities

Roles, Responsibilities and Attributes

29

ARPA-E is currently hiring new Program Directors and Tech to Market Advisors

What makes an ideal candidate?

If you are interested in applying or

learning more, please contact a

current ARPA-E employee or email

arpa-e-jobs@hq.doe.gov

Active project management

‣ Actively manage portfolio projects from merit reviews through project completion

‣ Extensive “hands-on” work with awardees

Thought leadership

‣ Represents ARPA-E as a thought leader in the program area

Program development

‣ Perform technical deep dive to solicit input from multiple stakeholders in the R&D community

‣ Present & defend program concept in climate of constructive criticism

‣ R&D experience; intellectual integrity & flexibility; technical breadth; commitment to energy;

communication skills; leadership; and team management

‣ Confidence, but not arrogance

31

www.arpa-e.energy.gov