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U.S. Department of Energy announces $42 million to strengthen America’s power grid

January 08, 2024

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has announced a $42 million investment in 15 projects across 11 states. The funding aims to enhance the reliability, resiliency, and flexibility of the domestic power grid through the development of next-generation semiconductor technologies. The projects are funded through DOE’s Unlocking Lasting Transformative Resiliency Advances by Faster Actuation of power Semiconductor Technologies (ULTRAFAST) program. The technologies being developed are expected to enable more effective control of grid power flow and better protection of critical infrastructure assets.

The projects aim to streamline the coordinated operation of electricity supply and demand, which will improve operational efficiency, prevent unforeseen outages, allow faster recovery, minimize the impacts of natural disasters and climate-change fueled extreme weather events, and reduce grid operating costs and carbon intensity. This announcement aligns with President Biden’s Investing in America agenda to modernize the nation’s power grid, accelerate the deployment of clean energy resources, and boost America’s energy and national security.

Managed by DOE’s Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E), the teams will advance the Biden-Harris Administration’s decarbonization goals by enabling a more secure and reliable grid and allowing it to utilize more solar, wind, and other clean energy. The selected projects include GaNify, Georgia Institute of Technology, Great Lakes Crystal Technologies, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, NextWatt, Opcondys, RTX Technology Research Center, Sandia National Laboratories, Texas Tech University, University of Arkansas, University of California, Santa Barbara, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, University of Pennsylvania, University of Wisconsin-Madison, and University of Tennessee, Knoxville.

U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer M. Granholm said, “Modernizing our nation’s aging power grid is critical to strengthening our national and energy security, and absolutely essential to reaching President Biden’s ambitious goal of a net-zero economy by 2050. This new investment will support project teams across the country as they develop the innovative technologies we need to strengthen our grid security and bring reliable clean electricity to more families and businesses—all while combatting the climate crisis.”