Advanced Catalyst Manufacturing Enabled by Direct Joule Heating

Default ARPA-E Project Image

Program:
Exploratory Topics
Award:
$500,000
Location:
Rockville, Maryland
Status:
ALUMNI
Project Term:
05/13/2020 - 09/12/2022
Website:

Critical Need:

This topic seeks to support entrepreneurial energy discoveries, by identifying and supporting disruptive concepts in energy-related technologies within small businesses and collaborations with universities and national labs. These projects have the potential for large-scale impact, and if successful could create new paradigms in energy technology with the potential to achieve significant reductions in U.S. energy consumption, energy-related imports, or energy-related emissions. These specific projects address technology areas across ARPA-E’s mission spaces, with particular focus on: Advanced bioreactors; Approaches and tools to create enhanced geothermal systems; Non-evaporative dehydration and drying technologies; Approaches to significantly enhance the rate and/or potential scale of carbon mineralization; Separation of CO2 from ambient air (direct air capture); High-rate separation of dissolved inorganic carbon from the ocean to produce a CO2 stream; Advanced trees and other engineered biological systems for carbon sequestration; Innovative deep ocean collector designs for mining polymetallic nodules; Environmental sensors capable of operation in deep ocean environments for mining polymetallic nodules; and Non-carbothermic smelting technologies. Awards under this topic are working to support research and establish potential new areas for technology development, while providing ARPA-E with information that could lead to new focused funding programs. The focus of these projects is to support exploratory research to establish viability, proof-of-concept demonstration for new energy technology, and/or modeling and simulation efforts to guide development for new energy technologies.

Project Innovation + Advantages:

Ammonia synthesis reactions, enabled by the Haber-Bosch process, account for approximately 3% of the world’s total energy use. HighT-Tech proposes a cascade reactor with a sequence of non- platinum group metals catalyst compositions tailored to a specific stage of the synthesis reaction. HighT-Tech’s novel, direct joule (electric current) heating process enables synthesizing high entropy alloy nanoparticles with various catalyst compositions. This method will produce ammonia synthesis catalysts that deliver more ammonia per pass and require significantly less capital cost and energy to operate.

Contact

ARPA-E Program Director:
Dr. Jack Lewnard
Project Contact:
Dr. Bob Gatte
Press and General Inquiries Email:
ARPA-E-Comms@hq.doe.gov
Project Contact Email:
bob.gatte@hight-tech.com

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Release Date:
05/20/2020