In a Monday morning panel discussion, the engineer and executive talked about pivots made in her latest company, which has developed a system-level tracker-based solar technology. From Research to DevelopmentĮffecting change in the energy industry “is harder than some other industries,” observed Leila Madrone, founder and CEO of Sunfolding (Figure 2). “Basic research doesn’t go on annual funding cycles,” she noted, and it does have to accept “a high degree of failure.” What’s needed, she suggested, is conveying to Congress and the public that public investment in long-term research is important. Nevertheless, there’s no national energy investment system, and that puts universities in a particularly precarious position when funding for their basic research is threatened by budget cuts or the two- and four-year congressional cycles. Later, she noted, “It’s not an innovation-centered industry” there are a lot of reasons for that, she added. (That is one reason that many ARPA-E project awardees and partners are affiliated with research universities.) Additionally, she pointed out, the energy industry doesn’t spend as much money on research as the pharmaceutical industry, for example. has “outsourced” a lot of basic research to its universities. The Value of Basic ResearchĪmong the high-profile speakers and panelists at the event was Janet Napolitano, currently president of the University of California system, whose previous leadership roles include serving as Arizona governor and Department of Homeland Security secretary. All the players you might expect are attending, as well as a few that might surprise you, including a representative of the French Embassy, whose primary job is as a researcher for a French nuclear firm, and a Menlo Park, Calif.–based BMW representative scouting for technologies that could lower the company’s greenhouse gas emissions at any point along the production chain, from manufacturing plant to vehicle on the road. It has again attracted roughly 2,000 attendees. The ARPA-E Summit, held near the nation’s capital, brings together researchers, entrepreneurs, and established industry players to encourage collaboration, networking, and the sharing of best practices for developing successfully disruptive, useful technologies in the energy space. Though Williams otherwise appears to be a calm and collected person, her excitement about the new role at ARPA-E was obvious. Ellen Williams, incoming director of ARPA-E. Williams, whose previous positions have included serving as the senior advisor to the secretary of energy and as chief scientist for BP, made that remark when interviewed by Phyllis Cuttino, director, Clean Energy Initiative at The Pew Charitable Trusts, at the sixth annual ARPA-E Summit this week.ġ. Ellen Williams (Figure 1), incoming director of ARPA-E (Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy) is that it “is always uncertain,” and today’s low oil and gas prices won’t last. One thing you can say for sure about the energy world, said Dr. “The coolest thing on Earth” is, according to its new director, a young federal agency that has a unique focus on pushing technology frontiers and an “unblinking attention” to market realities.
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