Inspiring Generations of New Innovators to Impact Technologies in Energy 2026 (IGNIITE 2026)
Funding Agency:
Funding Agency
Department of Energy
RFP# and Website:
RFP# and Website
Awards:
Awards
ARPA-E may issue one, multiple, or no awards under this NOFO. Individual awards may not exceed $500,000. Awardees may, at the discretion of the Director of ARPA-E, be selected to receive an additional $250,000 Director’s Award to continue project work started under the award.
Anticipated Funding Amount:
Anticipated Funding Amount
Approximately $10 million, subject to the availability of appropriated funds.
Letter of Intent:
Letter of Intent
Submission Deadline for Concept Papers: 9:30 AM ET, May 29, 2026
Limit on Number of Proposals per Organization:
Preliminary Proposal Deadline:
Full Proposal Submission Deadline:
Full Proposal Submission Deadline
9:30 AM ET, TBD
Contacts:
Contacts
Questions and answers (Q&As) about ARPA-E and this specific NOFO: http://arpa-e.energy.gov/faq.
• Send other questions about the NOFO to ARPA-E-CO@hq.doe.gov.
Description
The objective of IGNIITE is to support and accelerate the transformative technical progress led by early-career scientists and engineers, a cohort that is often the source of disruptive innovations in research and technology.3 However, peer-review processes, commonly used by local and federal funding agencies to gauge likelihood of success, favor researchers with a longer track-record in established research areas.4 This program aims to empower early-career scientists and engineers to become independent researchers and unleash their creativity to develop disruptive energy technologies.
A second objective is to encourage these early-career innovators to focus their careers on tackling the substantial and urgent energy-related problems our society currently faces. In doing so, this NOFO will help ensure that the U.S. maintains its technological leadership in the development and deployment of advanced energy technologies. By establishing the IGNIITE program, ARPA-E joined other high-risk federal funding agencies in recognizing the importance of engaging with promising scientists and engineers early in their careers.5
D. TECHNICAL AREAS OF INTEREST
Applicants may propose any energy technology R&D project that addresses one or more of ARPA-E’s statutory goals through the type of research described in Section I.A. Concepts spanning multiple disciplinary boundaries are encouraged if they are helpful to the effort.
Applicants are advised to assess whether their proposed technologies are aligned with the DOE’s current areas of interest. Those areas include, but are not limited to:6
• Energy supply chain security (to include critical minerals)
• Advanced nuclear (to include fusion, fission)
• Geothermal
• Grid reliability and security
• American manufacturing competitiveness