Booz Allen Hamilton has been awarded a significant contract by the Department of Energy's Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E), valued at $550 million over a decade. This partnership underscores Booz Allen's commitment to fostering the development of early-stage, high-impact technologies focused on novel methods of generating, storing, and utilizing energy. These efforts aim to significantly diminish U.S. emissions, bolster energy efficiency, and enhance the resilience and reliability of the national power grid.
As the primary provider of technical and operational support for ARPA-E, Booz Allen Hamilton plays a pivotal role in the pursuit of groundbreaking energy solutions. Mike Miller, the leader of Booz Allen's ARPA-E initiatives and its broader civilian energy portfolio, expressed pride in supporting ARPA-E's mission, saying, "We are proud to be ARPA-E’s partner in powering the critical mission to enhance the U.S. competitive position in science and technology, improve environmental wellbeing, and solve the most pressing climate challenges using novel technology. Booz Allen empowers its people to change the world, and our team is doing just that—upsetting the status quo in energy technology, operating like a startup, and advancing an ecosystem where not-yet-invented technology can rise and be deployed for good."
The contract will see Booz Allen's multidisciplinary team, which boasts over 50 Ph.D. holders, provide comprehensive support across the lifecycle of ARPA-E's early-stage technology projects. This includes aiding ARPA-E awardees in mitigating risks associated with their nascent technologies. With more than 160 employees dedicated to ARPA-E-related endeavors, Booz Allen Hamilton offers a holistic approach to its support, leveraging the expertise of engineers, scientists, analysts, and project managers. Their capabilities span digital and IT transformation, project management, finance, as well as artificial intelligence and machine learning, demonstrating the company's integrated strategy in advancing the energy sector's future.
Booz Allen Hamilton's collaboration with ARPA-E extends farther back than this new contract, marking significant contributions to the energy sector's innovation landscape. The firm has been at the heart of pivotal ARPA-E milestones, including facilitating the first hybrid-electric flight to Alaska, launching the first commercial direct Air Capture facility, and establishing the world's inaugural thermophotovoltaic (TPV) cell manufacturing line. Since its inception, Booz Allen has played a crucial role in supporting ARPA-E and shaping its technology-to-market strategy, leading to 230 projects garnering over $12.1 billion in subsequent private-sector funding, the creation of more than 150 companies, the publication of 7,318 peer-reviewed articles, and the generation of 1,120 U.S. patents alongside 405 licenses.
Ben Getto, a principal at Booz Allen and the ARPA-E program manager, emphasizes the firm's ambition for incremental, radical innovations to enhance U.S. economic prosperity, national security, and environmental well-being. This ambition is reflected in Booz Allen's comprehensive energy and climate endeavors, such as rebuilding Tyndall Air Force Base with cutting-edge digital twin technology, applying AI and machine learning for advanced climate intelligence, and providing support to clients in the energy, resources, and utilities sectors.