Categorical Exclusion Determinations: Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy

This Fourth Amended Determination follows a change to field testing locations and project partners to support the project team's small-scale research and development activities to finalize, test, and validate their full-scale 160 kilowatt (kW) tidal turbine, currently in development under the Submarine Hydrokinetic and Riverine Kilo-Megawatt Systems (SHARKS) program.
This Amended Determination follows the approval of additional funding, period of performance, removal of teaming partners, and new project milestones to include the development of three additional Substation in a Cable for Adaptable, Low-cost Electrical Distribution (SCALED) alternating current (AC) to AC cells in addition to the development of four direct current (DC) to DC SCALED cells already in progress, with a goal to create a cohesive, all-in-one structure to replace bulky, inflexible power substations in the electrical grid.
The Grid Optimization (GO) Competition Challenge 3 program will support the research and development of software management solutions focused on the security-constrained optimal power flow (SCOPF) problem, part of a continuing effort of GO Challenges 1 and 2, to successfully discover, develop, and test innovative and disruptive software solutions for critical energy challenges and to overcome existing barriers.
Funding will support the project team's small-scale research and development of a technology approach to large-scale, dynamic energy transport by using electrochemical processes and existing logistics infrastructure by leveraging globally abundant, non-critical metals to serve as energy carriers and innovative metal-air fuel cells and low temperature metal electrolyzers for energy conversion.
Funding will support the project team's small-scale research and development of a technology to enhance the power delivery system for laser drivers by leveraging efficient microwave sources in combination with electron beams to energize excimer gas lasers used in generating laser-based inertial fusion energy.
Funding will support the project team's small-scale research and development of a long-distance wireless power transfer (WPT) 4 meter (m) phased array antenna with over 1 kilowatt of radio frequency power transmitting 200m to a 4m receiving antenna array with minimum 70 percent end-to-end efficiency from source to delivered direct current (DC) for the purpose of connecting energy generation with demand.