Since ICCF24, funding for solid-state fusion energy has made significant progress. On September 13, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced up to $10 million in funding to establish clear practices to determine whether low-energy nuclear reactions (LENR) could be the basis for a potentially transformative carbon-free energy source. 

The funding is part of the Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) LENR Exploratory Topic, which aims to break the stalemate of research in this space. The news follows Dr. Scott Hsu’s announcement at ICCF24 that ARPA-E would issue a new Exploratory Topic to solicit applications for financial assistance in pursuit of diagnostic evidence of LENR that would be convincing to the wider scientific community. 

LENR Exploratory Topic awardees will pursue hypotheses-driven approaches toward producing publishable evidence of LENR in top-tier scientific journals by testing/confirming specific hypotheses (rather than focusing only on replication), identifying and verifying control of experimental variables and triggers, supporting more comprehensive diagnostics and analysis, and improving access to broader expertise and capabilities on research teams. 

Dr. Jenny Gerbi who is ARPA-E Acting Director and Deputy Director for Technology says, “ARPA-E is all about risk and exploring where others cannot go, which is why we’ve set out with this LENR Exploratory Topic to conclusively answer the question ‘should this field move forward, or does it not show promise?’”

Proof positive that there’s significant momentum behind realizing this ultimate clean energy source!

More information is available at ARPA-E eXCHANGE.