NASA iTech Challenge - Seeks Energy Ideas to Improve Life on Earth, Enhance Space Exploration

ARPA-E has joined NASA to launch a new NASA iTech challenge, a competition inviting the nation’s top entrepreneurs and researchers to showcase their ideas for transformative energy concepts. 

The challenge seeks to identify innovative technologies that can improve energy generation, storage and distribution to the benefit of both space exploration and life on Earth. ARPA-E will support the competition and judging process by providing subject matter expertise across a wide variety of energy technologies.

Inventors and entrepreneurs can submit a five-page white paper on their concept on the NASA iTech websitethrough April 29, 2018. A panel of subject matter experts from NASA and ARPA-E will review ideas submitted and select the top 10 finalists based on their relevance and potential impact.

The top 10 finalists will be invited to present their ideas to NASA and ARPA-E technologists, other energy and space experts and potential investors at the 2018 NASA iTech Cycle II Forum this June in New York City.

A few examples of technology sub-themes that NASA believes have the potential to improve future space power systems include, but are not limited to:

  • FUEL CELLS AND REGENERATIVE FUEL CELLS

  • HIGH-ENERGY DENSITY BATTERIES AND SUPERCAPACITORS

  • SOLAR POWER SYSTEMS

  • SMALL FISSION POWER SYSTEMS

  • INNOVATIVE POWER MANAGEMENT AND DISTRIBUTION (INCLUDING SMART GRIDS AND WIRELESS POWER TRANSFER)

  • X-FACTOR ENERGY