Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) researchers attended the Department of Energy’s annual Advanced Research Projects Agency–Energy (ARPA‑E) Energy Innovation Summit. There, thousands of leaders from government, academia, and industry convened to accelerate emerging technologies with the potential to transform the nation’s energy landscape.

“The ARPA‑E Summit was a pivotal stage for us to unveil first-of-its-kind energy technologies—offering unparalleled exposure, forging new partnerships, and opening commercial opportunities that advance the [Department of Energy] mission,” said PNNL’s ARPA-E Sector Director Sonja Glavaski.

This year, seven PNNL-led projects were prominently featured in the Technology Showcase. PNNL projects spanned advanced manufacturing, including additive friction surfacing technologies engineered to improve the durability and performance of large-scale manufactured components, as well as next-generation materials for extreme environments. Others focused on the recovery of critical minerals from macroalgae, a new pathway that could strengthen domestic supplies of rare earth elements vital to energy technologies. PNNL also advanced transportation innovation through AI‑enabled systems, such as adaptive traffic management technologies and long‑term, low‑emission freight planning. Together, these projects reflect PNNL’s ability to bridge foundational science with practical, scalable engineering solutions.

The showcase provided a highly visible platform for PNNL researchers to connect with strategic partners, early adopters, investors, and technology-to-market experts—all critical relationships for propelling science toward full-scale deployment.

In addition to the project booths, PNNL teams engaged in networking sessions, technical discussions, and conversations with ARPA‑E program directors and technology-to-market advisors. These interactions were essential for identifying new partnership opportunities and positioning novel concepts for future funding and commercialization pathways.

Principal investigator of the fusion project Stuart Maloy said, “We explore technologies that can open entirely new research pathways and create real opportunities for industry. My team’s project is paving the way for intellectual property development and future scale‑up … the summit gave us invaluable time with private‑sector partners who are helping shape our materials development strategy.”

As the nation intensifies efforts to deploy smarter, more resilient energy systems, PNNL’s contributions—spanning AI, manufacturing, mobility, fusion, and resource recovery—underscore the laboratory's central role in advancing the next generation of transformative technologies.