Following last night's declaration by President Barack Obama of a "Sputnik Moment" on competitiveness and energy innovation , the Department of Energy will request big increases on two signature Administration energy-research initiatives: the blue-sky research Advanced Research Projects Agency-E (ARPA-E) agency and the interdisciplinary Energy Innovation Hubs.
In a fact sheet released to reporters this afternoon, the White House said the president's 2012 budget request for more than $415 million, which will be submitted on 14 February, will "more than double total funding to date" for ARPA-E. Until now, the agency has received $415 million, almost most of it from the 2009 stimulus. The department requested $300 million for ARPA-E in its 2011 budget. But that request, which was a surprise at the time, may end up going unfulfilled because the previous Congress failed to pass a 2011 budget, and most programs will likely receive a flat budget based on their 2010 levels in what's likely to be a year-long continuing resolution.
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