Summer Scholars (2026)

2026 Technology-to-Market Summer Scholars Program

Background

The Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) is an agency within the U.S. Department of Energy. ARPA-E cultivates transformative technologies that break through technical barriers to strengthen American energy dominance. ARPA-E programs provide top energy researchers with funding, technical assistance, and tech-to-market guidance to innovate how Americans access affordable, reliable, and secure energy. The driving question behind all ARPA-E programs is, “Is there a better way to create, use, store, and deliver energy?”

ARPA-E recruits Summer Scholars who have a unique combination of technical and business skills to help commercialize technologies developed by ARPA-E’s programs. 

Opportunity

ARPA-E’s Summer Scholars Program gives students the chance to help prepare ARPA-E’s technologies for market adoption and receive mentorship from ARPA-E’s Technology-to-Market team, the ARPA-E Program Directors, and ARPA-E Fellows.

ARPA-E seeks graduate students interested in:

o   Researching market trends, cross-industry collaboration opportunities, and go-to-market strategies

o   Assisting in developing techno-economic analysis

o   Performing stakeholder analysis to identify technology adopters and laggards

o   Mapping key sectors within ARPA-E’s mission

o   Identifying, designing, and quantifying metrics to support program development and performers success

Planned Projects:

o   Analysis of bottlenecks to scaling advanced nuclear for commercial maritime applications

o   Attributing and quantifying impacts from broader effects related to ARPA-E technologies

o   Demand analysis for batteries having 1 kwh/kg and/or 1 kwh/l of energy density, to include unmanned systems and aviation markets

o   Analysis of availability, feasibility and cost-benefit of nanofluids for increased heat transfer efficiency (NOTE: THIS PROJECT IS NOT CURRENTLY AVAILABLE)

o   Assessment of ARPA-E funded technologies and processes to optimize synthetic fuel production in remote/austere locations

o   Assessment of critical mineral supply chains for opportunity to optimize for cost, energy, and production capacity

o   Opportunities to optimize energy utilization at data centers

o   Financial analysis, market research, technoeconomic analysis, model development, internal frameworks and tools development for an emerging topic

Applicants should be prepared for deep immersion into the project’s subject matter and must thrive when working independently. Job requirements include strong analytical, written, and oral communication abilities.

Ideal candidate(s) for the program will have a BS degree in a relevant field (e.g., business, economics, data analytics, electrical engineering, physics, material science, computer science) and be in the process of completing a graduate level degree (e.g. MS, MBA, PhD).

ARPA-E compensates Summer Scholars with a weekly stipend and travel costs. A Scholar’s typical length of stay ranges from 8-12 weeks. The position is based at ARPA-E’s headquarters in Washington, DC. This opportunity is available only to U.S. citizens. 

Note, this is not a job announcement for federal appointment. Applications will be reviewed, and if selected, candidates will receive an offer of temporary appointment from ORISE.

How to Apply

Highly motivated candidates should submit a CV, a cover letter, and two references at https://arpa-e.energy.gov/careers/open-opportunities

Please note: If applicants are interested in more than one proposed project, please indicate in the body of your cover letter the specific projects you are interested in pursuing.

Questions can be directed via email to ARPA-E-jobs@hq.doe.gov with the words “Summer Scholars” in the subject heading.

The United States Government does not discriminate in employment on the basis of race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy and gender identity), national origin, political affiliation, sexual orientation, marital status, disability, genetic information, age, membership in an employee organization, retaliation, parental status, military service, or other non-merit factor.

Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis and are due no later than Monday, January 19th, 2026. Interested parties are encouraged to apply early.

Additional Reference Documents:

ARPA-E is hosting a webinar on Tuesday, December 9^th at 4 pm ET to describe the Summer Scholars program and answer questions.   A link to the webinar will be available at https://arpa-e.energy.gov/careers/internships

Project Descriptions

Analysis of bottlenecks to scaling advanced nuclear for commercial maritime applications

Afloat power systems will serve as a source of affordable, reliable, and secure power to locations afflicted by extreme weather, war, etc.; they will also support critical infrastructure like data centers and ports. As the commercial maritime industry pushes to derisk advanced nuclear, what technology areas should ARPA-E prioritize in future programs to expedite the scaleup and employment?

The Summer Scholar will review literature and interview stakeholders to determine what technology gaps are restricting/limiting the employment of advanced nuclear for maritime applications.

Outcomes:

-          Summary of domestic maritime nuclear efforts and challenges to integrating advanced nuclear

-          Suggestions for future technology development at ARPA-E

Attributing and quantifying impacts from broader effects related to ARPA-E technologies

ARPA-E tracks impact indicators, such as companies formed from ARPA-E-funded projects, follow-on funding raised by companies, patents, and company exits. How do ARPA-E’s advancements catalyze the development of companies beyond those funded by ARPA-E?

Likewise, are there ARPA-E outputs which shift focus and realignment in a field or create completely new fields, that lead to additional public and private investment beyond the ARPA-E funded projects?

The Summer Scholar will review past ARPA-E programs and impacts, and assess their market penetration, and quantify the broader effects attributable to ARPA-E.

Outcome:

-          Analysis that identifies processes and methods to quantify the broader effects of ARPA-E technologies that strengthen American energy dominance, including fulfillment of ARPA-E’s statutory mission to improve energy efficiency, establish independent supply chains for energy resources, reduce emissions, bolster infrastructure, and improve radioactive waste management.

Demand analysis for batteries having 1 kwh/kg and/or 1 kwh/l of energy density, to include unmanned systems and aviation markets

ARPA-E’s JOULES Program is developing energy storage solutions to deliver 1 kwh/kg and/or 1 kwh/l of energy density for transportation systems. The market benefits of these solutions are generally understood, but a technoeconomic analysis will serve beachhead markets.

The Summer Scholar will assess electric aircraft and unmanned systems markets (drones, etc.) for opportunity and cost benefit to integrate JOULES technologies.

Outcomes:

-          Technoeconomic analysis of markets for highly energy dense storage solutions, applicable to electric aircraft and drone markets

-          Recommendations for additional technology development at ARPA-E

Analysis of availability, feasibility and cost-benefit of nanofluids for increased heat transfer efficiency (NOTE: THIS PROJECT IS NOT CURRENTLY AVAILABLE)

Novel nanofluids in heat transfer applications could drastically improve thermal efficiency and reduce energy demand. The availability, opportunity, and cost-benefit to integrate these nanofluids, however, is not well documented.

The Summer Scholar will assess feasibility, benefit, and cost to apply nanofluids in working fluids to increase the efficiency of heat transfer applications. The analysis will identify high impact markets, applications, and determine where nanofluids will have the greatest return on investment.

Outcome:

-          Summary of the nanofluid market and comprehensive cost-benefit analysis

-          Recommendation for disruptive research in thermal efficiency

Assessment of ARPA-E funded technologies and processes to optimize synthetic fuel production in remote/austere locations

The Department of War is investigating methods to synthesize drop-in fuels to support ships, aircraft, and forces in remote environments. Current processes could be optimized by applying disruptive technologies being developed at ARPA-E. 

The Summer Scholar will review energy technologies, processes, and energy resources in Hawaii, Alaska, and Guam, and assess solutions that could optimize synthetic fuel production.

Outcome:

-          Summary of current methods to produce synthetic fuel and remote environments’ access to energy

-          Summary of viability of ARPA-E’s technological portfolio to optimize production of synthetic fuels and opportunity for further development 

Assessment of critical mineral supply chains for opportunity to optimize for cost, energy, and production capacity

The United States is scaling up domestic capabilities to extract, separate, and process critical minerals to establish independent supply chains. Novel technologies have tremendous potential to alleviate, resolve, and avoid bottlenecks in these supply chains.

The Summer Scholar will review existing methods and emerging technologies for the extraction, separation, and refinement of critical minerals and identify processes with the most potential for optimization.

Outcomes:

-          Summary of techno-economic analysis of the U.S. domestic mining industry, focused on identifying key bottlenecks and innovations to accelerate domestic production of critical minerals

-          Recommendations for development of potentially transformative technologies

Opportunities to optimize energy utilization at data centers

Data centers are expected to become increasingly energy dense facilities, with the largest under construction today planned for 1 to 2 gigawatts of peak power demand.  National demand for power is drastically outpacing generation, which makes energy efficient designs of data center’s infrastructure imperative.

Summer Scholars will explore the existing economics and technical opportunities associated with these uniquely power dense facilities and identify novel solutions and areas for disruptive technology development to optimize energy use. The analysis and solutions should include power distribution and cooling. 

Outcomes:

-          Summary of analysis of load growth from data centers

-          Assessment of technology development opportunities targeting energy optimization

Financial analysis, market research, technoeconomic analysis, model development, internal frameworks and tools development for an emerging topic

The Summer Scholar will be tasked to support an emerging topic prior to the start of their internship. The work may involve financial analysis, market research, technoeconomic analysis, model development, internal frameworks and tools, and other outputs as the T2M team requires.

This category targets Summer Scholars who don't have a particular focus but are open to topics and areas that ARPA-E is involved with in a general basis to support ARPA-E's mission.

Outcomes:

-          Summary of analysis

-          Recommendations for transformative energy technology development