Aviation-Class Synergistically Cooled Electric-Motors with Integrated Drives (ASCEND). | DE FOA 0002238

Opportunity Information: Apply for DE FOA 0002238

The Aviation-Class Synergistically Cooled Electric-Motors with Integrated Drives (ASCEND) funding opportunity (DOE ARPA-E, FOA number DE-FOA-0002238) is a competitive research and development program aimed at pushing electric propulsion hardware far beyond today s state of the art so it can realistically support decarbonized commercial flight in the most important near-term market segment: single-aisle aircraft carrying roughly 150 to 200 passengers (think Boeing 737 class). The core idea is to fund high-risk, high-reward applied R and D that industry is unlikely to finance early on, but that could unlock a new performance trajectory for aviation electrification if it works. ARPA-E frames this as transformational work meant to create new learning curves rather than incremental improvements on existing ones, and it is positioned as part of a broader federal push toward long-range (about 2,800 nautical miles), carbon-neutral commercial aviation.

Technically, ASCEND focuses on the all-electric powertrain used to turn electrical energy into shaft power for propulsors. In the language of the FOA, this all-electric powertrain is not just the motor by itself; it is the tightly integrated combination of (1) the electric motor, (2) the motor drive/power electronics, and (3) the associated thermal management system. The program is centered on co-design, meaning applicants are expected to treat electromagnetics, power electronics, and cooling as one coupled system rather than separate boxes connected by cables and plumbing. This is important because the biggest barriers to aviation-class electric propulsion are typically not only electromagnetic design limits, but also heat removal, packaging, insulation and voltage constraints, power electronics losses, and mass added by cooling hardware. ASCEND explicitly encourages the use of emerging materials, new manufacturing methods, and novel machine and inverter topologies to reach performance levels that conventional designs cannot.

The performance targets called out in the description are aggressive by design. ASCEND sets demanding figures of merit for the fully integrated system, including specific power on the order of 12 kW per kg and efficiency around 93 percent for the integrated motor-drive-thermal solution. These are system-level expectations, not just a best-case motor core number, and the FOA notes that they are well beyond what current electric powertrains can deliver for the narrow-body, long-range mission. In practical terms, those targets reflect aviation realities: every kilogram of propulsion system mass and every percentage point of loss matters because it directly affects aircraft range, fuel burn, thermal constraints, and operating economics.

Structurally, the program is split into two phases. Phase I is planned as an 18-month effort focused on conceptual design and rigorous computer simulation of the motor, the drive, and how they integrate, along with component or subsystem demonstrations as needed to prove the key enabling ideas behind the projected performance. Teams that demonstrate strong technical progress and credible pathways toward the required metrics may be invited, at ARPA-E s discretion and subject to available appropriations, to continue into Phase II. Phase II is intended to move from paper and parts to hardware: teams would develop, fabricate, and test an integrated developmental prototype on the order of 250 kW that includes the motor, drive electronics, and thermal management system as a single integrated deliverable. That prototype scale is large enough to be meaningful for aviation-relevant architectures while still being feasible within an R and D program.

From a program context standpoint, ASCEND is not trying to solve the entire aviation decarbonization problem in one award. It is paired with a separate ARPA-E solicitation that targets the upstream side of the system, namely ultra-efficient, lightweight energy storage and fuel-to-electric conversion for carbon-neutral liquid fuels (CNLFs). Together, the two efforts are aimed at a future aircraft energy chain where chemical energy from carbon-neutral liquid fuels is converted efficiently into electric energy, then converted again into thrust through electric propulsors driven by high-performance motors and drives. ASCEND sits squarely in that second conversion step: converting delivered electric power into mechanical power with minimal mass and minimal loss.

On the administrative side, this opportunity is issued by the Department of Energy s Advanced Research Projects Agency - Energy under ARPA-E s statutory authority, and awards are made as cooperative agreements (which typically implies substantial federal involvement and active project management compared to a standard grant). The opportunity was listed under CFDA 81.135 with an expected number of awards around 12 and an award ceiling of up to $10,000,000 per project. Eligibility is described as unrestricted, meaning a broad set of entity types can apply (for example, companies, universities, national labs, and consortia), subject to any clarifications in the full FOA. Submissions were required through ARPA-E eXCHANGE rather than email or other portals, with concept papers required by the stated deadline in the original posting.

The broader rationale ARPA-E emphasizes is market impact and scalability. The agency is not just looking for laboratory novelty; it is looking for credible disruptive potential, including designs that could ultimately be manufactured at competitive cost and deployed at scale. While the immediate use case is hybrid-electric or fully electric propulsion for commercial aviation, ARPA-E also highlights spillover benefits: breakthroughs in high power-density motors, inverters, and cooling could translate into other sectors that value compact, efficient electrification, including electric vehicles, maritime propulsion, wind energy systems, and heavy industrial equipment.

• The Department of Energy, Advanced Research Projects Agency Energy in the science and technology and other research and development sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Aviation-Class Synergistically Cooled Electric-Motors with Integrated Drives (ASCEND)." and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 81.135.
• This funding opportunity was created on Dec 16, 2019.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Jan 31, 2020 Concept Papers are due no later than January 31, 2020 at 930 a.m. Eastern Time. Applicants are strongly encouraged to submit their Concept Papers 48 hours in advance of the due date.. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $10,000,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 12 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Unrestricted (i.e., open to any type of entity above), subject to any clarification in text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility.

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