AAU urges Congress to provide $8.8 billion for the DOE Office of Science and $500 million for ARPA-E in FY23.
The Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Science is critical to advancing science and energy frontiers in the United States. DOE is the leading source of federal investment in basic physical-science research, providing nearly 47% of total funding. As such, DOE is the primary sponsor of high-energy and nuclear physics research, nuclear medicine, heavy-element chemistry, and plasma physics. DOE also plays a key role in maintaining continued U.S. leadership in other fields, including the biological and environmental sciences, high-performance and quantum computing, and the development of novel materials
The Office of Science also supports the world’s largest collection of major scientific facilities, with 17 National Laboratories across the country. Every year, DOE supports more than 33,000 researchers from universities, industry, and federal agencies at 28 user facilities within the National Labs. These facilities include particle accelerators, experimental reactors, high-precision instruments, synchrotrons and light sources, supercomputers, and high-resolution mass spectrometers.
Since 2009, ARPA-E has provided approximately $2 billion in R&D funding for more than 800 energy technology projects.
AAU recommends $500 million for ARPA-E in FY23. This funding level will allow the agency to continue investing in university-based research for high-risk projects that are too far from product development to be supported by industry.