An additional $47 million (£34m) of funding has been announced by the US Department of Energy (DOE) for commercial scaling of transformational energy technology projects.

It will be shared by seven projects to scale “high risk and potentially disruptive” new electric vehicle (EV) battery, data centre efficiency, grid modernisation, emissions mitigation and storage technologies.

The Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy’s (ARPA-E) SCALEUP programme aims to translate the performance achieved at the lab and bench-scale by previously funded technologies to commercial viability.

SCALEUP awardees will focus on further developing existing technologies, for which proof-of-concept research and development challenges have been addressed, that can establish real-world impact through scaling.

Projects include distribution automation technology for large commercial and industrial customers and electric utilities and the largest continuous monitoring network of emissions for the oil and gas industry.

Lane Genatowski, ARPA-E Director said: “ARPA-E’s SCALEUP programme builds on the research and development mission of the agency to help take transformational energy technologies out of the lab and into the market.

“These selections directly address the challenge that so many early-stage energy concepts face in scaling and will help awardees to bridge the dreaded ‘Valley of Death’ and continue on the path of commercialisation.”