The US has a SHIELD program and it’s not what we think it is

The U.S. Department of Energy’s Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) announced a US$30 million funding for a program called SHIELD. And it’s not what we think it is.

SHIELD, or Single-pane Highly Insulating Efficient Lucid Designs seeks to reduce heat-loss in buildings by developing materials that are both transparent and insulating to retrofit existing single-pane windows.

“At ARPA-E, we invest in technology options in order to create a more sustainable American energy future,” said ARPA-E Director Dr. Ellen D. Williams. “The ARPA-E SHIELD program will help reduce our nation’s energy consumption by developing innovative materials to insulate existing windows in cases where window replacement isn’t feasible.”

The SHIELD program aims to develop innovative materials to retrofit single-pane windows to demonstrate the benefits of double-pane insulated windows, and reduce their heat loss by 50% while significantly reducing retrofit costs. Under SHIELD, ARPA-E will allocate up to US$10 million to small businesses through its Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) program, with up to US$20 million made available to all applicants.