According to a recent New York Times article, the Department of Energy will change up their research strategy, adding a new focus on radical or bold technologies. Furthermore, the Energy Secretary Steven Chu implied that the projects could be at any stage and still receive funding, citing examples such as gas producing bacteria as well as other far-fetched concepts.

This idea mimics that of the Department of Defense’s DARPA program, which has produced many notable innovations within the military sciences as well as technologies currently employed in the civilian sectors.

In principle, the project would facilitate nascent development of unproven ideas, thus allowing them to progress as far enough as required to pique the interest of venture capitalists and other outside investors. This prevents commercial viability from preventing potentially world shaking technologies from ever being developed.

This program bodes well for the future of alternative energy and green technology in general.