U.S. Department of Energy Research News

Public Release: 23-May-2013
PNNL staff recognized for scientific accomplishments, moving technologies into the marketplace
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory honored more than 165 staff for their creation, development and commercialization of intellectual property at PNNL's annual Intellectual Property Commercialization Recognition & Rewards Program banquet.

US Department of Energy

Public Release: 21-May-2013
Solar and lithium ion car race winners announced
Ninety-seven teams from 28 Colorado schools participated in today's car competitions hosted by the US Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory. The student teams raced solar and lithium ion powered vehicles they designed and built themselves.

US Department of Energy

Public Release: 21-May-2013

Environmental Science & Technology
Going green: Nation equipped to grow serious amounts of pond scum for fuel
A new analysis shows that the nation's land and water resources could likely support the growth of enough algae to produce up to 25 billion gallons of algae-based fuel a year in the United States, one-twelfth of the country's yearly needs. For the best places to produce algae for fuel, think hot, humid and wet. Especially promising are the Gulf Coast and the Southeastern seaboard.

US Department of Energy

Public Release: 20-May-2013
Not just blowing in the wind: Compressing air for renewable energy storage
A comprehensive study into the potential for compressed air energy storage in the Pacific Northwest has identified two locations in Washington state that could store enough wind energy to power about 85,000 homes each month.

Bonneville Power Administration, DOE/Pacific Northwest National Laboratory

Public Release: 16-May-2013

Nano Letters
Artificial forest for solar water-splitting
Berkeley Lab researchers have created the first fully integrated artificial photosynthesis nanosystem. While "artificial leaf" is the popular term for such a system, the key to this success was an "artificial forest."

US Department of Energy Office of Science

Public Release: 15-May-2013
The DOE Joint Genome Institute expands capabilities via new partnerships
Positioning itself to provide the most current technology and expertise to their users in order to address pressing energy and environmental scientific challenges, the DOE Joint Genome Institute announces six projects with which to launch the Emerging Technologies Opportunity Program. These new partnerships span the development of new scalable DNA synthesis technologies to the latest approaches to high throughput sequencing and characterization of single microbial cells from complex environmental samples.

DOE Office of Science

Public Release: 14-May-2013
LLNL and Cool Earth Solar receive $1.7 million for renewable energy demonstration project
The California Energy Commission has awarded $1.7 million to a partnership between Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and Cool Earth Solar Inc. to conduct a community-scale renewable energy integration demonstration project at the Livermore Valley Open Campus.

Public Release: 14-May-2013
Saudi Arabia looks to NREL for solar monitoring expertise
Saudi Arabia is planning to move aggressively into renewable energy, with plans to install more solar and wind power in the next 20 years than the rest of the world has installed to date. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is working with the US Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory for training and expertise in measuring its solar resource.

US Department of Energy

Public Release: 9-May-2013

Biotechnology for Biofuels
New advance in biofuel production
Joint BioEnergy Institute researchers have developed an enzyme-free ionic liquid pretreatment of cellulosic biomass that makes it easier to recover fermentable sugars for biofuels and to recycle the ionic liquid.

US Department of Energy Office of Science

Public Release: 9-May-2013

Marine and Petroleum Geology
Geologists study mystery of 'eternal flames'
"Eternal flames" fueled by hydrocarbon gas could shine a light on the presence of natural gas in underground rock layers and conditions that let it seep to the surface, according to research by geologists at the Department of Geological Sciences and the Indiana Geological Survey at Indiana University Bloomington.

US Department of Energy

Public Release: 8-May-2013

Nature
Researchers find a way to make steel without greenhouse-gas emissions
Steelmaking, a major emitter of climate-altering gases, could be transformed by a new process developed at MIT.

American Iron and Steel Institute, US Department of Energy

Public Release: 7-May-2013
NREL quantifies significant value in concentrating solar power
Researchers from the US Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory have quantified the significant value that concentrating solar power plants can add to an electric grid.

US Department of Energy

Public Release: 7-May-2013

Energy & Environmental Science
Combining strategies speeds the work of enzymes
Enzymes could break down cell walls faster -- leading to less expensive biofuels for transportation -- if two enzyme systems are brought together in an industrial setting, new research by the Energy Department's National Renewable Energy Laboratory suggests.

US Department of Energy

Public Release: 7-May-2013
NREL staff recognized for breakthrough technologies
The Energy Department's National Renewable Energy Laboratory recently recognized the professionals behind the lab's greatest innovations from the past year during its Intellectual Property & Technology Transfer Awards.

US Department of Energy

Public Release: 5-May-2013

Nature Methods
A new cost-effective genome assembly process
Genome assembly, the molecular equivalent of trying to put together a multi-million piece jigsaw puzzle without knowing what the picture on the cover of the box is, remains challenging due to the very large number of very small pieces, which must be assembled using current approaches. As reported May 5 online in the journal Nature Methods, a collaboration involving DOE JGI researchers has resulted in an improved and fully automated workflow for genome assembly.

US Department of Energy

Public Release: 26-Apr-2013
Changing cellulose-forming process may tap plants' biofuel potential
Changing the way a plant forms cellulose may lead to more efficient, less expensive biofuel production, according to Penn State engineers.

US Department of Energy

Public Release: 24-Apr-2013

Nature Communications
Speeding the search for better methane capture
Systematic in silico studies have identified several zeolite compounds that show technological promise for capturing methane, the main component of natural gas, that can serve as an ally or an adversary in combating global climate change.

US Department of Energy Office of Science

Public Release: 24-Apr-2013

Energy & Environmental Science
New battery design could help solar and wind power the grid
Researchers from SLAC and Stanford have designed a low-cost, long-life battery that could enable solar and wind energy to become major suppliers to the electrical grid.

US Department of Energy Office of Science, Stanford University, US Department of Energy Joint Center for Energy Storage Research

Public Release: 24-Apr-2013

Energy & Environmental Science
Recipe for low-cost, biomass-derived catalyst for hydrogen production
Researchers at Brookhaven National Laboratory describe details of a low-cost, stable, effective catalyst that could replace costly platinum in the production of hydrogen. The catalyst, made from renewable soybeans and abundant molybdenum metal, produces hydrogen in an environmentally friendly, cost-effective manner, potentially increasing the use of this clean energy source.

Department of Energy Office of Science

Public Release: 18-Apr-2013

Science
New solar-cell coating could boost efficiency
New technique developed at MIT could enable a major boost in solar-cell efficiency.

US Department of Energy

Public Release: 16-Apr-2013

Nature Materials
NREL and partners demonstrate quantum dots that assemble themselves
Scientists from the US Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory and other labs have demonstrated a process whereby quantum dots can self-assemble at optimal locations in nanowires, a breakthrough that could improve solar cells, quantum computing, and lighting devices. A paper on the new technology, "Self-assembled Quantum Dots in a Nanowire System for Quantum Photonics," appears in the current issue of the scientific journal Nature Materials.

US Department of Energy

Public Release: 16-Apr-2013

Scientific Reports
NREL and Stanford team up on peel-and-stick solar cells
It may be possible soon to charge cell phones, change the tint on windows, or power small toys with peel-and-stick versions of solar cells, thanks to a partnership between Stanford University and the US Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory. A scientific paper, "Peel and Stick: Fabricating Thin Film Solar Cells on Universal Substrates," appears in the online version of Scientific Reports, a subsidiary of the British scientific journal Nature.

US Department of Energy

Public Release: 16-Apr-2013

Nature Communications
Lawrence Livermore scientists discover new materials to capture methane
Scientists at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and UC Berkeley and have discovered new materials to capture methane, the second highest concentration greenhouse gas emitted into the atmosphere.

Public Release: 16-Apr-2013
NREL survey shows dramatic improvement in B100 biodiesel quality
The latest national survey of 100 percent biodiesel "blend stock" samples by the US Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory found that 95% of the samples from 2011-12 met ASTM International fuel quality specifications. The ASTM standards serve as guidelines for industry and are designed to ensure quality at the pump for consumers -- along with reliable operation of the nation's vehicles powered by biodiesel blends.

US Department of Energy

Public Release: 15-Apr-2013
ORNL leading study focused on afterlife of electric vehicle batteries
Once they've finished powering electric vehicles for hundreds of thousands of miles, it may not be the end of the road for automotive batteries, which researchers believe can provide continued benefits for consumers, automakers and the environment.