Status: ALUMNI
State: IL
Project Term: 02/15/2012 - 03/31/2017
Program: PETRO
Award: $7,135,117

University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign (UIUC)

The University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) is working to convert sugarcane and sorghum—already 2 of the most productive crops in the world—into dedicated bio-oil crop systems. Three components will be engineered to produce new crops that have a 50% higher yield, produce easily extractable oils, and have a wider growing range across the U.S. This will be achieved by modifying the crop canopy to better distribute sunlight and increase its cold tolerance. By directly producing oil in the shoots of these plants, these biofuels could be easily extracted with the conventional crushing…

Status: ACTIVE
State: IL
Project Term: 04/10/2020 - 05/31/2024
Program: Exploratory Topics
Award: $3,300,000

University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign (UIUC)

The University of Illinois will produce field-level emissions data from commercial bioenergy crops managed by Illinois farmers. The project team will 1) collect emissions data from three commercial bioenergy feedstock sites, using ground and remote sensing measurements, 2) develop protocols for data processing and storage, and an online portal for users to access emissions datasets, 3) develop cyberinfrastructure to enable emissions data visualization, including real-time eddy covariance data, in a timely manner, and 4) actively engage stakeholders regarding emissions data usage. The project…

Status: ALUMNI
State: IL
Project Term: 10/01/2015 - 06/30/2020
Program: TERRA
Award: $5,169,350

University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign (UIUC)

The University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) with partners, Cornell University and Signetron Inc., will develop a small semi-autonomous, ground-based vehicle called TERRA-MEPP (Mobile Energy-Crop Phenotyping Platform). The platform performs high-throughput field-based data collection for bioenergy crops, providing on-the-go measurements of the physical structure of individual plants. TERRA-MEPP will use visual, thermal, and multi-spectral sensors to collect data and create 3-D reconstructions of individual plants. Newly developed software will interpret the data and a model-based data…

Status: ALUMNI
State: IL
Project Term: 03/25/2020 - 05/31/2022
Program: NODES
Award: $450,000

University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign (UIUC)

The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) has developed and prototyped a new architecture for distributed control and coordination of generation and load assets within a microgrid to provide frequency regulation services to the connected bulk power grid. The architecture’s decision-making capability relies on distributed computations over a cyber network, which is a radical departure from commercially available microgrid control solutions. UIUC will further de-risk its architecture by integrating the algorithms with and implementing them on an industrial-grade distributed…

Status: ACTIVE
State: IL
Project Term: 02/25/2021 - 02/28/2026
Program: SMARTFARM
Award: $5,299,048

University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign (UIUC)

The University of Illinois will develop a commercial solution, SYMFONI, to estimate soil organic carbon (SOC) and the dynamics of nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions at an individual field level to promote advanced carbon management and sustainability practices in agricultural systems. The solution can be scaled up to perform per-field estimates for an entire region. SYMFONI integrates (1) synergistic modeling of SOC and N2O; (2) use of novel satellite/airborne data and algorithms; (3) innovative sampling of high-resolution, high-frequency soil moisture; (4) development of physics-guided deep…

Status: ALUMNI
State: IL
Project Term: 06/02/2021 - 09/01/2023
Program: Exploratory Topics
Award: $1,000,000

University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign (UIUC)

Municipal solid waste (MSW) management involves three primary practices: landfilling, recycling, and incineration for energy recovery (waste-to-energy or WTE). WTE is a potentially sustainable method of MSW management because it reduces landfilling and generates energy. Incineration reduces input waste mass by 70%. The remaining 30%—in the form of bottom and fly ashes—has to be discarded or landfilled. A main barrier to beneficial use of these ashes is the variability in their composition, which renders them as an unreliable byproduct. The University of Illinois aims to design a low-cost and…

Status: ACTIVE
State: IL
Project Term: 08/09/2022 - 08/08/2025
Program: OPEN 2021
Award: $853,000

University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign (UIUC)

The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) will pursue novel cubic gallium nitride-based green LEDs that, when combined with blue and red LEDs, will enable more efficient white light SSL without the use of down-converting phosphors. This project will close the “green gap” in the visible spectrum through an innovative green LED technology and create new opportunities in mainstream SSL (e.g., general lighting) and advanced SSL (e.g., connected smart lighting, visible light communication, horticulture, and medicine).

Status: ACTIVE
State: IL
Project Term: 08/09/2022 - 08/08/2025
Program: OPEN 2021
Award: $3,000,000

University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign (UIUC)

The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) aims to eliminate ice/snow/frost accretion on stationary and mobile electrified systems by developing a multi-functional coating that synergistically combines two different ice/snow/frost removal mechanisms. The team will incorporate pulsed interfacial heating with controlled surface wettability to demonstrate a two orders of magnitude reduction in ice/snow/frost removal time with 50% lower energy consumption without bulk melting compared with state-of-the-art steady heating methods. The team aims to melt only an ultra-thin layer of ice/…

Status: ACTIVE
State: IL
Project Term: 08/24/2023 - 08/24/2026
Program: COOLERCHIPS
Award: $2,500,000

University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign (UIUC)

The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign will develop an innovative cooling paradigm capable of both minimal energy use and maximum cooling power for future servers. Their design integrates high-performance thermal interface materials, coefficient of thermal expansion matched and reliable silicon carbide coolers, topology optimization-based design automation coupled with silicon carbide additive manufacturing, robust and cost-effective single-phase water cooling, and high primary-side temperatures to enable efficient heat dissipation to the ambient.

Status: ACTIVE
State: IL
Project Term: 05/07/2024 - 05/06/2027
Program: ULTRAFAST
Award: $2,982,311

University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign (UIUC)

The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is developing diamond semiconductor switching devices to enable revolutionary breakthroughs in electricity grid protection. The proposed device is composed of light-triggered ultrawide-bandgap materials and overcomes the voltage and current limitations of conventional photoconductive devices. If successful, the device will be a critical component in higher-temperature, more efficient, and reliable power electronics.

Status: CANCELLED
State: KY
Project Term: 07/01/2010 - 04/18/2013
Program: IMPACCT
Award: $1,516,908

University of Kentucky

The University of Kentucky is developing a hybrid approach to capturing CO2 from the exhaust gas of coal-fired power plants. In the first, CO2 is removed as flue gas is passed through an aqueous ammonium-based solvent. In the second, carbon-rich solution from the CO2 absorber is passed through a membrane that is designed to selectively transport the bound carbon, enhancing its concentration on the permeate side. The team's approach would combine the best of both membrane- and solvent-based carbon capture technologies. Under the ARPA-E award, the team is enabling the membrane operation to be a…

Status: ALUMNI
State: KY
Project Term: 09/30/2019 - 06/30/2022
Program: Exploratory Topics
Award: $1,399,966

University of Kentucky

Develop an extremely durable belite-based cement alternative to ordinary portland cement that is low-energy consuming and low-carbon releasing. The material would use less energy, release less CO2 and excel in performance and durability over time.

Status: ACTIVE
State: KY
Project Term: 03/09/2023 - 03/08/2026
Program: MINER
Award: $3,500,000

University of Kentucky

The University of Kentucky’s proposed technology will use CO₂ emitted at or near operating mines and processing operations to reduce the energy consumed during grinding by more than 50% while improving the recovery of critical energy relevant minerals by 20% or greater. In this approach, CO2 will be mixed with ore containing the valuable minerals, especially copper (Cu) and rare earth elements, to improve grinding and separation efficiency. Biological fixation of CO2 will also be studied and employed in producing acid to recover Cu from low grade feedstocks. If bench-scale tests achieve…

Status: ALUMNI
State: LA
Project Term: 03/15/2021 - 09/14/2023
Program: REEACH
Award: $2,263,000

University of Louisiana at Lafayette

The University of Louisiana at Lafayette will design and optimize an energy storage and power generation (ESPG) system for aircraft propulsion. The proposed system will consist of optimally sized fuel-to-electric power conversion devices—metal-supported solid oxide fuel cells (MS-SOFCs) and turbogenerators—using carbon-neutral synfuel. Batteries will also be used to provide suitable electrical power to the aircraft through all phases of a flight. The design concept will ensure adequate propulsive thrust and system power for a future airplane configuration by optimizing the ESPG and component…

Status: ALUMNI
State: ME
Project Term: 04/21/2020 - 06/30/2023
Program: ATLANTIS
Award: $1,187,201

University of Maine (UMaine)

The University of Maine (UMaine) team will design an ultra-lightweight, corrosion-resistant, concrete FOWT equipped with NASA motion mitigation technology originally developed to reduce vibrations in rockets. UMaine proposes this technology to counteract FOWT motions, leading to lighter platforms, increased turbine performance, and a lower levelized cost of electricity (LCOE). The project will take a radical next step in the field of floating offshore wind while building upon UMaine’s 12 years of experience in successfully designing and deploying the first grid-connected FOWT in the U.S. The…

Status: ACTIVE
State: MD
Project Term: 07/07/2020 - 01/06/2025
Program: BETHE
Award: $5,177,342

University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC)

The University of Maryland, Baltimore County, will advance the performance of the centrifugal-mirror (CM) fusion concept, which has previously demonstrated stable plasmas with temperatures above 100 eV. The CM has a simple, axisymmetric geometry and provides a potential low-cost pathway to a breakeven experiment. The team will azimuthally rotate a mirror-shaped magnetized plasma to supersonic speeds using high-voltage biasing between a central rod and outer electrode rings. The rotation will stabilize, heat, and centrifugally confine the plasma, potentially eliminating the need for costly…

Status: ALUMNI
State: MD
Project Term: 09/01/2015 - 09/30/2019
Program: ARID
Award: $2,213,493

University of Maryland (UMD)

The University of Maryland (UMD) and its partners will utilize UMD’s expertise in additive manufacturing (3D printing) and thermal engineering to develop novel, polymer-based, air-cooled heat exchangers for use in indirect dry-cooling systems. The innovation leverages UMD’s proprietary, cross media heat exchanger concept in which a low-cost, high-conductivity medium, such as aluminum, is encapsulated as a fiber in a polymeric material to facilitate more effective heat dissipation. To realize the innovative heat exchanger design, the team will develop an advanced, multi-head, composite 3D…

Status: CANCELLED
State: MD
Project Term: 09/01/2015 - 08/13/2018
Program: ARID
Award: $1,934,587

University of Maryland (UMD)

The University of Maryland (UMD) and its partners will utilize a novel microemulsion absorbent, recently developed by UMD researchers, for use in an absorption cooling system that can provide supplemental dry cooling for power plants. These unique absorbents require much less heat to drive the process than conventional absorption materials. To remove heat and cool condenser water, microemulsion absorbents take in water vapor (refrigerant) and release the water as liquid during desorption without vaporization or boiling. UMD’s technology will use waste heat from the power plant’s flue gas to…

Status: ALUMNI
State: MD
Project Term: 10/01/2010 - 03/06/2017
Program: BEETIT
Award: $3,336,156

University of Maryland (UMD)

The University of Maryland (UMD) is developing an energy-efficient cooling system that eliminates the need for synthetic refrigerants that harm the environment. More than 90% of the cooling and refrigeration systems in the U.S. today use vapor compression systems which rely on liquid to vapor phase transformation of synthetic refrigerants to absorb or release heat. Thermoelastic cooling systems, however, use a solid-state material—an elastic shape memory metal alloy—as a refrigerant and a solid to solid phase transformation to absorb or release heat. UMD is developing and testing shape memory…

Status: ALUMNI
State: MD
Project Term: 04/15/2015 - 05/12/2018
Program: DELTA
Award: $2,590,788

University of Maryland (UMD)

The University of Maryland (UMD) will develop a robotic personal attendant providing improved comfort levels for individuals in inadequately heated/cooled environments. This mobile robotic platform will be fitted with a small, battery-powered, high-efficiency vapor compression heat pump and will be highly portable and able to follow an assigned person around during the course of the day, providing localized heating and/or cooling as needed while reducing the energy required to heat and cool buildings.

Status: ALUMNI
State: MD
Project Term: 05/01/2015 - 09/30/2018
Program: DELTA
Award: $3,082,002

University of Maryland (UMD)

Led by Dr. YuHuang Wang, the “Meta Cooling Textile (MCT)” project team at the University of Maryland (UMD) is developing a thermally responsive clothing fabric that extends the skin’s thermoregulation ability to maintain comfort in hotter or cooler office settings. Commercial wearable localized thermal management systems are bulky, heavy, and costly. MCT marks a potentially disruptive departure from current technologies by providing clothing with active control over the primary channels for energy exchange between the body and the environment. In hotter surroundings, the fabric’s pores open…

Status: ALUMNI
State: MD
Project Term: 05/20/2020 - 11/20/2022
Program: DIFFERENTIATE
Award: $1,356,300

University of Maryland (UMD)

The University of Maryland (UMD) will create inverse design tools for the development of enhanced heat transfer surfaces at reduced computational cost. Heat transfer surfaces are used to increase the efficiency of many energy conversion systems, but they are currently designed in a slow, iterative fashion. UMD will use a direct inverse design method map from given environments and performance metrics to design variables or materials. The project will make use of generative adversarial networks, statistical connections between optimization and dynamical systems, and active learning to achieve…

Status: ACTIVE
State: MD
Project Term: 08/15/2019 - 06/30/2024
Program: HITEMMP
Award: $1,728,532

University of Maryland (UMD)

The University of Maryland will design, manufacture, and test high-performance, compact heat exchangers for supercritical CO2 power cycles. Two innovative additive manufacturing processes will enable high performance. One facilitates up to 100 times higher deposition rate compared with regular laser powder additive manufacturing. The other enables crack-free additive manufacturing of an advanced nickel-based superalloy and has the potential to print features as fine as 20 micrometers. These developments could halve the fabrication cost and enable heat exchanger operations above 800°C (1472°F…

Status: ALUMNI
State: MD
Project Term: 07/25/2014 - 10/24/2015
Program: IDEAS
Award: $495,000

University of Maryland (UMD)

The University of Maryland (UMD) will leverage recent advances in additive manufacturing to develop a next-generation air-cooled heat exchanger. The UMD team will assess the performance and cost of current state-of-the-art technology, including innovative manufacturing processes. The team will then utilize computer models to simulate a wide-range of novel heat exchanger designs that can radically enhance air-side heat transfer performance. The team will then physically build and test two 1 kilowatt (kW) prototype devices. If successful, these heat exchangers would enable new, highly-…

Status: ALUMNI
State: MD
Project Term: 04/14/2016 - 04/13/2017
Program: IDEAS
Award: $500,000

University of Maryland (UMD)

The University of Maryland (UMD) will develop a new type of current collector using a film that is composed of functionalized few-walled carbon nanotubes (FWNTs) and polymers. The team seeks to develop a thin, low-cost current collector that displays high conductivity, excellent mechanical strength, flexibility, and manufacturing scalability. Carbon nanotubes have high conductivity, but in their pure state lack the needed mechanical strength. The FWNT concept will "functionalize" or bolster the outer walls by integrating polymers to increase the mechanical strength. This will give…

Status: ALUMNI
State: MD
Project Term: 02/13/2015 - 02/12/2016
Program: IDEAS
Award: $474,596

University of Maryland (UMD)

The University of Maryland (UMD) will develop a new method called "Melt Epitaxy of Carbon" for the production of lightweight, high-capacity carbon wires from carbon nanotubes. Metallic carbon nanotubes are lightweight, high-capacity conductors that exceed the current carrying capacity of metals like copper. The current density of carbon nanotubes is nearly 1,000 times greater than at the electromigration limit of copper. On a weight basis, carbon nanotubes have an additional 6-fold advantage over copper because of their reduced density. Carbon nanotubes can reduce the weight of…

Status: ALUMNI
State: MD
Project Term: 06/01/2018 - 12/31/2021
Program: IDEAS
Award: $550,000

University of Maryland (UMD)

The University of Maryland (UMD) will develop an electrochemical compression technology for ammonia. Electrochemical (an alternative to mechanical) compression has rarely been considered for ammonia, and the UMD team seeks to develop a new method to raise the compression efficiency from its current rate of 65% to the long term goal of up to 90%. If successful, replacing mechanical ammonia compression processes with electrochemical ones could save up to 10% of electricity consumed by commercial buildings while eliminating related carbon emissions and saving up to $3.5 billion annually for the…

Status: ALUMNI
State: MD
Project Term: 08/23/2019 - 02/22/2023
Program: OPEN 2018
Award: $3,589,882

University of Maryland (UMD)

The University of Maryland will further develop its “super wood” approach to replace steel in the automotive industry. Replacing cast iron and traditional steel components with lightweight materials, such as magnesium and aluminum alloys, and polymer composites can directly reduce a vehicle's body weight by up to 50%, and consequently its fuel consumption. But most of these materials either have a high cost or performance issues. Super wood is a composite of cellulose nanofibers, which are stronger than most metals and composites. The densified wood has a unique microstructure, in which…

Status: ALUMNI
State: MD
Project Term: 03/18/2014 - 05/31/2022
Program: RANGE
Award: $4,479,000

University of Maryland (UMD)

The University of Maryland (UMD) is using water-based magnesium and hydrogen chemistries to improve the energy density and reduce the cost of EV batteries. The lithium-ion batteries typically used in most EVs today require heavy components to protect the battery and ensure safety. Water-based batteries are an inherently safer alternative, but can be larger and heavier compared to lithium-ion batteries, making them inefficient for use in EVs. To address this, UMD’s water-based battery will use a magnesium hydrogen chemistry that would double energy storage capacity, for a much lighter energy…

Status: ALUMNI
State: MD
Project Term: 01/16/2017 - 05/31/2022
Program: RANGE
Award: $4,983,452

University of Maryland (UMD)

The University of Maryland (UMD) is developing ceramic materials and processing methods to enable high-power, solid-state, lithium-ion batteries for use in EVs. Conventional lithium-ion batteries used in most EVs contain liquids that necessitate the use of heavy, protective components. By contrast, UMD’s technology uses no liquids and offers greater abuse tolerance and reducing weight. This reduced weight leads to improved EV efficiency for greater driving range. UMD’s technology also has the potential to help reduce manufacturing costs using scalable, ceramic fabrication techniques that does…

Status: ALUMNI
State: MD
Project Term: 11/23/2015 - 08/30/2018
Program: TRANSNET
Award: $3,780,000

University of Maryland (UMD)

The National Transportation Center at the University of Maryland (UMD) and its partners will develop a technology capable of delivering personalized, real-time travel information to users and incentivizing travelers to adopt more energy-efficient travel plans. The project team will use data from UMD’s existing regional integrated transportation information system (RITIS) as well as other available resources to design its system model. This system model will integrate information on individual traveler behavior to simulate the effects of traffic and individual traveler choices on energy use in…

Status: ALUMNI
State: MD
Project Term: 12/07/2020 - 03/06/2022
Program: REPAIR
Award: $1,000,000

University of Maryland (UMD)

The team led by University of Maryland (UMD) will employ its patented high-temperature sintering process to rapidly sinter a steel coating layer in pipe-in-pipe configurations. This approach, which uses high temperature (1500-2000 ℃) Joule heating, includes the ability to rapidly sinter alloy powders in ~10 seconds, resulting in a material with high mechanical strength (~400-600 MPa), self-healing ability, and a long lifetime (50 years). If successful, UMD’s alloy coating approach will generate new steel pipe to replace the old steel pipe at a low cost for gas service and much improved…

Status: ACTIVE
State: MD
Project Term: 03/16/2021 - 04/16/2026
Program: REEACH
Award: $6,798,489

University of Maryland (UMD)

The University of Maryland is developing a highly efficient and cost-effective hybrid-electric turbogenerator suitable for powering narrow-body aircraft. A solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) with integrated autothermal reformer is incorporated directly into the flow path of a gas turbine engine that also drives an electrical generator. The engine moves air through the system while boosting efficiency by recovering waste heat and unused fuel from the fuel cell. The system operates on carbon-neutral, liquefied bio-methane. Phase 1 of this project will include development and testing of low…

Status: ALUMNI
State: MD
Project Term: 04/23/2021 - 03/31/2023
Program: ULTIMATE
Award: $600,000

University of Maryland (UMD)

The University of Maryland will leverage a newly invented, ultrafast high-temperature sintering (UHS) method to perform fast exploration of new environmental-thermal barrier coatings (ETBCs) for 1300°C-capable refractory alloys for harsh turbine environments. UHS enables ultrafast synthesis of high-melting oxide coatings, including multilayers, in less than a minute, enabling rapid evaluation of novel coating compositions. By using UHS with fast-fail tests and modeling and analytics tools, the team will be able to explore hundreds of compositions and coating architectures to design and…

Status: ACTIVE
State: MD
Project Term: 06/24/2022 - 06/23/2025
Program: OPEN 2021
Award: $2,600,000

University of Maryland (UMD)

The University of Maryland (UMD) recently invented an elegant and scalable molecular engineering technique for fabricating a cellulose nanofiber (CNF)-based SSE that could overcome many of these problems. Unlike current SSEs, the CNF-based SSE uses natural materials, is easy to process, and is compatible with conventional coating processes. It can also be inexpensively manufactured due to its low material cost and paper-like roll-to-roll manufacturing, both as standalone electrolyte films and the electrolyte portion of solid-state cathodes for lithium ion and metallic lithium cells. UMD’s CNF…

Status: ACTIVE
State: MD
Project Term: 09/11/2023 - 09/10/2026
Program: COOLERCHIPS
Award: $3,484,484

University of Maryland (UMD)

The University of Maryland will develop an integrated decision support software tool for the design of next-generation data centers that seamlessly links the existing open-source software for modeling reliability, energy, carbon footprint, and cost with an innovative co-simulation framework. This tool will permit data center designers to develop transformational and disruptive design advances compared to existing state-of-the-art technologies.

Status: ACTIVE
State: MD
Project Term: 04/24/2023 - 04/23/2026
Program: EVs4ALL
Award: $4,852,733

University of Maryland (UMD)

The University of Maryland (UMD) will increase the charge/discharge-rate capability, energy density, and operating temperature window of solid-state lithium metal batteries. The team will use new mixed ionic-electronic conducting (MIEC) ceramics and processing techniques to fabricate thinner, higher porosity, and thus lower mass, (porous/dense) “bi-layers” and (porous/dense/porous) “tri-layers.” The patented 3D ceramic architecture has shown the highest Li-metal cycling rate for solid-state technology (10 mA/cm2) and demonstrated multiple high-energy-density (~300Wh/kg) cells with multiple…

Status: ACTIVE
State: MD
Project Term: 10/28/2022 - 12/28/2024
Program: HESTIA
Award: $3,544,764

University of Maryland (UMD)

The University of Maryland will design modular interlocking multifunctional superinsulation panels that can be roll-to-roll manufactured and readily assembled by robotic automation. The rapid-prototyping hydrophobic panels, which consist of recyclable biogenic materials (cellulose, straw, etc.) and superinsulating silica aerogel, will provide high thermal insulation, structural durability, moisture and fire resistance, soundproofing, and easy installation at a low cost. The panels will meet embodied and operational carbon-negative emission requirements and provide recycling/repurposing…

Status: Selected
State: TBD
Project Term: TBD
Program: PROPEL-1K
Award: TBD

University of Maryland (UMD)

The University of Maryland is developing rechargeable lithium carbon monofluoride cathode chemistry to meet the PROPEL1K Category B technical targets. This new chemistry builds on previous work at UMD on halogen conversion-intercalation chemistry but targets significantly higher energy through active material, electrolyte, and other cell chemistry modifications. The cell is assembled in the discharged state, significantly lowering cost relative to high-energy Li-metal cells that are built in the charged state (and hence require the use of Li-metal foils). The cell chemistry work will be…

Status: ACTIVE
State: MD
Project Term: 09/21/2023 - 03/20/2026
Program: ULTIMATE
Award: $5,600,000

University of Maryland (UMD)

More information on this project is coming soon!

Status: ALUMNI
State: MA
Project Term: 07/01/2010 - 06/30/2014
Program: Electrofuels
Award: $5,624,282

University of Massachusetts at Amherst (UMass Amherst)

The University of Massachusetts at Amherst (UMass Amherst) is feeding renewable electricity to bacteria to provide the microorganisms with the energy they need to turn carbon dioxide (CO2) directly into liquid fuels. UMass Amherst's energy-to-fuels conversion process is anticipated to be more efficient than current biofuels approaches in part because this process will leverage the high efficiency of photovoltaics to convert solar energy into electricity. UMass Amherst is using bacteria already known to produce biofuel from electric current and CO2 and working to increase the amount of…

Status: ALUMNI
State: MA
Project Term: 01/01/2012 - 12/31/2015
Program: PETRO
Award: $3,740,296

University of Massachusetts at Amherst (UMass Amherst)

The University of Massachusetts at Amherst (UMass Amherst) is developing an enhanced, biofuels-producing variant of Camelina, a drought-resistant, cold-tolerant oilseed crop that can be grown in many places other plants cannot. The team is working to incorporate several genetic traits into Camelina that increases its natural ability to produce oils and add the production of energy-dense terpene molecules that can be easily converted into liquid fuels. UMass Amherst is also experimenting with translating a component common in algae to Camelina that should allow the plants to absorb higher…

Status: ALUMNI
State: MI
Project Term: 05/27/2016 - 11/26/2018
Program: GRID DATA
Award: $1,418,845

University of Michigan

The University of Michigan, with partners from Los Alamos National Laboratory, the California Institute of Technology, and Columbia University, will develop a transmission system data set with greater reliability, size, and scope compared to current models. The project combines existing power systems data with advanced obfuscation techniques to anonymize the data while still creating realistic models. In addition, the project delivers year-long test cases that capture grid network behavior over time, enabling the analysis of optimization algorithms over different time scales. These realistic…

Status: ALUMNI
State: MI
Project Term: 01/01/2015 - 03/31/2016
Program: IDEAS
Award: $259,600

University of Michigan

The University of Michigan is investigating a new, hybrid thin-film PV production technology that combines two different semiconductor production techniques: electrodeposition (the deposition of a substance on an electrode by the action of electricity) and epitaxial crystal growth (the growth of crystals of one substance on the crystal face of another substance). If successful, the University of Michigan’s new hybrid approach would produce highly efficient (above 20%) gallium arsenide thin film solar cells using only simple process equipment, non-flammable precursor ingredients, and…

Status: ALUMNI
State: MI
Project Term: 03/17/2017 - 09/30/2020
Program: NEXTCAR
Award: $1,600,000

University of Michigan

The University of Michigan will develop an integrated power and thermal management system for connected and automated vehicles (iPTM-CAV), with the goal of achieving a 20% improvement in energy consumption. This increase will arise from predicting the traffic environment with transportation analytics, optimizing vehicle speed and load profiles with vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communication, coordinating power and thermal control systems with intelligent algorithms, and optimizing powertrain operation in real time. The additional information made available by V2X and new sensors provides a…

Status: ALUMNI
State: MI
Project Term: 07/14/2016 - 12/31/2019
Program: OPEN 2015
Award: $1,920,289

University of Michigan

The University of Michigan team will develop a compact micro-hybrid configuration that pairs an Electrically Assisted Variable Speed (EAVS) supercharger with an exhaust expander Waste Energy Recovery (WER) system. Together, the EAVS and WER can nearly eliminate the slow air-path dynamics associated with turbocharge inertia and high exhaust gas recirculation (EGR). The EAVS system compresses engine intake air to increase engine power and allows the engine to have valuable “breathing time.” This breathing time allows for a coordinated intake boosting and exhaust vacuum, so that the combustion…

Status: ALUMNI
State: MI
Project Term: 06/12/2019 - 03/10/2023
Program: OPEN 2018
Award: $2,900,000

University of Michigan

The University of Michigan will develop load-control strategies to improve grid reliability in the face of increased penetration of DERs and low-cost renewable generation. As the electricity generation mix changes to include more renewables and DERs, load shifting is essential. Today, there are few load-shifting strategies in use at grid scale that are capable of balancing current levels of intermittent energy production. The team will develop three testing environments to identify issues the grid faces with increased levels of energy from distributed and renewable generation. Their method…

Status: ALUMNI
State: MI
Project Term: 01/23/2014 - 03/06/2017
Program: REMOTE
Award: $2,999,999

University of Michigan

The University of Michigan team will develop a biological approach to activate methane, the first step in creating a liquid fuel from natural gas. Current approaches to methane activation require the addition of oxygen and energy in the form of heat, which is inefficient and costly. The University of Michigan’s multidisciplinary team will engineer a methane-generating microorganism that can activate methane without the need for these additional inputs. The University of Michigan will use computer models to understand the processes on a molecular level and predict the structure of new enzymes…

Status: ALUMNI
State: MI
Project Term: 09/26/2019 - 09/25/2022
Program: Exploratory Topics
Award: $1,377,649

University of Michigan

Develop a novel ductile EDC that is resistant to chemical attacks and possesses built-in crack width control not feasible with current concrete. This new concrete is targeted to meet everyday construction requirements and have tensile resistance that dramatically enables efficient additive manufacturing and the construction of resilient energy facilities.

Status: ALUMNI
State: MI
Project Term: 02/17/2021 - 02/16/2023
Program: Exploratory Topics
Award: $431,915

University of Michigan

The University of Michigan, in collaboration with the University of Massachusetts Amherst, will develop a technology that captures CO2 from the atmosphere using an electrochemical approach, rather than the temperature swing cycle which is typically powered by fossil fuel combustion. The team’s concept is a pH swing cycle that changes conditions between basic and acidic to capture and release CO2, respectively. Direct air capture (DAC) of CO2 by inexpensive renewable electricity could reduce the cost and improve the efficiency of DAC. The team aims to optimize the design of the cycle to…