Energy Highlights
A twice-monthly energy news update from MMPEI
December 18, 2007
Vol. 1 No. 7
U-M News
MMPEI Moving into New Offices
The Michigan Memorial Phoenix Energy Institute has moved. As of 12/17, MMPEI offices will operate out of the second floor of the Engineering Programs Building (EPB), which is located at 2609 Draper on North Campus. MMPEI will be located in EPB for the next two years while the Phoenix Memorial Laboratory is renovated. Phone numbers remain the same. Please stop by and see us after the first of the year!
UMCM-1 (University of Michigan Crystalline Material-1) Offers New Possibilities for Storing Hydrogen, Methane and Carbon Dioxide
Associate professor of chemistry Adam Matzgar and colleagues have created a new nanoporous structure that could be used to compactly store large amounts of hydrogen, methane, carbon dioxide and other economically and environmentally important gases. Matzgar's team created a new material made up of six, microporous cage-like structures surrounding a hexagonal channel that they named UMCM-1 (University of Michigan Crystalline Material-1). The work builds on a worldwide research effort in the area of porous coordination polymers with high surface areas.
Student Venture Capital Fund Makes First Investment
A venture-capital fund managed by U-M graduate students made its first investment in Ann Arbor-based Arbor Photonics, a university spinoff with optical-fiber technology that has several potential business uses.
The Frankel Commercialization Fund, a student-managed seed fund at U-M’s Ross School of Business, will provide $85,000 to Arbor Photonics, a company marketing technology that originated in U-M’s Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science .
U-M Opens Business Engagement Center
Finding the right U-M research expert can be like trying to sip from a gushing fire hose, and some visitors leave confused and thirsting for answers.
The new University of Michigan Business Engagement Center is designed to quench that thirst. Scheduled to open early next year, the center will provide one-stop shopping for businesses and industry researchers seeking university expertise.
Energy News
Industry Flexes Muscle, Weaker Energy Bill Passes
Pared-down energy legislation cleared the Senate by a wide margin after the oil industry and utilities succeeded in stripping out provisions that would have cost them billions of dollars. The legislation still contains a landmark increase in fuel-economy standards for vehicles and a huge boost for alternative fuels.
Breakthrough Battery Could Boost Electric Cars
This week Toshiba Corp. unveiled a "new energy solution for cleaner transportation"—their new Super Charge ion battery that can be recharged to 90 percent capacity in less than five minutes. The Super Charge ion battery will initially be used in electric bikes, forklifts and construction machinery but Toshiba expects to use the lithium-ion battery in hybrid and electric cars by 2010.
State of Michigan Poised for Alternative Energy Jobs
Governor Jennifer Granholm has been holding roundtable meetings with businesses and researchers across the state to promote the many ways Michigan can produce alternative energy. Granholm says that "we've got the capacity, we've got the resources and we've got the know-how at the universities" to transform Michigan into a new kind of manufacturing center—one that makes in-demand wind turbines and solar cells. Many companies making alternative energy products prefer to operate in states that have a renewable energy requirement, and that is but one reason why Granholm is also backing legislation to create a renewable portfolio standard for the state.
Blue Power: Turning Tides into Electricity
The December issue of Environmental Health Perspectives examines the potential, the technology, costs and benefits, and regulatory issues surrounding the use tidal and wave energy as a renewable resource. Experts say that development in wave and tidal energy is at the same stage as wind energy was in the 1980s, with "many concepts but few installations." But this marine energy may be capable of supplying electricity equivalent to 10–25 percent of today's global production.
Mainstream Renewable Energy Continues Double-digit Growth
The Renewable Energy Policy Network for the 21st Century (REN21) released preliminary findings from their Renewables Global Status Report 2007 that confidently stated that renewable sources of energy continued double-digit growth in 2007. Renewable sources of energy including wind, solar photovoltaic, solar thermal and biofuels now provide 240 gigawatts of clean energy globally while preventing 5 gigatons of carbon emissions. Wind has the largest share of renewable energy investment, growing by 25-30 percent a year, while solar photovoltaic continues to grow at an astounding 50-60 percent a year. REN21 is a global policy network that provides a forum for international leadership on renewable energy. The full report will be published in January 2008.
Funding Opportunities
Activities that Advance Methane Recovery and Use as a Clean Energy Source - Due Date 2/22/2008
As part of the Methane to Markets Partnership, the EPA is funding proposals to reduce methane emissions from coal mines, landfills, oil and gas installations, and agricultural land in developing countries and countries with economies in transition. Acceptable proposals include methane capture and use technologies, cost effective methane recovery for energy production, emissions improvement estimates for the largest methane sources, improving industry and local awareness, and developing international country-wide methane reduction programs. Proposals may also identify legal, regulatory, financial, and institutional conditions necessary to attract investment in international methane recovery. In order to be considered, proposals must be consistent with the Methane to Markets Partnership Action Plans as listed online. There will be 40 awards between $100,000 and $700,000.
DOE to Hold Fuel Cell Pre-Solicitation Workshop in January 2008
Registration requested by 21 December 2007, but not required for attendance.
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) will hold a Fuel Cell Pre-Solicitation Workshop on January 23-24, 2008 at the DOE Golden Field Office in Golden, CO. DOE invites the fuel cell research community and other stakeholders to participate in a discussion of the most relevant fuel cell technology research, development, and demonstration topics appropriate for government funding in automotive, stationary, portable power, and early market applications.
Additional funding opportunities are listed on the MMPEI Opportunities Page.
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