The Obama administration is hoping that $1.5 billion will finally be enough to make the U.S. a player in the global manufacturing of advanced batteries, which until now has been dominated by Asia.

Since most of the hybrids sold to date have been from Japanese manufacturers (with Toyota and Honda leading the way), it’s no surprise that the batteries that power their electric drive trains are also mostly from Japan. However, Ford has been purchasing batteries for its Escape Hybrid from Sanyo, and GM is buying batteries from Korean company LG Chem for the upcoming Chevrolet Volt. GM had been buying batteries for its hybrids from troubled U.S.-based Cobasys, which was just acquired by Japan’s Samsung.

(more…)

Do yourself a favor by visiting NPR.org and downloading the first hour of the last Science Friday. A really intelligent discussion of the future of nuclear energy in the US ranged from the waste storage issue to microreactor technology to financing.

Even the geekiest of Green Nerds probably needs some time away from green tech talk a few minutes a day, especially with all the slop that is bombarding us these days at checkout counters, in brand campaigns and on the nightly news. So, I know the last thing you want to do is head out for that morning run, pop in the ear buds and have a clean tech podcast as your accompaniment; but, the conversation here – which included an MIT Prof and former DOE Under Secretary (Moniz), a NRDC egghead (Cochran) and a scientist – is worth your time.

(more…)

While coal-fueled power plants are directly responsible for roughly one-third of our CO2 emissions, the DOE indicates that coal is expected to dominate our domestic power generation at least for the next 25 years.  Globally, the increased demand for coal-fueled electricity will translate into a 57% rise in related CO2 emissions by 2030 according to the IEA.

One technology that attempts to solve the CO2 emissions crisis is carbon capture and storage, or CCS. Generally speaking, CCS captures the CO2 emissions from coal power plants and other industrial sites and injects the CO2 into underground porous rock formations in hopes of permanent sequestration.

(more…)

Clean technology and energy efficiency leaders from Google, the California Public Utilities Commission, McKinsey, the DOE, Kleiner Perkins, and many other green tech folks, will get together on May 20-21 at the inaugural Santa Barbara Summit on Energy Efficiency. The event is organized by UCSB’s Institute for Energy Efficiency and will explore the pipeline of new efficiency technologies as well as the current business, economic, and policy landscape and the obstacles and opportunities it presents. Preregistration has closed, but you can attend by registering at Corwin Pavilion at UC Santa Barbara, where the event is taking place.

(more…)

This article is part of a series on the Stimulus Update. Previous posts:

– Smart Grid Funding Guidelines Released
- Inching Towards Smart Grid Funding Guidelines
- EE and Conservation Block Grant Funds Releases
- Next Generation Electric Vehicles Funds Released
- Energy Efficiency Funds Released
- Climate Change, the Stimulus Bill, and how CleanTech will benefit

As part of an ongoing effort to reduce US dependence on foreign oil and address the climate crisis by increasing the use of domestic renewable fuels, Secretary of Energy Chu announced Tuesday plans to provide $786.5 million in ARRA funding to accelerate advanced biofuels research and development, and to provide additional funding for commercial-scale biorefinery demonstration projects.

The funding is available through ARRA’s Research and Development program and will be awarded through competitive grants from the DOE’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE).

(more…)

The US electrical grid is a century-old “machine” built for a singular purpose: to power the development and industrialization of the nation’s economy.  It is designed to deliver electrons from centralized power producing plants through transmission wires to end consumers.  This archaic, unidirectional architecture is unreliable, inefficient, and unsafe.

Using many of the same technologies and assumptions first implemented in the 19th century, today, the grid must keep up with rising demand which outstrips available generating capacity and technological advancements designed to make the grid “smarter“.

(more…)

Yesterday, two days after President Obama signed the stimulus bill (American Recovery and Reinvestment Act or ARRA) into law, DOE Secretary Steven Chu announced a reorganization of how the Department of Energy will disperse loans, loan guarantees and funding contained therein.

Obviously, the idea is that there will be a disbursement of money to begin investments into the economy which will put Americans back to work and create millions of new jobs. What is good for CleanTechies like you and me is that there’s a leader at the helm Department of Energy that is keen on energy efficiency and renewables because it is the DOE that will be in a position to bring relevant projects to the table. More great news is he’s added ex-McKinsey consultant Matt Rogers to the team, a long time analyst of energy issues and climate change. It is great to have such strong representation from the business community within the DOE.

(more…)