Energy Applications

The demand for energy is growing. Projections for the total energy demand depend primarily on how the global economy grows. The world’s gross domestic product (GDP) is increasing at around 3% each year, mostly in developing countries. As a country’s GDP grows, the amount of energy it requires increases.

In order to effectively combat climate change we must reduce the amount of carbon dioxide being emitted. While we can ramp up the generation of renewable energy sources, such as wind and solar, another approach to address this problem is to make the devices and applications that demand energy more efficient. That is where work in this impact area is focused.

If we can reduce the amount of energy needed to light and heat our buildings, power our electric devices, drive our vehicles, and perform industrial processes, then we can better satisfy the growing global demands with renewable sources.

Here are just some of the ways in which several of the Research Foci are making advances in this Impact Area:

Buildings

Developing in-building climate control systems that dynamically adjust energy demands throughout the day.
Design of district level heating and cooling networks.
Developing windows that are more insulating and can dynamically tint to better control internal temperatures.
Developing building materials that require less energy and less carbon to produce.

Bio-Catalysis

Developing new bio-catalytic methods to replace existing chemical methods for producing fine and commodity chemicals on an industrial scale.

Carbon Capture

Developing chemical and bio-chemical approaches to sequester carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, or at point sources.

Catalysis and electrocatalysis

Developing new chemical approaches for large-scale synthesis of commodity chemicals that require less energy and replace heat with electricity.

Nanoscience and Advanced Materials

Development of new materials and semiconductors that require less energy to power lights, displays, and electronics devices.
Characterization of materials at the atomistic level to better understand energy flow

Polymers

Development of new techniques to recycle plastics with lower energy demands.
Design of polymers that how lower energy demands to produce and can be readily recycled in a sustainable manner.

Theory, Computational Modeling, and Simulation

Using fundamental theory and calculations to better understand energy is transported through materials at the atomistic level to guide the design of more efficient materials.