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Research to Secure Our Energy Future

Research to Secure Our Energy Future

The world runs on energy. AAU universities are helping ensure our nation's, and the world's, energy security with scientific discoveries, technological breakthroughs, and the education of the next generation of energy problem solvers.

Faculty and students are addressing such research challenges as finding new and sustainable energy sources, improving energy storage and distribution, achieving greater energy conservation and efficiency, and understanding social and behavioral factors affecting the way we manage and consume energy.

This is the fourth in a series on AAU university research that addresses major societal issues. The first three topics are Helping Solve the Fresh Water Puzzle, Helping Safeguard the Connected World, and Researching the Brain, Seeking Cures.

Image of a dam.

Hydropower, Innovations and Avoiding International Dam Shame

Five scientists from Michigan State University say that hydropower from dams has a legacy of underestimated costs and overestimated value.
An array of radiative cooling modules.

Engineers Scale Up A Low-Cost, Energy-Saving Cooling System

CU Boulder and University of Wyoming engineers have successfully scaled up an innovative water-cooling system capable of providing continuous day-and-night radiative cooling for structures.
Rice University graduate student Gladys López-Silva holds a lithium metal anode with a film of carbon nanotubes.

Nanotubes May Give the World Better Batteries

Rice University scientists are counting on films of carbon nanotubes to make high-powered, fast-charging lithium metal batteries a logical replacement for common lithium-ion batteries.
Zhiyao (Yao) Lu

Turning Cooking Oils into Renewable Fuels

Greenhouse gases and plastic waste are the targets of a USC chemistry startup. that is turning vegetable oil into renewable fuels and biodegradable plastic.

Explore More: Research to Secure Our Energy Future

You can filter stories by specialty area and/or by university.

MIT spinout Commonwealth Fusion Systems unveils plans for the world’s first fusion power plant

Commonwealth Fusion Systems, an MIT spinout company, has announced that it will build the first grid-scale fusion power plant in Chesterfield County, Virginia.
Massachusetts Institute of Technology | Research to Secure Our Energy Future

Scientists hit key milestone in fusion energy quest

The major fusion energy breakthrough of achieving ignition is cause for celebration at Rochester’s Laboratory for Laser Energetics.
University of Rochester | Research to Secure Our Energy Future | University Research

UCI study finds 53 percent jump in e-waste greenhouse gas emissions between 2014, 2020

Greenhouse gas emissions into the atmosphere from electronic devices and their associated electronic waste increased by 53 percent between 2014 and 2020, including 580 metric tons of carbon dioxide in 2020 alone, according to University of California, Irvine researchers.
University of California, Irvine | Research to Secure Our Energy Future | University Research

UCI and national lab researchers develop cobalt-free cathodes for lithium-ion batteries

Innovation at the University of California, Irvine could lead to safer, longer-lasting power storage for electric vehicles and devices relying on lithium-ion battery cathodes without using cobalt
University of California, Irvine | Research to Secure Our Energy Future | University Research

New iron catalyst could – finally! – make hydrogen fuel cells affordable

Study shows the low-cost catalyst can be a viable alternative to platinum that has stymied commercialization of the eco-friendly fuel for decades because it’s so expensive
Carnegie Mellon University | Purdue University | University at Buffalo - The State University of New York | University of Pittsburgh | Research to Secure Our Energy Future | University Research