The U. S. Department of Energy (DOE) has implemented two technology clean-energy research projects to reduce carbon dioxide emissions. The projects are part of a $106 million stimulus funding program.
The DOE is also creating a “solar fuels innovation hub,” which is a research center focused exclusively on converting sunlight into liquid fuels.
The goal of the Fuels from Sunlight Energy Innovation Hub is to replicate photosynthesis using plants or other materials to replicate the process of photosynthesis by finding methods to create fuels directly from sunlight. This is one of three hubs being funded this year (the other two are modeling and simulation for nuclear reactors).
The initiative will be led by the Joint Center for Artificial Photosynthesis, which includes researchers from the California Institute of Technology and the Lawrence Berkley National Lab. You can read more about the DOE’s projects here (http://bit.ly/chLlIr).