Thursday, August 13, 2009

ASU, UA Get Energy Grants

Arizona State University and the University of Arizona in Tucson have been tapped by the Department of Energy as part of a major, $377M funding effort to accelerate energy scientific breakthroughs, the DOE said today. According to the DOE, it is awarding $377M in funding to 46, multi-million-dollar Energy Frontier Research Centers (EFRCs) located at universities, national laboratories, nonprofit organizations, and private firms across the nation. As part of that effort, AZU was awarded $14M over five years, to adapt the fundamental principles of natural photosynthesis to the man-made production of hydrogen or other fuels from sunlight; the University of Arizona was awarded $15M for five years, to enhance the conversion of solar energy to electricity using hybrid inorganic-organic materials. The DOE said the purpose of the grants is to help reduce the nation's need for imported oil and to curtail greenhouse gas emissions; funding came from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act as well as the DOE's FY2009 budget.