Back to "Energy Crisis"

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 8, 2001
Contact: Chuck McFadden
(510) 987-9193
charles.mcfadden@ucop.edu

UC BRINGS EXPERTISE TO BEAR ON CALIFORNIA'S ENERGY CHALLENGES

As the state struggles with its energy crisis, University of California scientists are pursuing energy research that includes creating fusion energy in a cylinder the size of a soft drink can, turning algae into an energy source, and using seawater to generate power.

"The University of California and its affiliated national laboratories are conducting research across a broad array of energy technologies that represent a marked departure from present methods of generating and transmitting power," UC President Richard C. Atkinson said.

"While not all of these new technologies are going to become reality tomorrow, they do hold out great hope over the longer term for inexpensive and abundant energy supplies," he added.

Below is a sampling of a few of the longer-range energy research activities and developments on UC campuses and the national laboratories the university manages for the Department of Energy

• Researchers at Los Alamos National Laboratory and colleagues are investigating a way to create fusion energy in a cylinder roughly the size of a soda can. "Magnetized target fusion" research shows the potential for producing smaller fusion energy sources at a cost that is far less than current approaches. More information: (505) 667-5679.
  
  
• Scientists at UCLA's Fusion Science and Technology Center are also investigating the use of nuclear fusion as a future source of power. Nuclear fusion is the benign twin of nuclear fission and has several advantages, including an almost limitless source of fuel and the fact that fusion produces almost no dangerous waste. More information: (310) 206-0501.
  
  
• UC Berkeley scientists and colleagues have discovered a metabolic switch that triggers algae to turn sunlight into large quantities of hydrogen gas, a valuable fuel. The discovery may make it possible to harness nature's own tool, photosynthesis, to produce the promising alternative fuel from sunlight and water. Currently, hydrogen fuel is extracted from natural gas, a non-renewable energy source. More information: (510) 642-3734.
  
  
• Scientists at UC San Diego's Jacobs School of Engineering are studying the use of seawater as a fuel to generate power. By extracting hydrogen atoms in seawater and exposing them to extremely high temperatures, a fusion reactor could create an ionized gas called plasma that would generate electricity -- approximately 1000 megawatts of continuous fuel that is cleaner, safer, and more stable than fossil fuel. More information: (858) 534-5994
  
  
• Researchers in the Superconductivity Technology Center of the Los Alamos National Laboratory have developed a new process for producing high-performance superconducting tape that operates at the temperature of liquid nitrogen. Superconducting tapes can efficiently carry vast amounts of electrical current with no resistive losses. A single piece of superconducting tape, for instance, can carry 200 times the electrical current of an equivalent copper wire. More information: (505) 667-5679.
  
  
• At UC Davis, researchers are investigating the possibilities of converting rice straw into usable fuel for biomass generators. Biomass generators use fuel such as wood from forest thinning, farm waste or non-recyclable paper either to generate electricity directly, or to produce gas that can be used for power generation. But using untreated rice straw as fuel produces a glassy slag, requiring increased boiler maintenance and raising costs. Researcher Bryan Jenkins' group is researching methods to remove minerals from the straw that form the slag. Leaving harvested straw in flooded rice fields allows most of these minerals to leach out, he reports. More information: (530) 762-1930.
  
  
• A single-cell ultracapacitor with the ability to deliver millions of discharge cycles has been developed at Los Alamos National Laboratory by a research team headed by Shimshon Gottesfeld. The development has the potential to affect nearly every domain of electrical energy use, from transportation to communications and computing. More information: (505) 667-5679.
  
  
• At UC Santa Barbara, materials scientist Shuji Nakamura and other engineering faculty are conducting research that could lead to a new way of lighting that is more efficient and less expensive than incandescent light. Nakamura is the inventor of the white Light Emitting Diode (LED), once described as the "holy grail" of semiconductor opto-electronic engineers. Replacing the world's incandescent 60 watt light bulbs with white LEDs would result in an estimated 50 to 200 percent reduction in the energy needed to power these heat-generating light bulbs. The absence of infrared radiation would also reduce air-conditioning costs. More information: (805) 893-2191.
  
  
• A promising way to store electricity that could help balance times of peak energy demand with periods of low use is under development at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. In partnership with California industry, researchers at the lab are looking at new design concepts for cost-effective flywheel batteries that can take electricity generated during the night or other times of low demand and store it for use when power demand is high. Flywheel batteries are electro-mechanical devices that convert electrical energy into the energy of motion (the spinning flywheel), thus storing it for later use. More information: (925) 423-3107.
  
  
• Researchers in UCLA's Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering are developing techniques that use bacteria to convert recalcitrant wastes such as industrial plant wastewater into useful fuels such as methane and ethanol. Professor Birgitte Ahring, who has played a role in her native Denmark in designing anaerobic waste treatment plants that produce heat and electricity for nearby communities, is working to advance these practices in the United States. More information: (310) 206-0540.
  
  
• UC Riverside scientists are studying and refining a technology to convert waste that otherwise would go to landfills into clean-burning methanol. The College of Engineering-Center for Environmental Research and Technology has constructed a three-story, demonstration plant to turn sawdust, yard clippings and other "biomass" into the alcohol-based fuel. In addition to directly powering alternative-fueled vehicles, the methanol could also be run through a reformer yielding hydrogen to power fuel cells. The process being developed at UCR also could be modified to make a synthetic, low-sulfur diesel fuel to run generators used during electricity blackouts. Low-sulfur diesel fuels are less polluting than diesel derived from fossil fuels. More information: (909) 787-5185.
  
  
• A variety of fuel cell designs are under development at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. Fuel cells are electrochemical devices with no moving parts that generate electricity by converting chemical reactants to electricity without combustion. While batteries store their fuel internally, fuel cells are supplied with fuel externally, so they never run down. A fuel cell will produce electricity as a long as fuel is supplied. Fuel cells could be used to power vehicles, as well as in stationary applications, such as powering buildings, homes, and factories. More information: (925) 423-3107
  
  
• At UC Irvine, scientists at a 184-acre "Power Park" will perform research into fuel cells, gas turbine engines, micro-turbine generators, photo-voltaic systems, advanced vehicle concepts, energy management systems, advanced information technology for monitoring and control, and others. The goal is to develop technologies that will simultaneously help mitigate environmental challenges and provide cost-effective and reliable energy for customers. More information: More information: (949) 824-6922
  
  
• A new three-year public-private research initiative targeting substantial reductions in the $100 billion spent annually in energy costs for commercial buildings has been launched under the leadership of scientists from Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. The program will develop new information technologies to design, commission, and operate buildings, and integrated design techniques to generate energy savings in offices, schools, and other structures used in commercial activities. More information: (510) 486-5771.
  
  
• The Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory's California Institute for Energy Efficiency aims at planning and managing a statewide program of research and technology development designed to advance end-use energy efficiency and productivity in California. (http://eetd.lbl.gov/CIEE/). In addition, the Home Energy Saver site, (http://HomeEnergySaver.lbl.gov), developed by researchers at the laboratory, helps consumers identify technologies that will save them the most energy and money.