Washington Report

June / July 2008 By: Tom Michael Volume 6 Number 3

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As gasoline soars past $4 per gallon and new oilfield discoveries wane, Americans are increasingly wondering about alternatives. The Department of Energy—€”spurred by the America Competes Act that Congress passed last year—€”just ponied up $100 million to help find the answer. The money should help lure the nation's best and brightest scientists to roll up their sleeves and design technologies that can potentially meet the exploding global demand for energy in the 21st century.

As part of this effort, the DOE's Office of Science in March announced the creation of new Energy Frontier Research Centers—€”EFRC—€”to accelerate energy-related scientific breakthroughs. The goal is to develop innovative but affordable new energy sources that can possibly even meet the exploding global energy demand. Under the initiative, universities, national laboratories, non-profit organizations and select for-profit firms will be invited to compete, singly or in partnerships, to establish an EFRC.

The centers, which will include multiple investigators, will receive $2 million to $5 million per year over a 5-year period and will focus on one or more of several "grand challenges" identified in major strategic studies as critical to America's energy future. Eric Rohlfing, DOE's acting associate director in the office of science for basic energy science, said the initiative is a culmination of a strategic planning effort that the agency's office of basic research initiated six years ago. He said 1,500 scientists from universities, national labs and industry established a list of 10 basic energy-related research needs.

They are: the hydrogen economy, solar energy utilization, superconductivity, solid state lighting, advanced nuclear energy systems, combustion of 21st century transportation fuels, electrical energy storage, long-term storage of both nuclear wastes and carbon dioxide, materials under extreme environments and catalysis for energy-related processes.

"It set forth what we think is a tremendous strategic plan for basic research in energy related areas," Rohlfing said. "They really identified what are the real world challenges—€”the showstoppers—€”or what would truly be transformative energy technology. This is basic science that's what we're supporting, but it provides the basis for what would potentially be transformative energy technologies."

He cited solar and photovoltaic as one energy realm that could have great potential for advancement under the new program. "What if you could find a way to harness some of the exciting new physics we're seeing for multiple octagon generation and semiconductor quantum dots?" he asked. "It sounds esoteric, but some people think if you could harness that you could make a photovoltaic that's 50 percent efficient.

"We don't know yet, but that's the kind of research we're interested in investing in the EFRCs." Rohlfing was careful to stress that the suggestions formed from the workshops weren't the result of some pie-in-the-sky ideas created by daydreaming scientists. "They were thoroughly grounded in the realities of what currently exists in terms of the energy technologies and what the showstoppers are or might lead to transformative new energy technologies," he said. "There has always been a good interaction between fundamental science and potential for technology in these workshops that really formed the basis of this solicitation."

The FY2009 budget request for the new centers falls under the auspices of the America Competes Act, initiated in Congress and signed by President Bush last year as a way to boost America's global competitiveness in math and science.

"We've been thinking about doing centers for some time and we felt this was the ideal time to do it," Rohlfing said, explaining that the Office of Basic Science is using $100 million of the $160 million budget increase the office expects in 2009 to launch the centers.

While enthusiastic about the program, Rohlfing cautioned that Congress has not yet finished its appropriations for 2009, so there is a small chance the new program won't get funded. "This is the first round and it is contingent on an appropriation, of course," he said. "It's part of the FY 2009 budget request that Congress is currently considering. So any awards that will be made are obviously contingent upon getting the appropriations."

The deadline to notify DOE of an intent to apply is July 1, while full applications are due to DOE not later than Oct.1, 2008.

"We're looking forward to getting a lot of applications," Rohlfing said. "The feedback we have been getting from the research community has been very enthusiastic I have no doubt we'll have a very large number of applications."
Although many believe that the U.S.—€”and the world—€”is lagging behind in the need for advanced energy research, Rohlfing said he detects a huge, ambitious desire among younger scientists to dive in and tackle the problem.

"There is a whole younger generation of engineers who clearly understand the nature of the combined energy and environmental challenges that we as a nation and a globe face," he said. "They are desperately eager to work on this problem because, guess what, it's their problem. They are going to inherit what we have left them in terms of our energy consumption and lack of sustainability," he added. "I just sense that there is an army of especially young researchers ready, willing and able to help us out. It's exciting."

Tom Michael reports from Washington for Innovation.