Energy + Environment
Renewable grid: Recovering electricity from heat storage...
Thermophotovoltaics developed at U-M can recover significantly more energy stored in heat batteries.Cheap, sustainable hydrogen through solar power
Withstanding high temperatures and the light of 160 suns, a new catalyst is ten times more efficient than previous sun-powered water-splitting devices of its kind.Home AC units can balance the electrical grid without impacting comfort
A real-world frequency regulation experiment demonstrates that managing AC units can help actively balance electricity supply and demand.Johanna Mathieu and Anna Stuhlmacher receive HICSS Best Paper Award for work on the potential of drinking water networks as flexible electric loads
The team found that drinking water distribution networks in the U.S. represent a sizable resource when used as flexible electric loads.Heat2Power: a hot new startup that converts stored heat into electricity
Heat2Power, co-founded by Profs. Stephen Forrest and Andrej Lenert, uses high-efficiency, low-cost thermophotovoltaic technology to turn stored heat into energy.Austin Lin awarded IEEE PES Prize Conference Paper for work quantifying HVAC load-shifting efficiency
PhD student Austin Lin presented his award-winning research at the 2024 IEEE Power & Energy Society General Meeting in Seattle.Renewable grid: Recovering electricity from heat storage hits 44% efficiency
Thermophotovoltaics developed at U-M can recover significantly more energy stored in heat batteries.Integrating battery storage into electrical grids can sometimes increase emissions due to market forces
An electricity market analysis found adding battery storage to enhance grid reliability may cause power generation markets to favor coal over natural gas.Large open dataset aims to improve understanding of building electricity demand response
Data collected from 14 commercial buildings can help inform efforts to balance electrical grids, maintaining reliability.Living Labs: testing energy efficiency and flexibility in University buildings
Researchers advocate for pairing real-world data with model-based simulations to help the U.S. decarbonize and electrify commercial buildings.Blue PHOLEDs: Final color of efficient OLEDs finally viable in lighting
Synchronizing light and matter adds blue to the OLED color paletteWireless and battery-free sensors for sustainable smart cities
The sensors will provide real-time data for smart decision-making by allowing the natural environment and the built environment to communicate seamlessly.New global partnership aims to advance renewable energy generation with net-zero hydrogen production technologies
The Global Hydrogen Production Technologies (HyPT) Center seeks to create a viable pathway to decarbonize energy-intensive industries such as ammonia, steel, cement, aluminum, transportation, and more.Research seeking to improve integration of renewable energy into the grid wins R&D 100 award
Led by Prof. Johanna Mathieu, the project utilizes strategic control of air conditioners to improve the overall efficiency and reliability of the power grid.Organic photovoltaics offer realistic pathway to power-generating windows
A new fabrication process greatly improves the reliability of highly-efficient semi-transparent solar cells, which can be applied to windows to generate solar power.New method to produce green hydrogen offers promising path to carbon neutrality
With next gen solar cell technology, Prof. Zetian Mi leads a DoE project to develop high efficiency, low cost, and ultrastable production of green hydrogen fuels directly from sunlight and water.Eliminating the Tradeoffs Between Farming and Solar Energy Development
Testing Semi-Transparent Solar Cell Technology at U-M’s Campus Farm.Equity in the energy technology transition is new Institute’s goal
Prof. Johanna Mathieu is the new Associate Director of the Institute for Energy Solutions, which will continue U-M's 75-year legacy of leadership in energy research.Johanna Mathieu awarded 2023 IEEE PES Wanda Reder Pioneer in Power Award
Mathieu is a national leader on research to reduce the environmental impact, cost, and inefficiency of electric power systems.Team working to reduce energy burdens in Detroit recognized with Michigan Difference Student Leadership Award
PhD students Joshua Brooks, Xavier Farrell, and Madeline Miller are part of an NSF Smart and Connected Communities project that partners with local Detroit organizations to reduce household energy insecurity.Ishtiaque Navid awarded Predoctoral Fellowship to support research impacting green energy
Navid is exploiting III-Nitride nanostructures for artificial photosynthesis and next generation nanoscale optoelectronics.Ishtiaque Navid receives SVCF Scholarship to support his research in semiconductor materials
Navid’s research is focused on artificial photosynthesis and optoelectronics using III-Nitride based semiconductor materials.Arthur Xiao receives SVCF Scholarship to support his research in semiconductor materials
Xiao has been working on several projects in Prof. Zetian’s Mi’s group, including micro LED technology and renewable energy.Cheap, sustainable hydrogen through solar power
Withstanding high temperatures and the light of 160 suns, a new catalyst is ten times more efficient than previous sun-powered water-splitting devices of its kind.Broadening the engineering perspective through coastline conservation in Middle Earth
As part of the U-M Engineering Global Leadership (EGL) Honors Program, Electrical Engineering undergrad Nora Desmond traveled There and Back Again to experience the sustainability culture of New Zealand.Streamlining home assessments for energy justice
In a partnership with Ecoworks, Pecan Street, and Jefferson East, Prof. Johanna Mathieu is helping create a better process for Detroit homes to benefit from decarbonization, electrification, and renewable energy integration.Photosynthesis copycat may improve solar cells
The new approach moves energy efficiently and could reduce energy losses converting light into electricity.Toward manufacturing semitransparent solar cells the size of windows
A peel-off patterning technique could enable more fragile organic semiconductors to be manufactured into semitransparent solar panels at scale.Task Force report on grid stability concepts receives IEEE PES Prize Paper Award
The rapid growth of renewable energy led to an international task force to study its impact on the stability of worldwide power systems.Solar-powered chemistry uses carbon dioxide and water to make feedstock for fuels, chemicals
Producing synthesis gas, a precursor of a variety of fuels and chemicals, no longer requires natural gas, coal or biomass.Alireza Ramyar awarded Rackham Predoctoral Fellowship for his research on power processing architectures for improved sustainability
Ramyar’s research focuses on how power and energy can be transformed, extracted from clean power generation, and stored effectively and sustainably.Anna Stuhlmacher awarded Rackham Predoctoral Fellowship for her research that could help integrate renewable energy sources into the power grid
Stuhlmacher is working to optimize the interaction between the power distribution network and the drinking water distribution network to improve the sustainability, flexibility, and resiliency of both systems.Al-Thaddeus Avestruz receives CAREER Award to advance sustainable energy storage
Using retired electric vehicle batteries, the project plans to enable widespread and equitable access to sustainable power and energy through sustainable energy storage.Optimizing the interactions between critical infrastructure systems for better flexibility, sustainability, and resiliency
PhD student Anna Stuhlmacher researches how the water distribution network can better provide services to the power network, which can allow for greater integration of renewable energy sources into the grid, reduce costs, and improve system resiliency.New collaborative project for advancing energy justice in Detroit
In partnership with Detroit-based community organizations, Prof. Johanna Mathieu co-leads a team of researchers working to reduce disparities in household energy insecurity for low and moderate income households.$1.8M to develop room temperature, controllable quantum nanomaterials
The project could pave the way for compact quantum computing and communications as well as efficient UV lamps for sterilization and air purification.Solar cells with 30-year lifetimes for power-generating windows
High-efficiency but fragile molecules for converting light to electricity thrive with a little protection.Using remote sensing to track microplastics in the ocean
Electrical Engineering undergrad Madeline Evans is a key researcher on a project that uses NASA’s Cyclone Global Navigation Satellite System to monitor microplastic pollution that harms marine ecosystems.Nanotech OLED electrode liberates 20% more light, could slash display power consumption
A five-nanometer-thick layer of silver and copper outperforms conventional indium tin oxide without adding cost.Tracking ocean microplastics from space
Satellites give new insights on the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, plus sources and flows of ocean microplastic.Artificial photosynthesis devices that improve themselves with use
$6.25 million to develop new semiconductors for artificial photosynthesis
Kaleo Roberts receives scholarship from the American Indian Science and Engineering Society
DYNAMO achieves first observation of the “charge separation effect”
U-M, community partners tackle energy insecurity in three Detroit neighborhoods
Podcast: Artificial photosynthesis for sustainable solar fuels
Tracking Monarch Butterfly Migration with the World’s Smallest Computer
Coordination and collaboration are critical to U.S. leadership in plasma science: a Q&A with the Plasma 2020 Decadal Study co-chair
Mirror-like photovoltaics get more electricity out of heat
Detecting environmental pollutants with a smaller, portable, fully electric gas chromatograph
Urban solar energy: Solar panels for windows hit record 8% efficiency
Professors Jay Guo and Zetian Mi awarded MTRAC funding for research in autonomous and green vehicles
Battery-free sensor startup takes aim at industrial efficiency
Tianlin Wang recognized with Towner Prize and Distinguished Leadership Award
Russel Lecture: Fighting climate change with organic electronics
Leung Tsang elected to the National Academy of Engineering
Automotive research team recognized for research excellence
‘Green methane’ from artificial photosynthesis could recycle CO2
Elaheh Ahmadi receives AFOSR Young Investigator Program award
Commission on Carbon Neutrality talks progress, environmental justice at town hall
Commission co-chairs: Climate change solutions need broad commitment
An update on the work done by U-M's Commission on Carbon Neutrality, co-chaired by Prof. Stephen Forrest.Can organic solar cells last – even into the next millennium? These might.
Kamal Sarabandi welcomes Emperor and Empress of Japan at IGARSS 2019
Xianhe Liu receives Best Poster Award at ICNS 2019
The National Academy of Engineering invites Prof. Johanna Mathieu to symposium to advance the engineering frontier
Counting snowflakes for better water resource management
Louise Willingale creates extreme plasma conditions using high-intensity laser pulses
Building community through clean energy
New DOE project aims to convert a traditional engine into a hybrid OP engine with the help of control algorithms
The Future is Carbon Neutral
A new $1.6M energy project to develop low cost manufacturing of white organic lighting
New research for the future of sustainable power and energy
Take a look at some of the exciting new projects that will help define the next evolution of sustainable power and energy.Battery economics could power the future of energy
How air conditioners could advance a renewable power grid
Johanna Mathieu receives NSF CAREER Award to help build a smarter, more sustainable grid
Johanna Mathieu receives Ernest and Bettine Kuh Distinguished Faculty Award
$1.6M for solar cell windows and high-temperature solar power
A window into the future of solar power
A new company, Omniscent, is sniffing out dangerous levels of toxic chemicals in the air
Photosynthesis and Clean Energy
Blue Sky and Research Accelerator Initiatives fund solar fuel and high-power research
Blue Sky: Up to $10M toward research so bold, some of it just might fail
Mengqi Yao receives High Quality Paper Award at PowerTech Conference
Stephanie Crocker Ross receives Rackham Predoctoral Fellowship
Harvesting clean hydrogen fuel through artificial photosynthesis
Huanting Huang and the mathematical shape of trees
Organic solar cells reach record efficiency, benchmark for commercialization
Installing an alternative on spring break
Game theory for electric vehicle charging
SMAP Update: A mission to manage water globally
Louise Willingale advancing scientific knowledge of plasmas
Professor Leung Tsang Receives 2018 Van de Hulst Award
Prof. Tsang is a world-renowned expert in the field of theoretical and computational electromagnetics, and in particular microwave remote sensing of the earth.Amir Mortazawi introduces robust wireless power transfer
Semiconductor breakthrough may be game-changer for organic solar cells
Stephen Forrest: ECE Bicentennial + Beyond lecture
New biodegradable hydrogel offers eco-friendly alternative to synthetics
Deep UV LEDs lead to two best poster awards at ISSLED 2017
Precise pulses explore light’s magnetism
A new laser will investigate an unusual magnetic effect that may lead to efficient solar energy harvesting.Using University of Michigan buildings as batteries
IGARSS Interactive Symposium Paper Award for modeling the world’s forests
Two students earn scholarships to pursue work in sustainable energy
Anna Stuhlmacher: Power to change the world
MICDE grant funds renewable power research
EE student Leonard Kapiloff earns PES scholarship to support studies in secure, sustainable grid
Parag Deotare receives AFOSR Award for research in Nanoscale Exciton-Mechanical Systems (NEXMS)
Solving the “Christmas light” problem so solar panels can handle shade
Solar power plant: $1.4M grant aims to cut costs
A new, low-cost way to monitor snow and ice thickness to evaluate environmental change
Stephen Forrest Elected to National Academy of Sciences
Lights Out
Charles F. Brush
Lighting Up the World.Using energy storage in an environmentally friendly way – Yashen Lin earns a Dow Sustainability Fellowship
Inspired by art, lightweight solar cells track the sun
Art-inspired solar cells
The economics of energy – Hamidreza Tavafoghi earns a Dow Sustainability Fellowship
Researching the future of remote sensing
Stephanie Crocker earns NSF Graduate Research Fellowship to bring sustainable energy to the grid
Alyssa Kody earns NSF Fellowship for research in energy harvesting and wireless sensing
Stephen Forrest receives 2015 Distinguished University Innovator Award
The future of solar: $1.3M to advance organic photovoltaics
New approaches to solar cell technology featured in Sustainability Hour
Robert Dick to apply cyber information to air quality management
Johanna Mathieu working to bring power from sustainable sources to your home
Live long and phosphor: Blue LED breakthrough for efficient electronics
Peter Tchoryk: An entrepreneurial CEO
Jiangfeng Wu receives Best Paper Award for research in safe fracking
Dipak Sengupta (1931-2014): In memoriam
New research program to investigate optical energy conversion
Keravnos Energy wants to make fast electric vehicle charging economical
Transparent color solar cells fuse energy, beauty
‘Photon glue’ enables a new quantum mechanical state
Byeongseop Song receives Rackham International Student Fellowship
Students take a field trip to a wind farm
Research Spotlight: Better miniaturized vacuum pumps for electronics and sensors
David Chen awarded NASA Fellowship to improve extreme weather prediction
Rebecca Wolkoff awarded scholarship to continue her work in sustainable energy
Mingyan Liu receives Best Paper Award at the 11th ACM/IEEE Conference on Information Processing in Sensor Networks
Jinyoung Hwang receives Best Poster Award for research leading to improved solar cells
New method for building a low-cost, high-performance electric machine and drive could result in huge energy savings
New research program aims to make better “sense” of the world
Modernizing the nation’s electric grid for alternative energy
Colored solar cells could make display screens more efficient
Solar power without solar cells: A hidden magnetic effect of light could make it possible
Connor Field — Growing energy on a solar farm
New equation could advance research in solar cells
A groundbreaking new equation could do for organic semiconductors what the Shockley ideal diode equation did for inorganic semiconductors.Soil moisture study aims for climate change insights
Organic laser breakthrough
Ford, U of M explore new ways to speed development of future hybrid vehicles
Ian Hiskens receives stim money for wind energy