News

In September Dr. Nan Zhou, group leader of the China Energy Group at Lawrence Berkeley National Lab, was appointed to the Advisory Board of the APEC Sustainable Energy Center for a three year term. The Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) is a forum for its 21 Pacific Rim member countries, whose mission is to promote free trade throughout the Asia-Pacific region. Dr. Zhou is one of just two... Read more

Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory’s (LBNL) China Energy Group (CEG) assisted the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) in organizing the 8th U.S-China Energy Efficiency Forum (EEF) in Denver, Colorado on October 13th, co-hosted by the U.S. DOE and China’s National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC). The annual EEF is the primary platform for senior U.S. and Chinese officials and industry... Read more

On October 12th, the China Energy Group (CEG) of the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), along with International Energy Administration (IEA), Energy Research Institute (ERI) of National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), Energy Management Company Association (EMCA), Energy Foundation China (EFC), and Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI), co-hosted a reception at the Denver Downtown... Read more

A number of ETA staff were recognized recently in the 2017 Director's Awards, a program that salutes the significant achievements of Lab employees. Each year, the awards are given for accomplishments, leadership, collaboration, multi-disciplinary science, cross-divisional projects and commitment to excellence in support of the Lab's mission and strategic goals.Awardees include:Berkeley Lab... Read more

While hydrogen is often talked about as a pollution-free fuel of the future, especially for use in fuel cell electric vehicles, hydrogen can be used for much more than zero-emission cars. In fact, from enhancing the flexibility of the grid to greening agriculture, hydrogen could play a major role in a clean and resilient energy system.In an effort to bring that vision to fruition, the Department... Read more

A group of officials from the Clean Energy Leadership Institute (CELI) recently visited Berkeley Lab to tour FLEXLAB® and meet with scientists about ongoing research.The visitors were brought here by Sam Fernandes, program manager in Building Technology & Urban Systems. Fernandes was part of the first San Francisco CELI Fellowship cohort and completed the leadership program at the Institute... Read more

The International Energy Studies Group is pleased to announce the release of Berkeley Lab’s new study: Energy Efficiency Roadmap for Uganda, Making Energy Efficiency Count.The Energy Efficiency Roadmap for Uganda is a response to the important role that electrical energy efficiency can play in meeting Uganda’s energy development goals. The report shows that implementing energy efficiency in... Read more

As the U.S. electricity grid continues to modernize, it will mean things like better reliability and resilience, lower environmental impacts, greater integration of renewable energy, as well as new computing and communications technologies to monitor and manage the increasing number of devices that connect to the grid. However, that enhanced connectivity for grid operators and consumers also opens... Read more

The utility-scale solar sector has led the overall U.S. solar market in terms of installed capacity since 2012. In 2016, the utility-scale sector installed more than 2.5 times as much new capacity as did the residential and commercial sectors combined, and is expected to maintain its dominant position for at least another five years. This report—the fifth edition in an ongoing annual... Read more

The Energy Technology Areas' Industrial Applications team recently contributed to the development of NSF 426, an international standard for environmental leadership in the design and manufacture of computer servers. It includes criteria for certification to ISO5001, which supports market-driven adoption of energy management best practices in manufacturing supply chains.On Friday, Sept. 8, NSF... Read more

New projects for hydrogen storage and fuel cell performance aim to bring down cost of fuel cell electric vehicles.A powdery mix of metal nanocrystals wrapped in single-layer sheets of carbon atoms, developed at the Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab), shows promise for safely storing hydrogen for use with fuel cells for passenger vehicles and other uses. And... Read more

On September 14, 2017, Berkeley Lab's Jiang Lin gave a lecture at Peking University's National School of Development that focused on China’s power system reform under the economic “New Normal” and climate change.Dr. Lin's presentation first reviewed the history of power sector reform in California and then discussed power overcapacity issues in China. Later, Dr. Lin re-assessed China’s... Read more

China Energy Group members attended the 5th Shenzhen International Low Carbon City Forum in Shenzhen, China, September 7-8, 2017. This annual two-day forum is organized by Shenzhen Institute of Building Research, together with the C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group, European Environmental Foundation, Shenzhen Green & Low-carbon Development Foundation, and Shenzhen Green Building Association.... Read more

Scientific Engineering Associate Arian Aghajanzadeh, of the Building & Industrial Applications Department at Berkeley Lab, has been selected to participate in the highly competitive Clean Energy Leadership Institute's Fall 2017 Fellowship Training Program.The Clean Energy Leadership Institute (CELI) is a leadership development organization based in Washington, D.C. and the San Francisco Bay... Read more

The U.S.-China Clean Energy Research Center Building Energy Efficiency (CERC-BEE) program led a workshop entitled, "Net Zero Energy Building Innovation Technology Application Workshop," at the 5th International Low Carbon City Forum in Shenzhen, China on September 8th 2017. Key participants included the Chinese Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development (MOHURD) Deputy Director General, Ni... Read more

R&D Magazine's R&D 100 Awards, established 54 years ago, recognize 100 technologies and services introduced in the previous year deemed most significant by an independent panel of judges. This year's winners received the awards at a November 3 event in Washington, D.C.The Cool Roof Time Machine simulates soiling and weathering processes in the lab, reproducing in less than three days the... Read more

Berkeley Lab-led study confirms efficacy of cool roofs in parts of China.Working with Chinese researchers, the Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) has conducted the first comprehensive study of cool roofs in China and concluded that they would be effective in substantially reducing energy use and greenhouse gas emissions in climate zones with hot... Read more

U.S.-India Consortium Will Advance Cutting-Edge Technologies that Promote Greater Energy Independence and Economic GrowthBerkeley Lab's Energy Storage and Distributed Resources Division (ESDR) will be part of a consortium for a joint U.S.-India five-year project that will help advance the development of the power grid.ESDR will join a team led by Washington State University. The consortium has... Read more

The U.S.-China Clean Energy Research Center Building Energy Efficiency (CERC-BEE) Program: Delivering Innovation in Building Technologies through Bilateral Collaboration and Public-Private PartnershipsLed by the BTO and the Chinese Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST), and managed by Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) and the China Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development... Read more

Lynn Price has been awarded the 2017 Champion of Energy Efficiency in Industry Award by the American Council for Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE). The Champion award recognizes outstanding achievement and leadership in the field of industrial energy efficiency. Lynn is being honored for her passion for energy efficiency, including many and substantial accomplishments and she is being recognized... Read more

Ashok Gadgil, Senior Faculty Scientist at Berkeley Lab, has been recognized as a Social Design Circle honoree for 2017 by the Curry Stone Design Prize. The prize awards innovative projects that use design to address pressing social justice issues.Gadgil's research focuses on designing low­-cost solutions to the developing world’s most intractable problems. He and his lab teams, composed of... Read more

On August 14, 2017, National Development and Reform Commission and National Energy Administration, along with 14 other national ministries, jointly released a policy directive on controlling coal-fired power capacity until 2020. This document sets a target of limiting total coal power capacity within 1100 GW by 2020 and requires to stop or postpone 150 GW of coal power projects during the 13th... Read more

The 2018 ITRI-Rosenfeld Postdoctoral Fellowship opportunity is now open for applications. This fellowship recognizes the contributions of Art Rosenfeld and furthers the mission of the Energy Technologies Area (ETA) in the advancement of clean energy technologies and reducing adverse energy-related environmental impacts.The focus for FY18 is on applicants interested in water-energy technologies,... Read more

Wind energy pricing for land-based, utility-scale projects remains attractive to utility and commercial purchasers, according to an annual report released by the U.S. Department of Energy and prepared by the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab). Prices offered by newly built wind projects in the United States are averaging around 2¢/kWh, driven lower by technology advancements and... Read more

The U.S.-China Green Building Center Launch Ceremony was held at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) on August 11th at the Berkeley Lab. The Center was jointly established by LBNL and the China Green Building Council (China GBC) to promote widespread adoption of green buildings in both the United States and China through collaboration and exchange on research, practices, technologies,... Read more