News

In the search for clean energy solutions to displace greenhouse gas emitting fossil fuels, few technological options are as alluring as directly producing hydrogen from sunlight. If hydrogen, the most abundant element in the universe, could be produced on earth economically and with a minimum overall environmental impact, it could provide energy to both stationary and transportation applications... Read more

As part of the U.S.-China EcoPartnerships Program and one of the activities of the Sixth U.S.-China Strategic and Economic Dialogue, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) signed a statement of intent for cooperation with its Chinese EcoPartner, the Shandong Academy of Science (SDAS), in the 2014 U.S.-China EcoPartnerships Signing Ceremony on July 10 in Beijing, China.Nan Zhou, the... Read more

Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) announces the signature of a collaboration license with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and IIT-Comillas University (Madrid) for its Utility of the Future Program. DER-CAM, software developed in the Microgrids Group at the Environmental Energy Technologies Division (EETD), will play a key-role in this project, which is part of the MIT... Read more

The world’s most advanced energy efficiency test bed for buildings is open for business, launched today by U.S. Department of Energy Deputy Secretary Daniel Poneman. DOE’s FLEXLAB® at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) is already signing up companies determined to reduce their energy use by testing and deploying the most energy efficient technologies as integrated systems... Read more

Cellulosic biofuels are the focus of intense research aimed at developing transportation fuels that are significantly lower in carbon intensity than those derived from petroleum. Biofuels have the potential to reduce the impact of the transportation sector on the climate—cellulosic ethanol, by some estimates, may reduce the carbon emissions relative to gasoline by up to 80 percent. While... Read more

Zhenhua Liu and Chinmayee Subban were recently announced as the winners of the 2014 ITRI-Rosenfeld Postdoctoral Fellowship. The fellowship honors the contributions of Arthur H. Rosenfeld, of Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory’s (Berkeley Lab's) Environmental Energy Technologies Division (EETD), for his pioneering work toward the advancement of energy efficiency on a global scale. The... Read more

China's largest construction company, the China State Construction Engineering Corporation (CSCEC), visited Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory on June 27, 2014 to explore collaboration opportunities. Led by CSCEC Deputy Director, Li Yungui, the delegation members were from CSCEC's Technology Research Center that is seeking technologies that could help the company address increasing challenges... Read more

A delegation from the Institute of Electrical Engineering of the Chinese Academy of Science (CAS-IEE) visited Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) on June 26, 2014 as part of their study tour focused on the U.S. developments in renewable distributed energy and their preparation of a report on similar topic for China's National Energy Administration in its deployment of 30 microgrid pilot... Read more

On June 12th, 2014, a delegation from the U.S. Department of Energy (U.S. DOE) led by Assistant Secretary David Danielson visited the Yanshan Petrochemical Company in the Fangshan District of Beijing, the site where Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory's (LBNL's) China Energy Group and others conducted a 4-day energy efficiency assessment in 2013 demonstrating the use of U.S. DOE energy auditing... Read more

Lynn Price, Staff Scientist and the Group Leader of the China Energy Group at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, presented on the topic of “Bringing Science Solutions to the World: Low Carbon Research and Energy Innovation at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory” during the Think Tank Dialogue Panel on behalf of LBNL's Deputy Director, Horst Simon, at the Second Shenzhen International... Read more

From his office in the Berkeley hills, Art Rosenfeld looks out on the heart of California's Bay Area. The 87-year-old scientist keeps a pencil and a small notebook in his breast pocket, ready to jot down a quick note or make a calculation. With these simple tools he has been able to influence state and national energy policy over the years. But for now they stay tucked away as he enjoys the... Read more

Cool roofs—those with reflectance and emissivity that make them good at keeping out the sun’s heat—are recommended widely without much regard for climate or project specifics. They’ve been adopted into multiple energy codes, including ASHRAE 90.1, the International Energy Conservation Code, and California’s Title 24, not to mention LEED. The concept even has its own bill in the U.S.... Read more

The following press release is from the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) Energy Efficiency Standardization Coordination Collaborative (EESCC), a group chaired by the U.S. Department of Energy and the private sector. William Miller of the Environmental Energy Technologies Division, and, formerly, a longtime energy efficiency manager at Pacific Gas & Electric, participated in the... Read more

Dr. Lev Ruzer, who worked as an affiliate with the Environmental Energy Technologies Division’s Indoor Environment Group for 24 years, has passed away. During his tenure at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab), Ruzer, worked without financial support; purely for the love of science. Ruzer was born in the Soviet Union, where he studied nuclear physics at Moscow University but was... Read more

The Sustainable Energy Systems Group has a new website. The Sustainable Energy Systems Group works to achieve a clean, affordable, and accessible global energy system by studying the development and impacts of energy systems on the environment, the economy, policy, and health. Find out more about them at the link below.... Read more

Can financing deliver significant private capital and rapid growth in home energy efficiency improvements? A key element may be attracting secondary-market investors to buy the efficiency loans and thereby replenish funds for a new round of lending. A new policy brief from Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory's Energy Markets and Policy Group, led by efficiency financing expert Peter Thompson,... Read more

EPA's Heat Island Reduction Program invites you to join our webcast on June 26, 2014 ; please see the details below.Keeping Your Cool: How Communities Across the Country are Reducing the Heat Island EffectThe term "heat island" refers to built-up areas that are hotter than nearby rural areas. The heat island effect can negatively affect communities by increasing summertime peak energy demand, air... Read more

Frank Asaro, a nuclear chemist known for his work on the asteroid impact theory and mass extinctions, as well as for determining the origins of archaeological artifacts around the world, and for his work on alpha decay, passed away on June 10, 2014 at the age of 86. He was for many years a scientist at the Environmental Energy Technologies Division (EETD) of Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory... Read more

The Fifth U.S.-China Energy Efficiency Forum was held in Beijing, China on June 11, 2014 with opening remarks from both Dr. David Danielson, Assistant Secretary for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy within the U.S. Department of Energy, and Xei Zhenhua, the Vice Chairman of Chinas National Development Reform Commission. Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratorys China Energy Group signed a... Read more

Berkeley Lab's Electrcity Markets and Policy Group has released a new, comprehensive report on on-bill efficiency financing programs—which offer loans for energy improvements that can be paid back on the borrower's utility bill. The report, produced through the State and Local Energy Efficiency Action (SEE Action) Network, surveys the landscape of on-bill financing programs and carefully... Read more

Ashok Gadgil, inventor of UV Waterworks, the Darfur stove and other low-cost, energy-efficient technologies for the developing world, has been inducted into the class of 2014 National Inventor’s Hall of Fame (NIHF) in Washington D.C. The induction ceremony took place at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) on May 21, in presence of many prior inductees, several industry sponsors, and... Read more

Berkeley Lab's Electricity and Markets Policy Group has released a new report, authored jointly by Berkeley Lab and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, titled, “A Survey of State-Level Cost and Benefit Estimates of Renewable Portfolio Standards.”Renewable portfolio standard (RPS) policies are in place in more than half of all U.S. states and have played a critical role in driving... Read more

A team of scientists from Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) and Argonne National Laboratory was recognized by FMC Corporation, receiving its FMC Scientific Achievement Award. Aaron Reichl, Director of Technology for FMC Minerals, and Marina Yakovleva, Global Technical Programs Manager presented the award at a ceremony in April. The team performed fundamental research on FMC's... Read more

The Indoor Air Quality Scientific Findings Resources Bank website has a new and an expanded section. The new section addresses “Air Cleaning Effects on Health and Perceived Air Quality.” The expanded section is ‘Indoor Volatile Organic Compounds and Health.” The IAQ-SFRB serves as a resource for public health professionals, building professionals, and others who seek scientific information... Read more

On April 14, Adam Weber, a staff scientist in Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory’s Environmental Energy Technologies Division (Berkeley Lab), stepped up in the East Room of the White House to shake hands with President Obama. Weber was one of 102 young scientists this year receiving the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers, the highest honor bestowed by the United... Read more