October 15, 2004
DOE's Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE)
contributed to 10 of the year's top 100 technology developments with
commercial potential, according to R&D; Magazine, which presented its
42nd annual R&D; 100 Awards on October 14th. The awards recognize the
most promising new products, processes, materials, or software
developed throughout the world and introduced to the market the
previous year.
DOE's National Renewable Energy Laboratory contributed to two winning
technologies relating to renewable energy: a robust and lightweight
thin-film solar power module and an enzymatic process for converting
cellulose (found in wood and grasses) to glucose, which can then be
converted into fuels or chemicals.
Four award-winning technologies relate to industrial energy
efficiency: DOE's Oak Ridge National Laboratory developed a system for
heating high-performance aluminum forgings; DOE's Argonne National
Laboratory helped develop a software model of a glass furnace;
DOE's National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) and Sandia National
Laboratories helped develop a radio imaging system that maps
underground features to help mines avoid hazards; and NETL helped
develop a system that replaces vibrating screen machines, used for
tasks such as separating sand from gravel.
Four awards went to energy efficiency technologies for buildings and
vehicles. NETL helped to develop a ceramic-based electrochromic
window, which can be electronically dimmed to control glare and heat
gain in buildings and vehicles. DOE's Lawrence Berkeley National
Laboratory developed its own electrochromic window prototype using
lower-cost metals such as nickel and manganese. Sandia developed a
process to create brighter, more efficient light-emitting diodes
(LEDs) for high-efficiency lights, which have applications in both
buildings and vehicles. And Argonne developed the Powertrain System
Analysis Toolkit software, which lets vehicle designers compare
advanced powertrain configurations, including hybrid and fuel cell
vehicles.
Overall, DOE technologies won 36 of the 100 awards, including one that
went to Argonne and NETL for a hydrogen-separation membrane
technology. For more information about the awards, see the DOE press release, which includes links to press releases from the DOE national laboratories.
Awards also went to two energy-efficiency technologies that weren't
developed by DOE: a high-efficiency air conditioner developed by
Idalex Technologies, Inc., and a low-cost, high-temperature fuel cell
membrane developed by Virginia Tech and Battelle. See R&D; Magazine's
descriptions of all R&D; 100 Award winners.
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