Within 15 years, solar power could produce as much as 15 percent of all the energy consumed in California. However, given our current inability to predict reliably the amount of direct solar irradiance available to the state’s energy grid at least a day or two in advance, utility companies cannot risk relying on this highly productive source. CITRIS researchers are working to solve that problem.
CITRIS researchers are developing engines that use 15 percent less fuel than gas engines and emit only 30 percent of the NOx of a typical diesel engine. Thus, they appear to combine the best of both engines. Except for one problem: temperature variations.
Shawn Newsam is developing a network of several dozen cameras that can
collect data and possibly analyze air particulates around the Central
Valley. The project could provide a quick, easily accessible way to
evaluate local air quality in real time.
Smaller, hotter, safer, and more versatile nuclear power plants may help address environmental and security concerns.
Innovative Energy Research Under One Roof
The
University
of
California
at
Merced
is the newest campus in the UC system. Located in the central valley of California, where both the population and pollution are rapidly increasing,
Merced
Hydrogen at Room Temperature
Lawrence Berkeley National Lab’s Materials Sciences Division is investigating new classes of materials that can efficiently store hydrogen—a very light and volatile gas—aboard cars under less extreme temperatures and pressures. The team is among the recipients of $64 million in DOE funding aimed at making hydrogen fuel cell vehicles and refueling stations available, practical, and affordable for
U.S.
In April 2006, Governor Schwarzenegger issued an executive order proclaiming the benefits and potentials of bioenergy in helping to meet the future needs of
Let the Engine Decide
“Smart Engine Performance with Alternate Fuels” is a five year research program that would include three main components:
Small-Footprint Nuclear Reactors aim to develop new technologies to utilize nuclear energy in the production of low carbon transportation fuels suitable for use in advanced, high efficiency engines, and to enable more efficient use of resources, such as tar sands and biomass, that are abundant in
Maximizing Power from the Sun
Message from Acting Director Paul Wright
A CITRIS pilot project is bringing the tools of information technology
to the field of combustion science for the benefit of all.
Fuel your car for 40 cents a gallon? It may sound like a pipe dream, but
it’s one of many research goals in the pipeline of an ambitious,
multidisciplinary endeavor called Helios.
Due to pollution, a breath of fresh air isn't what it used to be. Find
out how a new center at CITRIS campus UC Davis is increasing our
understanding of the causes and effects of bad air on human health
To better understand and map the Pacific Ocean, CITRIS-affiliated
researcher Dr. Daniel P. Costa and his team have enlisted the help of
some very unusual research assistants. Together they're providing the
world with an unprecedented map of the mysterious deep.
A CITRIS-sponsored project is making a useful-but-costly tool for
predicting how the ground will respond during an earthquake smaller,
cheaper, and easier to use.
Two CITRIS-affiliated researchers are creating laboratories out in
nature to study how California's water quality can be restored.
A multidisciplinary group of CITRIS-affiliated researchers are
developing a system that will revolutionize how Californians consume
electricity.
CITRIS researcher champions hydrogen as an alternative to oil in California
Interview with Professor Linda Novick, Research Specialist in the
Innovative Mobility Research group at the California Center for
Innovative Transportation (CCIT)
