Precourt Institute for Energy

News

Stanford faculty awarded $2.2 million for innovative energy research
Stanford Report, September 14, 2012
Stanford's Precourt Institute, TomKat Center and Precourt Energy Efficiency Center have awarded nine faculty seed grants for cutting-edge energy research. > More

Tom Jaramillo wins Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists & Engineers
School of Engineering, July 25, 2012
President Obama named Stanford’s Tom Jaramillo to receive a Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE). Jaramillo’s work is also being funded by Stanford’s Precourt Institute for Energy, the Global Climate & Energy Project, and the TomKat Center for Sustainable Energy. > More

Stanford scientists use microbes to make 'clean' methane
Stanford Report, July 24, 2012
Most methane comes from natural gas, a fossil fuel. Stanford and Penn State scientists are taking a greener approach using microbes that can convert renewable electricity into carbon-neutral methane. > More

Scientists observe lithium-sulfur batteries in action
Stanford Report, July 18, 2012
Researchers at Stanford and SLAC are using X-ray technology to observe lithium-sulfur batteries in real time, a technique that could improve this promising power source for electric vehicles. > More

Stanford's George Shultz on energy: It's personal
Stanford Report, July 12, 2012
George Shultz leads a group preparing to propose a federal tax on carbon to slash U.S. greenhouse gas emissions and oil consumption, a seemingly unlikely policy from a Republican Party statesman. > More

Edison's Battery Reborn
Wall Street Journal, July 2, 2012
Stanford scientists have dramatically improved a kind of battery that, a century ago, Thomas Edison hoped would prove to be the salvation of electric cars. > More

Challenges in advancing the electric infrastructure
San Francisco Examiner, July 1, 2012
Effort, innovation and investment are required to face the mounting climate crisis, population growth and resource needs. > More

Clean tech investors find opportunities at nexus of energy and I.T.
Precourt Energy Efficiency Center, June 29, 2012
Venture investors offer modest commitments to startups now; still expect total passion from entrepreneurs. > More

Auto execs: To meet hype, electric car prices need to go lower, batteries longer
Precourt Energy Efficiency Center, June 29, 2012
Electric vehicles have a long way to go to meet the high expectations of environmentalists, investors and the media. > More

William Perry: U.S. has technology to break dependence on foreign oil within 10 years
Precourt Energy Efficiency Center, June 29, 2012
Slashing oil imports will boost national security, the economy, and the environment, the former secretary of defense said. > More

Researchers Synthesize Printable, Electrically Conductive Gel
Stanford Report, June 27, 2012
Zhenan Bao and Yi Cui have developed a Jell-O-like material that may have applications in energy storage and biofuel cells.
The research was supported by PIE. > More

X-ray Vision Exposes Aerosol Structures
SLAC News Center, June 27, 2012
SLAC scientists have captured the most detailed images to date of airborne soot particles, which contribute to global warming. > More

Stanford Scientists Develop Ultrafast Nickel-Iron Battery
Stanford Report, June 26, 2012
Hongjie Dai and colleagues have dramatically improved the performance of Thomas Edison's original nickel-iron battery. The research was supported by PIE. > More

Beneath a War of Words, Money Paints a Different China-U.S. Picture
The Wall Street Journal, June 14, 2012
While Washington and Beijing joust over Chinese solar panels, clean-energy investors and executives from the two countries are doing deals. > More

Video: 'Challenges and Opportunities for America's Energy Future'
Hamilton Project, June 13, 2012
George Shultz and Admiral (ret.) Gary Roughead (Shultz-Stephenson Task Force of Energy) join Roger Altman (Evercore Partners), Former Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm and Tom Steyer (Capital Management) is a discussion on new directions in America's energy future. > More

Incentives for drivers who avoid traffic jams
New York Times, June 12, 2012
Professor Balaji Prabhakar's team aims to relieve campus traffic congestion and parking frustration on the heals of his successful use of novel incentives in Bangalore and Singapore. > More

Solar Power's Bright Future: A conversation with Stefan Reichelstein on the economics of solar power.
Stanford Graduate School of Business, June 6, 2012
Nearly everyone thinks that generating electricity via solar power is good for the environment, but there’s much less agreement on whether it makes economic sense. GSB Professor Stefan Reichelstein is looking at the life-cycle cost of this abundant energy source. > More

'Unzipped' carbon nanotubes could help energize fuel cells and metal-air batteries, PIE researchers say
Stanford News, May 29, 2012
Platinum catalysts in fuel cells are too expensive for large-scale production. Stanford scientists have developed a technique that could make carbon nanotubes an attractive, low-cost alternative. > More

Request for Proposals from Stanford Faculty
May 25, 2012
This call for proposals has two parts. The first part is a general call for seed funding proposals related to energy. It will be supported by funds from the Precourt Institute for Energy and the TomKat Center for Sustainable Energy. The second is a call for proposals that are related to energy efficiency, which will be supported by funds from the Precourt Energy Efficiency Center. > More (pdf)

Use of public and private dollars for scaling up clean energy needs a reality check, say Stanford scholars
Stanford News, May 1, 2012
In a post-Solyndra, budget-constrained world, the transition to a decarbonized energy system faces great hurdles. Overcoming these hurdles will require smarter and more focused policies, according to two Stanford scholars in a pair of high-profile analyses. > More

Stanford study to try cold cash and social game to relieve rush hour traffic
Stanford News, April 2, 2012
Cash prizes for getting to campus late or leaving early? Even Stanford University's hard-working employees and students may be tempted to participate in a new study. > More

Where the wild winds blow: Stanford engineers use weather models to site offshore wind farms
Stanford News, April 2, 2012
Politics aside, most energy experts agree that cheap, clean, renewable wind energy holds great potential to help the world satisfy energy needs while reducing harmful greenhouse gases. Wind farms placed offshore could play a large role in meeting such challenges, and yet no offshore wind farms exist today in the United States. > More

Stanford's Global Climate and Energy Project awards $8.4 million to develop innovative energy technologies
Stanford News, March 29, 2012
The Global Climate and Energy Project (GCEP) at Stanford University has awarded $8.4 million to seven Stanford research teams to develop new technologies that could significantly lower greenhouse gas emissions. > More

Stanford engineers find elusive plasmons in tiny metal particles, a boost to nanotechnology
Stanford News, March 26, 2012
After five decades of debate, Stanford engineers determine how collective electron oscillations, called plasmons, behave in individual metal particles as small as just a few nanometers in diameter. This knowledge may open up new avenues in nanotechnology ranging from solar catalysis to biomedical therapeutics. > More

Exotic Material Shows Promise as Flexible, Transparent Electrode
SLAC News, March 7, 2012
An international team of scientists with roots at SLAC and Stanford has shown that ultra-thin sheets of an exotic material remain transparent and highly conductive even after being deeply flexed 1,000 times and folded and creased like a piece of paper. The result could open this class of unusual materials, called topological insulators, to its first practical applications: flexible, transparent electrodes for solar cells, sensors and optical communications devices. > More

Q&A;: Margot Gerritsen on the critical need for energy literacy in the US
Stanford News, March 6, 2012
How much do Americans really know about the electricity that runs their appliances, or the gasoline that powers their cars? Not enough, according to the U.S. Department of Energy, which asked experts, including Margot Gerritsen, an associate professor of energy resources engineering, to help change that. > More

State-owned oil companies increase price volatility and pollution, but rarely used for geopolitics
Stanford News, February 15, 2012
National oil companies dominate the world's oil supplies, and politicians often cannot resist getting involved. That involvement, though, is tied to negative consequences like excessive pollution, poor company performance and more volatile oil prices, according to a new Stanford book. > More

Stanford’s Richter Rebuts Scientists’ Manifesto Denying Climate Change
“Dot Earth” NY Times , February 2, 2012
Given the attention this week around what two batches of scientists of various stripes think of evidence on climate change, it’s worth checking in with two Nobel laureates who’ve long been focused on the issue. > More

Wireless power could revolutionize highway transportation, Stanford researchers say
Stanford News, February 1, 2012
University researchers have designed a new technology that could lead to wireless charging of electric vehicles while they cruise down the highway. > More

Stanford geophysicist: More environmental rules needed for shale gas
Stanford News, February 6, 2012
President Obama's new rule is only one step toward ensuring the safety of hydraulic fracturing, the booming technology that offers economic and environmental benefits, according to Stanford geophysicist and DOE adviser Mark Zoback.> More

Energy efficiency paves way to a low-carbon future, but barriers persist
Stanford News, January 17, 2012
Save money, save the world. The promise and problems of getting people to stop wasting energy was the topic of a Stanford conference that gathered business people, government representatives and scholars from the United States and Australia. > More

Obama Honors Burton Richter with Prestigious Enrico Fermi Award
SLAC News, January 12, 2012
President Obama has named SLAC director emeritus and Nobel laureate Burton Richter as one of two winners of the Enrico Fermi Award, one of the government’s oldest and most prestigious awards for scientific achievement. > More

NUS and Stanford to Encourage Off-peak Rail Travel in Singapore
Singapore News, January 10, 2012
The National University of Singapore (NUS) and Stanford University will carry out a joint study which aims to encourage off-peak travel on the Singapore Mass Rapid Transit system. > More

Nobel laureate's moderate approach to climate change gaining fans
Stanford News, December 27, 2011
Stanford physicist Burton Richter's prescriptions include more natural gas and nuclear power, doubts about renewable energy goals, and a new way to gain political support. > More

Opal offers fast, lasting remedy for uranium contamination at nuclear sites, say Stanford researchers
Stanford News, December 1, 2011
Stanford researchers are proposing to use opal to sequester uranium at contaminated sites. The idea springs from natural deposits of opal, containing uranium, that have been stable for hundreds of thousands or even millions of years. > More

Move Over Hypermiling, It's Time for Ecodriving
Precourt Energy Efficiency Center, December 1, 2011
Several programs around the world have been launched to motivate and teach drivers to consume less gas and emit less pollution in ways that go beyond squeezing every mile out of a gallon of gas. > More

When a Lower Utility Bill Is Not Enough
Precourt Energy Efficiency Center, November 30, 2011
Getting people to lower their thermostats a little or turn off lights when leaving a room takes more than reduced utility bills. > More

Neighborhood Teams Seen Critical to Reducing Greenhouse Gas Emissions
Precourt Energy Efficiency Center, November 30, 2011
The key to saving the planet from climate change is to do it one block at a time, social change innovator David Gershon said Wednesday at the annual Behavior, Energy and Climate Change Conference. > More

Sustainable Stanford - A Year in Review: 2010 - 2011
Sustainable Stanford, November 17, 2011
Produced by the Office of Sustainability, the publication summarizes milestones and achievements and presents noteworthy metrics and trends. > More

SunPower Founder: Solar's Learning Curve Paves Way to Competitive Costs
Energy Seminar, November 14, 2011
Solar power, despite critiques that it is too expensive to significantly contribute to a green future, will be cost competitive without government subsidies in just a few years, according to a pioneer of both the solar industry and research. > More

E. coli Could Convert Sugar to Biodiesel at a High Rate
Stanford News, November 10, 2011
Researchers have determined that E. coli bacteria have what it takes to produce high volumes of biodiesel fuel. > More

At Stanford, GOP Members Gird for Battle Against Fossil Fuels
Stanford News, October 25, 2011
The U.S. must reduce its consumption of fossil fuels not only for environmental reasons, but to improve its economic and national security, two GOP statesmen said at a conference co-hosted by PIE. > More

City Heat Small Contributor to Global Warming
Stanford News, October 19, 2011
Heat emanating from cities – called the "urban heat island" effect – is not a significant contributor to global warming, according to a study by PIE Senior Fellow Mark Jacobson. > More

U.S. Ethanol Policy Is Major Contributor to World Food Price Volatility
Center on Food Security & the Environment, Oct. 11, 2011
We have entered a new era where agricultural commodity prices are increasingly driven by U.S. biofuel policies, according to a report by Stanford food policy economists Rosamond Naylor and Walter Falcon. > More

In a Sea of Energy Data, Utilities Try to Inspire Conservation
KQED Public Radio, QUEST - Northern California Science and Environment, October 7, 2011
We have entered a new era where agricultural commodity prices are increasingly driven by U.S. biofuel policies, according to a report by Stanford food policy economists Rosamond Naylor and Walter Falcon. > More

A Trek for Cleaner Cookstoves
New York Times, Oct. 5, 2011
Controlling soot may be the only way to prevent the loss of Arctic ice, says PIE Senior Fellow Mark Jacobson. > More

Sulfur-Coated Nanofibers Improve Lithium Battery Design
Stanford News, Oct. 4, 2011
Prof. Yi Cui's lab is using sulfur-coated hollow carbon nanofibers and an electrolyte additive to make a superior rechargeable lithium battery cathode. > More

What Policymakers Need to Know about Carbon Capture & Storage
Near Zero, Sept. 27, 2011
In this video interview, GCEP Director Sally Benson discusses what policymakers need to know about carbon sequestration. > More

PIE and TomKat Center Award New Energy Research Grants
Stanford News, September 23, 2011
The Precourt Institute for Energy and the TomKat Center for Sustainable Energy are awarding eight faculty seed grants totaling more than $2.2 million for promising new research in renewable energy. > More

GCEP Awards $3.5 Million for Energy Storage Research
Stanford News, September 22, 2011
Global Climate and Energy Project has awarded $3.5 million to five universities to develop new technologies that improve energy storage on the grid. > More

Grad-Student Conference on Energy Shows Synergy between SLAC and Stanford
SLAC News, September 19, 2011
Some 120 incoming and current Stanford graduate students last week enjoyed five days of presentations, discussions and networking activities relating to the wide range of energy research and teaching offered at Stanford and SLAC. > More

Novel material opens new possibilities in electronics
SLAC News, September 6, 2011
A team led by researchers at Stanford and Harvard universities has developed a new organic semiconductor material that is among the speediest yet. The scientists also accelerated the development process by using a predictive approach that lopped many months – and could lop years – off the typical timeline. > More

Faster organic semiconductors for flexible displays can be developed quickly with new method
Stanford News, August 18, 2011
A team led by researchers at Stanford and Harvard universities has developed a new organic semiconductor material that is among the speediest yet. The scientists also accelerated the development process by using a predictive approach that lopped many months – and could lop years – off the typical timeline. > More

Inaugural Vail Global Energy Forum Comes to Beaver Creek, Colorado, March 3-4, 2012
Vail Valley Foundation, July 14, 2011
The Vail Valley Foundation, in conjunction with Stanford University's Precourt Institute for Energy (PIE) and Precourt Energy Efficiency Center, (PEEC) will host the inaugural Vail Global Energy Forum, March 3 and 4, 2012, at the Vilar Performing Arts Center. > More

New Steyer-Taylor Center takes on clean-energy challenge
Stanford Lawyer, May 31, 2011
In November 2010, Dan Reicher was named head of the newly created Steyer-Taylor Center for Energy Policy and Finance, a joint project of Stanford Law School and Stanford Graduate School of Business. The center's mission is to explore and advance new approaches to policy and finance to help accelerate the development and deployment of clean energy, focusing on everything from solar to wind and geothermal to energy efficiency, advanced fossil, and nuclear technologies. > More

Team lead by PIE and GCEP investigators Paul McIntyre and Chris Chidsey devises a better solar-powered water splitter
Stanford News, June 20, 2011
The process of splitting water into pure oxygen and clean-burning hydrogen fuel has long been the Holy Grail for clean-energy advocates as a method of large-scale energy storage, but the idea faces technical challenges. Stanford researchers may have solved one of the most important ones. > More

Precourt Institute for Energy funds its first round of research
Stanford News, May 3, 2010
The Precourt Institute for Energy has handed out its first research grants, totaling $1.8 million in seed funding to support six research projects. > More

Precourt Energy Efficiency Center (PEEC) Issues Request for Research Proposals from Stanford Faculty
PEEC Website, May 3, 2010
The Precourt Energy Efficiency Center (PEEC) is pleased to seek proposals from Stanford faculty for new research in all of its current high priority areas. Deadline for submission is June 28, 2010. > More

Stanford launches $100 million initiative to tackle energy issues
Stanford News, January 12, 2009
Stanford is establishing a $100 million research institute to focus intently on energy issues. > More