Countries around the world are taking steps to tackle climate change and become net-zero emitters of carbon dioxide (CO₂) by 2050. Most recently, Joe Biden’s presidential election win means the US is the latest nation to adopt the goal.
Giant kelp, the world’s largest species of marine algae, is an attractive source for making biofuels. In a recent study, we tested a novel strategy for growing kelp that could make it possible to produce it continuously on a large scale. The key idea is moving kelp stocks daily up to near-surface waters for sunlight and down to darker waters for nutrients.
Each of its carbon-sucking units is the size of a shipping container, yet the world’s largest direct air capture machine – the Orca plant in Iceland – only captures and stores about 4,000 tonnes of CO₂ a year. That’s about three seconds’ worth of global emissions.
Energy is the double-edged sword at the root of the climate crisis. Cheap energy has improved lives and underpinned massive economic growth. But because most of it comes from burning hydrocarbon fuels, we’re now left with a legacy of high atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) and an emissions-intensive economy.
Join the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE's) National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) in celebrating National Bioenergy Day on Oct. 18, 2023. Over the past year, NREL’s bioenergy researchers have been hard at work developing innovative and eco-friendly processes to turn plant waste and other bio-based resources into sustainable energy, fuels, and products.
The Bioenergy Technologies Office (BETO) Bioprose: Bioenergy R&D Blog is a key resource for scientific information on the U.S. bioeconomy. The blog posts provide technical knowledge that shows how BETO sustainably develops biofuels, biopower, and bioproducts. Each blog will also communicate how researchers are making progress in enhancing U.S. energy security and competitive advantage.
Showcase the power of algae in contributing to a clean energy future through innovative research projects! The deadline to register and submit team abstracts for the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) AlgaePrize 2023 - 2025 competition is Wednesday, November 1, 2023, at 12:00 pm ET.
If you think an “electrofuel” sounds like something from a comic book, you’d be forgiven. Made from carbon dioxide (CO2) from industrial waste gases or directly from the air, e-fuels defy conventional wisdom on how liquid fuels are made. Although e-fuels may be technological marvels, they don’t come from another planet. They come from America’s corn belt, or at least they soon could according to new analysis from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL).
Join DOE’s Bioenergy Technologies Office (BETO), in collaboration with Argonne National Laboratory and Idaho National Laboratory, for a BRIDGES Bioenergy 101 Webinar on Thursday, November 16, 2023, from 4:00 – 5:00 pm ET. The Bioenergy Research and Education Bridge (BRIDGES) Program is a FREE case study-based education curriculum that is available online NOW. Bioenergy knowledge is not required.
Some types of transportation pose more challenges in the conversion to electric power than others. The marine industry is one. President Joe Biden has set an ambitious U.S. goal of achieving a net-zero emissions economy by no later than 2050.
