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Energy Dept. awards $5.9 million for three Ohio energy research projects

14 07 10 - 10:27 By Cameron Glover

Washington - The U.S. Department of Energy granted $5.9 million to three Ohio businesses for their efforts in researching and creating "transformational changes" in new energy technology.

Energy Secretary Steven Chu said during a conference call Monday the Advanced Materials Group in Hudson, Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland and the Battelle Memorial Institute in Columbus are among 43 national projects to receive funding.

He announced the grants as part of a $92 million fund supported by DOE's Advanced Research Projects Agency for Energy. "With ARPA-E, we're swinging from the heels and trying to hit home runs, not just base hits," Chu said.

ARPA-E's will provide money to projects that follow one or more of the agency's three points: renewable energy storage, power electronics and energy-efficient cooling systems.

ADMA received $3.2 million for creating a new dehumidification process that increases the efficiency of cooling units. Case Western was awarded $2.2 million for its research in hybrid electric vehicles. Battelle collected more than $400,000 for experimenting with cooling technology and increasing air conditioning energy efficiency by 50 percent.

"By promoting innovative approaches like these, we can assure that the U.S. will become a global leader in the clean-energy technologies that we need," Chu said. "And this is how we create new jobs, maintain America's competitiveness and dramatically cut our carbon pollution."

Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, said he was impressed with the state's businesses and entrepreneurial efforts.

"Today's great announcement is a reflection of why Ohio can lead the nation into the clean-energy economy," said Brown, who participated in the conference call.

Brown attributed Ohio's initiative in new energy technologies to the financial support many companies received from the Recovery Act of 2009, which planned to jump start the country's economy by cutting taxes and creating jobs.

"The Recovery Act clearly has made a difference," Brown said. "We've seen more jobs from the Recovery Act related to clean energy in Ohio than any state in the nation. We're building on this history of entrepreneurship in this state - one of the proudest histories of entrepreneurship of any state in the country."

Source: Scripps Howard Foundation Wire Used tags: alternative_energy, clean_energy, doe, energy_efficiency, energy_storage, renewable_energy


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