Energy and Sustainability

Clean energy and energy conservation are key to addressing pressing national, state, and local issues, including global warming, national security, and sustainable economic development.

In addition to developing technologies, SRI improves the effectiveness of science and technology, economic, environmental, and educational programs and policies. Activities related to energy and sustainability includes life cycle analysis, carbon footprinting, system design, and research to understand how technology evolves and diffuses into the marketplace.

Projects

Kingdom Centre tower building in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
National Technology Roadmap Integration for Saudi Arabia

SRI developed a national strategy for Saudi Arabia's long-term science and technology plan.

Topics: Energy and Sustainability Innovation Systems National, Regional, and Local Development Research and Development Programs
screenshot of 3D virtual environment
National Training and Education Resource

SRI is developing the next generation of online learning tools to meet the needs of a changing workforce.

Topics: 3D and Virtual Environments Community College: Transitions Energy and Sustainability Energy Efficiency Software Engineering Training Systems
SRI research examines hollow-fiber membranes
Advanced Hollow Fiber Membrane for Water Purification

Modifications by SRI enhance function and durability of affordable purification material.

Topics: Energy and Sustainability Energy Efficiency Water Research
SRI's pilot plant for carbon capture testing
Carbon Capture from IGCC Gas Streams Using AC-ABC Process

SRI is investigating a novel carbon dioxide capture process with technical and economic advantages over conventional coal-combustion systems.

Topics: Carbon Capture and Separation Energy and Sustainability Energy Efficiency
hollow fiber membrane being inserted into a pressure value
High-Temp Membrane for Energy-Efficient Gas Separation

SRI’s hollow fiber membrane separates hydrogen from carbon dioxide at high temperatures and improves the economics of carbon capture from IGCC plants.

Topics: Energy and Sustainability Energy Efficiency
screenshot of the SCORE software application
Studying Topography, Orographic Rainfall + Ecosystems

STORE uses Google Earth to help students investigate projected climate changes in their own areas.

Topics: Assessment Design and Evaluation Atmospheric Studies Case Studies in Education Community College: Transitions Energy and Sustainability Learning Technologies Research and Development Programs Research on Learning School Improvement: Curriculum and Instruction Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics Education Software Engineering
Carbon emissions map used by students to investigate warming
Data Sets and Inquiry in Geoscience Education (DIGS)

DIGS engages students in looking at real data about climate change to differentiate between possible greenhouse gas and urban heat island impacts.

Topics: Energy and Sustainability Research and Development Programs Research on Learning School Improvement: Curriculum and Instruction Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics Education
riverbank
Data-driven Inquiry in Geoscience Environmental Restoration Studies

DIGERS provided teachers with adaptable curricular exemplars about environmental restoration.

Topics: Energy and Sustainability Research and Development Programs Research on Learning School Improvement: Curriculum and Instruction Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics Education
precipitation map
Data-enhanced Investigations for Climate Change Education

SRI provides user-friendly access to key types of Earth system data relevant to the study of climate, as well as background resources.

Topics: 21st Century Skills Case Studies in Education Energy and Sustainability Learning Technologies Research and Development Programs Research on Learning School Improvement: Curriculum and Instruction Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics Education Software Engineering

Products + Solutions

An SRI solar reactor
Low-Cost Process for Solar-Grade Silicon

Demand for solar energy is growing rapidly due to concerns about energy independence and the environment. Propelled by consumer interest and favorable public policy, there is a growing need for ample and affordable sources of silicon to create solar cells.

Topics: Chemistry of Materials Energy and Sustainability Energy Efficiency Energy Security Renewable Energy Solar Technology
demonstration of artificial muscle
Electroactive Polymer “Artificial Muscle”

SRI has patented a thin, flexible, smart material dubbed “artificial muscle” because it behaves much like a human muscle. Artificial muscle, available for license from SRI for a variety of application areas, uses a breakthrough technology called electroactive polymers.

Topics: Actuation and Power Generation Advanced Manipulation and Automation Energy and Sustainability Force Protection Homeland Security and National Defense Renewable Energy Robotics
NTER platform screenshot
National Training and Education Resource Training Platform

For the U.S. Department of Energy, SRI developed the NTER platform to meet the online training needs of a diverse 21st century workforce.

Topics: 3D and Virtual Environments Community College: Transitions Energy and Sustainability Training Systems

Press Releases

coal to liquid
SRI Research Identifies Environmentally Friendly Process to Make Coal-Based Liquid Fuel

Researchers have identified a promising new way to produce liquid transportation fuels from coal without consuming water or generating carbon dioxide.

Topics: Carbon Capture and Separation Energy and Sustainability Energy Efficiency
SRI International Awarded Department of Energy Project for Carbon Capture Research

SRI International has been awarded a $4.5M Department of Energy (DoE) project to evaluate the technical and economic viability of carbon dioxide capture using an ammonium carbonate-ammonium bicarbonate (AC-ABC) process at gasification plants integrated with combined cycle (IGCC) power plants.

Topics: Carbon Capture and Separation Energy and Sustainability Energy Efficiency
SRI International’s Ripudaman Malhotra to Present Keynote Address on Practical Steps to a Green U.S. Energy Policy at Greentech Innovations Conference

Ripudaman Malhotra, of SRI International’s Chemical Science and Technology Laboratory, will deliver the keynote address at the 2008 Greentech Innovations Conference, examining the complexities of today’s energy challenges.

Topics: Energy and Sustainability Energy Efficiency
Novel Wave-Powered Generators Deployed in Sea Trials off Florida Coast

SRI announced the deployment of a prototype buoy-mounted, ocean wave-powered generator off the coast of Florida in the Tampa Bay, part of a program sponsored by HYPER DRIVE Corporation, Ltd., a Japanese company.

Topics: Actuation and Power Generation Energy and Sustainability Energy Efficiency Marine Science and Technology Renewable Energy Sensors

SRI In the News

Carbon vs. Carbon

For the Department of Energy, ATMI and SRI are co-developing a system to capture and recycle post-combustion carbon dioxide, such as is found in flue gas exhaust at coal-fired power plants.

Topics: Carbon Capture and Separation Energy and Sustainability Energy Efficiency
9 Clever Energy Projects from ARPA-E Summit 2013

SRI has a plan for lower-cost storage of natural gas for use in vehicles.

Topics: Energy and Sustainability Energy Efficiency
Follow the Atoms

SRI researchers have devised a remarkably accurate method of mapping biochemical reactions at the atomic level. The approach, which relies on some elegant mathematics to simplify a complex problem, could lead to tools with potentially wide practical application.

Topics: Artificial Intelligence Computational Materials and Devices Energy and Sustainability Energy Efficiency
ATMI Commercializing Cheap Carbon Capture Process

ATMI is taking steps to commercialize a low-cost carbon capture process that features gas-separation technology from SRI.

Topics: Carbon Capture and Separation Energy and Sustainability
Improved Natural Gas Fuel Tanks and Pumps for Autos

This article about the growing popularity of natural gas-fueled vehicles reports that SRI is developing a container-less fuel tank that uses strong, porous (high-surface area) carbon materials.

Topics: Energy and Sustainability Energy Efficiency
Pentagon Invests in Power-Efficient Embedded Computing Tech

This article reports that the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) “pushed $6.3 million to Silicon Valley-based SRI International to push for energy-efficient embedded systems - electronic parts that control the functions of computers.”

Topics: Energy and Sustainability Energy Efficiency
Novel Sorbent Achieves 90 Percent Carbon Capture in DOE-Sponsored Test

The success of a bench-scale test of SRI's novel carbon dioxide-capturing sorbent promises to further advance the process as a possible technological option for reducing CO2 emissions from coal-fired power plants.

Topics: Carbon Capture and Separation Energy and Sustainability Energy Efficiency
LOGIIC Receives Homeland Security Award

DHS has recognized the work of the Linking the Oil & Gas Industry to Improve Cybersecurity (LOGIIC) consortium, granting it their Under Secretary’s Award for Outstanding Collaboration in Science and Technology. SRI provides scientific and technical guidance and subject matter expertise for...

Topics: Cyber Security Energy and Sustainability Energy Security
SRI Wins Grants to Develop Technologies

This article reports that SRI International recently received two federal grants, “one to develop technology to use natural gas in vehicles, and the other to develop an oral therapy for multiple sclerosis."

Topics: Drug Discovery Energy and Sustainability
Bay Area Gets Natural Gas Research Funds

According to this article, SRI International will receive $875,000 for the development of natural gas storage systems for light-duty vehicles.

Topics: Energy and Sustainability Energy Efficiency

Events

large white storage tanks
ARPA-E Energy Innovation Summit

SRI is presenting its natural gas storage technology and carbon capture technologies in the event's Technology Showcase.

Topics: Carbon Capture and Separation Energy and Sustainability Energy Efficiency Energy Security
event logo
Silicon Valley Energy Summit 2013

SRI is sponsoring this event, which explores best practices, upcoming technologies, government regulation and energy policy.

Topics: Cyber Security Energy and Sustainability Energy Efficiency Energy Security
Coal Utilization Research Council (CURC) Advanced Coal Technology Showcase

SRI will showcase its coal research programs, including carbon capture and an environmentally friendly route to fuel from coal.

Topics: Carbon Capture and Separation Energy and Sustainability Energy Efficiency

Publications

Applying Learning Curves to Modeling Future Coal and Gas Power Generation Technologies

To forecast competing technologies under various scenarios of electricity demand, fuel cost, and research investment, SRI International researchers and partners have created a Power Technology Futures Model (PTFM).

Topics: Carbon Capture and Separation Economic and Technical Analysis Energy and Sustainability Energy Efficiency Industry Competitiveness and Positioning
Wave-Power Generation Animation

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Divisions, Centers + Labs