Want to be part of an energy innovation hub?

The Dept. of Energy plans to invest up to $366 million to establish and operate three new Energy Innovation Hubs focused on accelerating research and development in three key energy areas. Each Hub, to be funded at up to $122 million over five years, will bring together a multidisciplinary team of researchers in an effort to speed research and shorten the path from scientific discovery to technological development and commercial deployment of highly promising energy-related technologies.

The three DOE Energy Innovation Hubs will focus on production of fuels directly from sunlight; improving energy-efficient building systems design; and computer modeling and simulation for the development of advanced nuclear reactors. The DoE will provide $22 million in the first year for the establishment of each Hub and up to $25 million per year for the following four years to support the operations of each Hub — for a total award of up to $122 million per Hub. Important information on the DOE’s Hub implementation plan and strategy for managing the Hubs can be found on the Energy Innovation Hubs websit: http://hubs.energy.gov.

 The Fuels from Sunlight Energy Innovation Hub will provide researchers with significant new resources to accelerate basic and applied research in the drive toward a potentially transformative new energy technology.  The objective of the Energy Efficient Building Systems Design Energy Innovation Hub is to develop highly efficient buildings components, systems, and models. Achieving the Hub's main goal of reducing energy use for indoor space conditioning will require a focus on advances in core technologies, such as advanced refrigeration cycles, as well as on development of fully instrumented infrastructure aided by buildings system design and modeling.

A Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) inviting proposals for the Fuels from Sunlight Energy Innovation Hub has been issued, and a link to the FOA is available at the Energy Innovation Hubs website.  The deadline for proposals for the Fuels from Sunlight Energy Innovation Hub is March 29, 2010.   Funding opportunity announcements for the other two Energy Innovation Hubs are expected to be issued early next year. The Energy Efficient Building Systems Design Hub will also be the central component of a regional innovation cluster funding opportunity which will include coordinated grant opportunities from other agencies.