Batteries and Fuel Cells
A major goal of the Division's electrochemistry research is to develop electrochemical power sources suitable for applications in electric and hybrid electric vehicles. Battery systems are expensive and don't hold enough electric charge to drive a vehicle the same distance as a comparable gasoline-powered automobile.

EETD is undertaking research that will lead to the development of low-cost, rechargeable, advanced electrochemical batteries with the high-performance potential to compete with the combustion engine. Current work focuses on lithium-polymer and lithium-ion batteries.

http://batt.lbl.gov/

Cleaner Combustion
Combustion research generates the fundamental physical and chemical knowledge necessary to reduce emissions and increase efficiency. Experimental and modeling studies lead to the design of better combustion devices. EETD researchers work with Berkeley Lab's National Energy Research Scientific Computing Center (NERSC) to model combustion processes using high-performance supercomputers.
 

Turbulent combustion takes place in all heat and power generating systems, including combustion engines in automobiles and industrial boilers and furnaces. By studying the properties of turbulent fluid motion in combustion chambers, Division researchers have devised a low-swirl burner that emits 20 times less nitrogen oxide than current technology. (Nitrogen oxides are greenhouse gases, and when exposed to sunlight, also generate smog.) The burner could be used in the residential and commercial sectors in water heaters and boilers.

Advanced Instrumentation
EETD researchers apply advanced instrumentation such as laser spectroscopy, and basic knowledge of physics, chemistry, electrochemistry, and biology to develop other advanced energy technologies. These include sensors for the pulp and paper industry, electrotechnology for soil remediation, tools to characterize emissions from oil storage tanks, processes that simultaneously remove nitrogen and sulfur compounds from flue gases, and catalytic methods for improving industrial processes.