News

February 26, 2024
Tony Nero, an early member of the then newly-formed Energy and Environment Division at Berkeley Lab, died on October 13, 2023 in Rehoboth Beach, DE, at age 81. At the time of his retirement in 1994, Nero was a Senior Staff Scientist and Deputy Program Leader for the Indoor Air Program. He was a graduate of Archmere Academy (Claymont, DE), received a bachelor's degree in physics from Fordham... Read more
February 22, 2024
Hanna Breunig, a research scientist in the Energy Analysis and Environmental Impacts Division at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab), has been honored with the 2023 Energy and Environmental Science (EES) Lectureship Award from the Royal Society of Chemistry.Breunig is one of only two recipients of the annual award, which recognizes early-career researchers working within an energy... Read more
February 21, 2024
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has recognized a multi-laboratory team’s work on the Puerto Rican electric grid with a 2023 Secretary’s Honor Award. Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) staff Peter Cappers, Margaret Pigman, and Jeffrey Deason (pictured left to right) are among the team recipients.DOE and six National Laboratories have been providing Puerto Rico with tools,... Read more
February 13, 2024
Existing buildings often contain a host of opportunities for energy savings, but identifying the most promising ones can be costly and time-consuming. A tool developed with support from the U.S. Department of Energy Buildings Technology Office (BTO) by Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) and Johnson Controls is helping PowerOptions, a nonprofit energy consortium in Massachusetts,... Read more
January 23, 2024
A research team led by Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) has developed “supramolecular ink,” a new technology for use in OLED (organic light-emitting diode) displays or other electronic devices. Made of inexpensive, Earth-abundant elements instead of costly scarce metals, supramolecular ink could enable more affordable and environmentally sustainable flat-panel screens and... Read more
January 22, 2024
For decades, the food industry has used bipolar membranes for goals ranging from isolating proteins to preserving the color of apple juice. Now these specialized materials are at the scientific forefront of advanced energy conversion and storage and carbon capture, among other uses. A newly published review led by researchers at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) explores bipolar... Read more
January 16, 2024
Recordings from the annual Building Efficiency for Sustainable Tomorrow (BEST) Center National Institute, held January 4–5, are now available. The theme of this year’s two-day, online event was “Less Carbon, More Action! Strategies for Better Buildings & Tech Education.” The 2024 National Institute, which was co-hosted by BEST and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab),... Read more
December 15, 2023
Every year, airplanes crisscrossing U.S. skies burn 23 billion gallons of fuel, leaving contrails and 8% of the nation’s transportation-related greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in their wake. A recent study by researchers from the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) and Sandia National Laboratories reveals which crop-based feedstocks offer the... Read more
December 13, 2023
Ashok Gadgil – a retired faculty senior scientist in the Energy Technologies Area of Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) – is among 162 new fellows of the National Academy of Inventors (NAI) for 2023. His many inventions include low-cost, life-sustaining solutions such as safe drinking water and fuel-efficient cookstoves for the most vulnerable communities in the developing... Read more
December 12, 2023
Co-hosts Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) and the Building Efficiency for a Sustainable Tomorrow (BEST) Center have opened registration for their annual National Institute meeting for building sustainability professionals, which will take place virtually from January 4-5, 2024. Each year, hundreds of instructors, students, technicians, facilities managers, and building... Read more
December 7, 2023
The United States aims to reach net-zero greenhouse gas emissions economy-wide by 2050. Getting there depends on meeting clean electricity objectives by 2030 and achieving deep energy efficiency and electrification in the buildings sector. These ambitious goals also entail replacing fossil fuels with renewable energy such as wind and solar. Around 20% of all electricity for the U.S. grid is... Read more
December 1, 2023
Berkeley Lab’s Energy Technologies Area staff have provided technical support to the Efficient and Healthy Schools Program since its launch in 2021. The team supporting this program includes staff from Berkeley Lab’s Energy Technologies Area who helped design and administer the program, including technical assistance and recognition for schools and districts. The program team works... Read more
November 13, 2023
As the world copes with more extreme heat because of climate change, the need for efficient cooling devices is more pressing than ever. Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) is co-leading an effort to create global equipment guidelines that serve the places where this equipment is needed most. In October, the Lab and the United Nations Environment Program’s United for Efficiency... Read more
November 13, 2023
Several employees in the Energy Technologies Area were honored in this year’s Director’s Awards at the U.S. Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National Lab (Berkeley Lab). The Lab’s Director’s Awards program recognizes employees’ accomplishments, leadership, collaboration, multi-disciplinary science, cross-divisional projects, and commitment to excellence in support of the Lab’s... Read more
November 7, 2023
Physicist Senior Scientist Vassilia Zorba, leader of the Laser Technologies Group in the Energy Storage and DIstributed Resources Division at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab), has been recognized by multiple field-leading groups as a key figure in optics and photonics today. The professional society Optica (formerly OSA) – one of the largest in the field with 24,000 members,... Read more
October 24, 2023
During a ceremony at the White House today, President Biden awarded Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) retired Faculty Senior Scientist Ashok Gadgil the National Medal of Technology and Innovation, the nation’s highest honor for technological achievement. His award is “for providing life-sustaining resources to communities around the world. His innovative, inexpensive... Read more
October 24, 2023
Growing up in Mumbai, India in the 1950s, Ashok Gadgil remembers his small apartment overflowing with books. “My dad was a member of a number of libraries and he would bring in a dozen books at a time,” he fondly recalls. These early experiences contributed to his growing curiosity and awareness of the world, and subsequently, his interest in science. Gadgil earned degrees in physics from the... Read more
October 20, 2023
By harnessing the power of AI and machine learning, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory scientists are developing a tool that predicts properties of high-potential, bio-based molecules and fuels, paving the way for cost-effective and sustainable jet fuel production. This innovation offers a promising short-term solution to reduce emissions. This video originally appeared at the Berkeley Lab News... Read more
October 9, 2023
Hydrogen, the smallest element in the universe, has huge potential as a clean energy source. Using hydrogen (H2) as a fuel and as a means of storing energy could reduce our dependence on petroleum and help us reduce air pollution and greenhouse emissions to meet our goals for a cleaner and better climate. However, adopting hydrogen power on a large scale requires advances in technology and the... Read more
October 3, 2023
Researchers at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) will receive more than $9.7 million in federal funding to enhance the cybersecurity of our nation’s clean energy infrastructure. The award comes from the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Cybersecurity, Energy Security, and Emergency Response (CESER) as part of a $39 million package distributed across nine innovative... Read more
September 29, 2023
The Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) will host two new centers dedicated to advancing clean energy technology and combating climate change. The awards are part of DOE’s Energy Earthshots Initiative that launched in 2021 with the goal of speeding up technological breakthroughs and lowering costs. DOE has so far launched seven Earthshots spanning clean... Read more
September 27, 2023
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has announced up to $25 million to help six teams across the nation develop affordable, equitable, and reliable clean energy systems in their communities. The funding comes through the Clean Energy to Communities (C2C) partnerships program, an initiative designed to support local decarbonization strategies. Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) is... Read more
September 27, 2023
China has implemented reforms in its electricity markets as part of its goal to reach carbon neutrality by 2060, but the country has not fully realized the potential cuts in emissions. Recent work led by Jiang Lin of Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) helped explain why. The “results begin to fill a notable gap in our understanding of what mediates the effectiveness of... Read more
September 27, 2023
Energy efficiency improvements in buildings could save the United States more than $100 billion in the effort to cut carbon emissions, according to a recent analysis from Lawrence Berkeley National Lab (Berkeley Lab). That striking figure and other highlights from the "U.S. Building Sector Decarbonization Scenarios to 2050" report are the subject of a new blog post from the Natural Resources... Read more
September 20, 2023
What would an efficient and decarbonized buildings sector look like in 2050? A new study from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) quantified up to a 91% reduction in carbon emissions from buildings with a combination of energy efficiency, demand flexibility, electrification measures, and a decarbonized grid. Berkeley Lab researchers, in... Read more