News

Abby Dernburg and Ramamoorthy Ramesh, two senior faculty scientists at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab), have been elected to the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) in recognition of their distinguished and continuing achievements in original research. They join 118 other new members and 24 international members who will be formally inducted next April.On top of being one of... Read more

As the nation shifts to clean energy, many communities, businesses, and government agencies face a head-spinning number of technology, operational, and policy decisions. Technical assistance experts at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) help identify solutions that are most cost-effective and viable for each individual partner, in addition to increasing energy efficiency and... Read more

Adapted from a news release by the Department of Energy’s Office of Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy.The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Efficient and Healthy Schools Program recognized 13 school district honorees at the 2024 White House Summit for Sustainable and Healthy K-12 School Buildings and Grounds: Equity, Learning, Health, and Climate, held on April 26, 2024.DOE’s... Read more

With grid interconnection reforms underway across the country, a Berkeley Lab-led study shows nearly 2,600 gigawatts of energy and storage capacity in transmission grid interconnection queuesThe backlog of new power generation and energy storage seeking transmission connections across the U.S. grew again in 2023, with nearly 2,600 gigawatts (GW) of generation and storage capacity now actively... Read more

Jessica Granderson, a senior scientist at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab), has been named director of the Building Technology and Urban Systems (BTUS) Division in the Energy Technologies Area. Her appointment is effective immediately and follows an extensive international search.“Jessica’s formidable experience of over 17 years at Berkeley Lab, her management skills,... Read more

In a significant step towards accelerating industrial decarbonization in Indonesia, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) hosted a weeklong training for Indonesian policymakers, industry leaders, and experts from March 25 to 29. The training, organized in collaboration with the Institute for Essential Service Reforms (IESR) of Indonesia, aimed to transfer knowledge and build... Read more

In the transition from fossil fuels to clean energy, next-generation hydrogen technology can help tap an abundant supply of zero-emission renewable energy. The Department of Energy (DOE) estimates that as much as 50% of the world’s energy-related carbon emissions are from sectors with potential to shift to clean hydrogen.Production of hydrogen using low-temperature electrolysis makes the dynamic... Read more

Any organization seeking to decarbonize must manage its energy, and an enterprise-wide strategy offers the best chance of success. From giant corporations to small businesses and NASA facilities to neighborhood schools, organizations of all kinds globally are cutting carbon emissions, saving money, and saving energy with energy management systems. Based on the international ISO 50001 standard,... Read more

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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