Page 7 - CEMS News Winter 2023

CEMS NEWS
CEMS researchers lead $10.6M federal
grant to develop a more sustainable
process for programmable catalysis
The researchers aim to find a way to more efficiently convert low-cost renewable power to carbon-free liquid fuels.
Paul Dauenhauer
Renewable energy
technologies such as
wind turbines and solar
photovoltaics provide a
pathway to a carbon-free
energy future, provided the
renewable power can be
stored for times when we
need it. Finding a way to more efficiently convert low-cost
renewable power to carbon-
free liquid fuels could enable
100 percent implementation
of these renewable power technologies.
The Center for Programmable Energy Catalysis and University of Minnesota scientists and engineers will work with colleagues at the University of California, Santa Barbara, the University of Michigan, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Clemson University, the University of Houston, and the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Other faculty from the University of Minnesota include Daniel Frisbie, Matthew Neurock, Aditya Bhan, and Bharat Jalan from the Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science and Renee Frontiera from the Department of Chemistry.
Magdalene Miranda is the Managing Director for CPEC, having relocated from El Paso, Texas, where she acquired 10 years of experience in the field of higher education. She graduated with a 4.0 from The University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) with a MEd in higher education administration.
Excerpt taken from a news release written by Rhonda Zurn, College of Science and Engineering.
A team led by University
of Minnesota Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science researchers has received $10.6 million over four years from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to establish
a new Energy Frontier Research Center (EFRC)—the Center for Programmable Energy Catalysis (CPEC).
The EFRC will bring together
part of the initiative.
engineers and scientists from seven universities across the country to develop
a reaction technology that will transform how catalysts convert energy-rich molecules in chemical reactions, ultimately leading to enhancements in rate, selectivity, and conversion of those reactions.
The research aims to increase energy efficiency and promote future economic development while reducing environmental impacts associated with energy conversion.
“Financial support by the U.S. Department of Energy
for the Center for Programmable Energy Catalysis
will enable the creation of an entirely new catalyst technology that achieves higher reaction rates and better reaction control for the most important chemistries required to address climate change,” said Paul Dauenhauer, Center Director.
The award is part of a $540 million initiative by the
DOE to invest in clean energy technologies and low- carbon manufacturing to help the U.S. achieve net-zero emissions by 2050. This center is one of two new EFRCs that the University of Minnesota Twin Cities is leading as
Magdalene Miranda
CEMSnews Winter 2023 7