Michigan Research Alliance Funds Thermoelectric Power Generation and Cellulosic Ethanol Projects
30 May 2008
The University Research Corridor (URC), an alliance of Michigan State University, the University of Michigan and Wayne State University—Michigan’s three research universities—has awarded its first seed fund grants to provide startup support for two “revolutionary but feasible” energy projects: thermoelectric power generation and nano-biocarriers for the production of low-cost cellulosic ethanol. The URC provosts selected the two projects from 13 proposals.
A three-year $523,282 award went to a collaboration of all three universities for the development of bulk thermoelectric materials containing nanostructure with enhanced thermoelectric properties. Improved thermoelectric materials are of interest in vehicle waste heat recovery applications, among others.
The collaborators—Donald Morelli, MSU professor of chemical engineering and materials science; Jeffrey Sakamoto, MSU assistant professor of chemical engineering and materials; Ctirad Uher, U-M physics professor; and Stephanie Brock, Wayne State associate professor of chemistry—say that their proposed approach is revolutionary in concept, but that its successful implementation would provide a direct route to a feasible methodology.
The second award went to an MSU/U-M project with Lansing-based Technova Corp. to develop nano-biocarriers to rapidly and efficiently produce low-cost ethanol from switchgrass or corn stover.
The team was awarded $283,231 over a two year period. Collaborators include Ilsoon Lee, MSU assistant professor of chemical engineering; Jinsang Kim, U-M assistant professor of materials science and engineering and chemical engineering; Wei Liao, MSU assistant professor of biosystems and agricultural engineering; and Lawrence Drzal, director of MSU’s Composite Materials and Structures Center. The team is working with Lansing-based Technova Corp.
Concurrent with announcing the awards, the URC released a preliminary report by the Anderson Economic Group LLC (AEG) suggesting that Michigan is ready to “become a leader in alternative energy.”
AEG found the URC received more than $79.5 million in alternative energy research grants in 2007, with 77 percent coming from federal grants and 11 percent from business, which currently invests $16.7 billion in Michigan R&D each year, more than any state except California. The preliminary report was made public to advance ongoing conversations at the Detroit Regional Chamber’s Mackinac Policy Conference.
The study also cited the importance of the existing relationships between the automotive industry and the URC for making Michigan a leader in alternative energy. Michigan’s URC universities regularly work with the auto industry, which carries out more R&D in Michigan than in the nation’s other 49 states combined.
The URC is conducting 27% of its energy-related research on fuels, 25% on propulsion and power, 8.9% on nuclear energy, 8.5% on sustainability, 8.2% on solar and thermoelectric research and the rest divided between a host of areas including enabling technologies, efficiency, energy storage, fuel cells, energy policy, wind and hydro energy, hydrogen and transportation, according to AEG.
A more complete report is expected in September.
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