Back in August, hundreds of people packed the
Lansing Center and applauded presidential candidate Senator Barack Obama's proposed plan for the nation's energy future.
MSU’s Jim McCusker was not among them. Instead, the
MSU chemistry professor stayed back in his lab, where he and his students work out the very technologies Obama's policies embrace.
McCusker is one of a growing group of MSU faculty focused on renewable energy research on the nanoscale, an extremely tiny level where matter displays surprising and exploitable properties. His focus in nanomaterials—carefully tailored substances that can help solar cells turn sunlight into electricity. Meanwhile, his fellow MSU colleagues perfect biofuels and batteries that turn fossil-free power into vehicle speed.
It's not as glamorous as a televised presidential rally, but the chemist assures us it can be just as exciting—and just as critical—for the nation's future.
Solar AdvanceMichigan is already a leader in solar cell technology, as Obama reminded the Lansing Center crowd. The state is the world's largest producer of amorphous silicon photovoltaic panels—a second-generation solar technology with a slimmer profile and smaller price tag than the original polysilicon arrays.
Last year, the Auburn Hills-based
United Solar Ovonics manufactured enough silicon panels to satisfy the energy consumption of 5,000 Americans.
But silicon-based cells are still too pricey to support a more expansive solar operation, McCusker says. That's why his lab focuses on more abundant elements like iron, copper, nickel and cobalt in their nanomaterial development. Given a few more years of study, McCusker says, those cells could provide a high energy output at a relatively low cost.
In a neighboring building on the expansive MSU campus in East Lansing, physics professor Phillip Duxbury pursues a different solar option. His lab hopes to develop photovoltaics made from organic polymers, another cost-reducing alternative to silicon cells.
The science is still young—several years from commercial applications—but Duxbury has big ambitions.
"I think the manufacturers in Auburn Hills would be happy to have competition," he says. "It would be great to have both silicon and non-silicon systems in production here. Michigan has a history of expertise in that area, and can continue to build from those roots."
Nanotech InnovationMichigan has even deeper roots in another technology: automobiles. And fuel-efficient vehicles are a major player in the energy policy debate.
Once again, MSU researchers have already picked up the challenge. Much of their work also happens on the ultra-tiny nanoscale.
"It's now known and appreciated that almost all of the things that are needed for electric and hybrid cars are nanostructured materials," says Duxbury. When he's not busy with solar cells, the professor develops nanostructured capacitors that these cars will need to run.
"It's a whole new game to design at that level," he explains, and it's no exaggeration. One nanometer is a thousand times thinner than a spider web strand.
In recent years, eight professors from the chemistry, physics, engineering, and mathematics departments have teamed up to form MSU's
Center for Nanomaterials Design and Assembly (CNDA).
Last June, the CNDA hosted a conference on materials for energy applications. The event drew experts from as far away as
MIT and the
University of Oregon, plus a member of
General Motor's Research and Development Center, who spoke about applications in vehicle batteries.
From Forest to FuelMichigan also maintains an edge on biofuels, a growing alternative to foreign-sourced oil. Obama highlighted
Mascoma Corporation's recent decision to build the first-ever commercial cellulosic ethanol plant in the northern part of the state. "Here in Michigan, you're actually a step ahead," he said
That fact is due in part to MSU’s expertise. Researchers from the school, along with faculty from
Michigan Technological University, have teamed up with Mascoma to hone the plant's production line.
Among the experts is Bruce Dale, an MSU professor of chemical engineering and materials science. He studies the chemical processes that turn cellulose—the tough, fibrous material of plant stems and wood chips—into fuel-grade ethanol. Dale believes that that conversion can be a niche business for forest-rich Michigan.
As a bonus, the scheme avoids the food-vs.-fuel debate that's hampered efforts to produce ethanol from corn.
"Ethanol is and will be a critical part of reducing our national dependence on oil for liquid fuels," Dale says. "It's essential that we understand how to improve all portions of the production system for maximum environmental benefits."
In June 2007, MSU gained a powerful opportunity to advance that understanding when the
U.S. Department of Energy established the G
reat Lakes Bioenergy Research Center. It gave MSU and the
University of Wisconsin at Madison a $50 million federal grant to accelerate research on the development of cellulosic ethanol production.
Dale serves as the center's co-director, but there's more than ethanol in the works at MSU. Dennis Miller, a professor of mechanical engineering, directs his efforts at making biodiesel from canola plants. Recently, Miller partnered with General Motors in designing new engines that will run on these canola-powered fuels.
This fall, one of Miller's products will debut on the MSU campus: canola-derived biodiesel that will power the university's lawnmowers.
And production won't stop with fuel, Miller hopes. He and his colleagues are developing a "cascade" of bio-based products, including animal feed and boutique liqueurs. Biofuels can boost Michigan's energy economy, he says, but they can also help the state diversify its manufacturing output.
Energy FrontiersMore research demands more researchers, and MSU is determined to bring them to East Lansing. This year, the university announced plans to hire six new professors in renewable energy fields.
The expanding programs also demand more funding, and faculty are optimistic about tapping a new source. Next year, the DOE plans to put $100 million into establishing
Energy Frontier Research Centers across the nation. MSU faculty is preparing an application, emphasizing research in three areas: solar cells, thermoelectric nanomaterials and biofuels.
"There is no single answer to the energy problem," says McCusker, the principal investigator for the solar cell portion. "Wide-ranging basic research like what we do at MSU is crucial. We need to explore all the options, and we need to think long-term."
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Rachel Carr, a native of Maryland and current resident of Virginia, spent the summer writing about science in Michigan.
Dave Trumpie is the managing photographer for Capital Gains. He is a freelance photographer and owner of Trumpie Photography.
Photos:
Portions of solar cell research
Jim McCusker
Phillip Duxbury
Jim McMcCusker with laser reflectors used in solar cell research
Plant material used in biofuel research
Bruce Dale
Photographs © Dave Trumpie