DOE Funds Energy Research Centers

The Department of Energy announced plans to invest $777 million over five years in the new Energy Frontier Research Centers program. The program encompasses 46 projects that will tackle fundamental scientific roadblocks to clean energy and energy security. Roughly one-third of this commitment will come from the American Recovery & Reinvestment Act of 2009 funds. The program will involve projects at 31 universities, 12 DOE national laboratories, two nonprofits, and a corporate research lab and will include about 1,800 researchers and students, according to DOE. The focus of these projects will be energy research challenges in renewable and carbon-neutral energy, energy efficiency, energy storage, and cross-cutting science. Each project will receive between $2 million and $5 million per year for an initial period of five years.