research

research at stanford university

A variety of ideas for low (or even zero) emission technologies are under discussion. But, as yet, they are far from economical — and far from practical on a global scale.

So how do we take these ideas and turn them into new “game-changing” energy technologies that can work effectively around the world? Energy companies are working on it. Manufacturers and engineers are working on it. Research scientists in universities are working on it. What if we combined some of the best scientific and engineering minds — and let them work together?

That’s the idea behind The Global Climate and Energy Project. Launched at Stanford University, California in 2002, GCEP is an innovative collaboration between academia and industry. Initiated by ExxonMobil (and jointly sponsored with General Electric, Schlumberger and Toyota), it is a ten-year research project, backed by funding of around 225 million US$. It aims to use fundamental science to develop new leads for commercially viable technologies that can meet growing energy demand — with far lower greenhouse gas emissions.

GCEP research programmes
Over 30 breakthrough research programmes are underway:

  • investigating new ways to design and manufacture solar cells, with a view to developing efficient and low-cost ways to convert solar energy into electricity
  • exploring energy conversion through biological processes, including the use of bacteria to convert solar energy into chemical energy stored as hydrogen
  • examining the basic science underlying the operation of fuel cells — developing far more efficient engines based on advanced combustion concepts
  • exploring the use of new materials and design techniques for use in CO2 capture and separation
  • establishing a way of accurately forecasting how quickly new technologies will achieve impact on a global scale
  • As intended, GCEP has now spread beyond Stanford to draw upon scientific, engineering and environmental expertise from leading institutions in Europe, Asia and Australia, and to other universities in the United States.

European research institutions with allocated funding:

  • ECN (Energy Research Centre of the Netherlands), The Netherlands
  • ETH Zürich, Switzerland
  • IRDEP / CNRS (Institut de Recherche et Développement sur l'Energie Photovoltaïque / Centre National de Recherche Scientifique), France
  • TU Delft, The Netherlands
  • University of Dundee, Scotland
  • Ghent University, Belgium
  • Universite de Picardie Jules Verne, France
  • Universidad Politénica de Madrid, Spain
  • Uppsala University, Sweden
  • Utrecht University / FOM (Stichting voor Fundamenteel Onderzoek der Materie), The Netherlands