Center for Sustainable Energy at Notre Dame
Research
cSEND's research efforts will focus on the three thrust areas of the Sustainable Energy Initiative (SEI) and other areas of energy research in which researchers at Notre Dame are well positioned to make significant advancements in achieving energy sustainability. A core requirement for technological innovations and advancements in each of the research areas, especially those of the SEI, will be the manufacture of novel materials. Materials characterization and chemical synthesis are core strengths in the Colleges of Science and Engineering at Notre Dame. The design and synthesis of revolutionary new materials will form the basis of SEI research and will feed into all other research areas. Establishing these areas will be key to cSEND's broader impact on creating a more sustainable energy future.
Current research areas include:
- Materials for gas separations – the development of cleaner fossil fuel processes.
- Actinide materials stabilization – methods for the safer storage of nuclear fuel by-products.
- Materials for the efficient conversion of solar to chemical energy – the creation of transformative solar cell technologies.
- Other research areas - energy efficiency, fuel cells, batteries, wind, geothermal, solar photovoltaic, catalysis, biofuels, smart grid, and energy policy development.
Cleaner Fossil
Fossil fuels, such as crude oil, coal, and natural gas, dominate the current energy landscape and are likely to continue to do so for the foreseeable future. The greatest challenge with fossil fuels is to find environmentally sustainable ways to use them, which in many cases comes down to effective separations. Read More
Transformative Solar
In the long-term, the most desirable and sustainable way to meet society’s energy needs is through the development of solar energy technology. The sun deposits up to 340 W/m2 of energy to the earth, a flux that far exceeds the human demand for energy. Read More
Safer Nuclear
Nuclear power currently supplies 20% of U.S. electricity and is an attractive component of a sustainable energy future. The safety issues associated with unused nuclear materials remain a challenging problem. Actinides are radioactive elements (including thorium, uranium and plutonium) that are the fuels of nuclear energy. Read More
Other Research Areas
In addition to the three thrust areas of the SEI (Cleaner Fossil, Transformative Solar, Safer Nuclear), Notre Dame has expertise in the following energy related research areas that also support the mission and research efforts to address critical, specific energy challenges on a global level. Read More
