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UT Austin researcher awarded $15M for switchgrass traits studies

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A researcher at The University of Texas at Austin will receive two grants totaling $15 million to study switchgrass ( Panicum virgatum ), with a focus on how it can become a sustainable source of bioenergy. Juenger (2015) “QTLs for Biomass and Developmental Traits in Switchgrass ( Panicum virgatum )” BioEnergy Research pp 1-12 doi: 10.​1007/​s12155-015-9629-7.

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UT Austin team identifies promising new cathode material for sodium-ion batteries: eldfellite

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Professor John Goodenough, the inventor of the lithium-ion battery, and his team at the University of Texas at Austin have identified a new cathode material made of the nontoxic and inexpensive mineral eldfellite (NaFe(SO 4 ) 2 ), presenting a significant advancement in the quest for a commercially viable sodium-ion battery.

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UT Austin researchers significantly boost yield and speed of lipids production from engineered yeast; more efficient biofuel production

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Researchers in the Cockrell School of Engineering at The University of Texas at Austin have used a combination of metabolic engineering and directed evolution to develop a new strain of the yeast Yarrowia lipolytica featuring significantly enhanced lipids production that could lead to a more efficient biofuel production process.

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UT Austin team achieves best reported full-cell hybrid Li-air battery cycling with new ordered catalyst

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A team from the University of Texas at Austin led by Professor John Goodenough has achieved significantly enhanced activity and durability for the oxygen reduction reaction under alkaline conditions in a hybrid Li-Air battery using a new ordered Pd 3 Fe/C catalyst. Credit: ACS, Cui et al. Click to enlarge. 5b03865.

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Trapping Li polysulfides in a polymer matrix to improve Li-S battery performance

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To overcome the challenge of soluble polysulfides as charge/discharge intermediates in Li-S batteries, researchers at the University of Texas at Austin, with colleagues at Murray State University, have designed highly crosslinked polymer-electrolyte coating layers with electron-donating groups to bind the polysulfides.

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ICCT paper assesses leading regional EV markets in US and policies behind them

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Electric vehicle share of new vehicle registrations in 2015, highlighting leading metropolitan areas in each region (new vehicle registration data from IHS Automotive). The Georgia rebate was revoked in July 2015, and a Texas incentive was limited in its availability throughout the year. Source: The ICCT. Click to enlarge.

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DOE to invest $16M in computational design of new materials for alt and renewable energy, electronics and other fields

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The research teams include experts from universities and other national labs. A longtime user of NERSC supercomputers, Louie has a dual appointment as Senior Faculty Scientist in the Materials Sciences Division at Berkeley Lab and Professor of Physics at the University of California, Berkeley. Chelikowsky, University of Texas, Austin.

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