Projects

Life cycle analysis (LCA) is a useful tool to quantify the environmental impacts of a product or process in an effort to improve its environmental profile.  LCA is easiest to implement on esta...

Purpose            The principal purpose of this project is to advance the body of knowledge that will allow successful offshore commercial wind ...

1. Objectives The goal of this research is to create a framework for a predictive and dynamic Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) tool. LCA quantifies the environmental impacts of a product or process...

Global climate change, finite petroleum reserves, and geopolitical instability all point to the wisdom of developing transportation fuels from renewable sources. Bio-ethanol from corn and biodiesel...

Detroit Edison, a subsidiary of DTE Energy, considered introducing residential dynamic pricing rates, rather than the customary flat retail rate for residential customers, to incent customers to sh...

Summer internship project to calculate the energy and carbon footprint of CMS facilities in order to evaluate options for reducing costs associated with facility operations and prepare for a national ...

United Solar Ovonic (USO) installed a photovoltaic (PV) module testing system in Auburn Hills, Michigan (Latitude 42.6978, Longitude -83.2419) in March of 2010 for the purpose of evaluating the impact...

Objectives BHP Billiton is seeking to leverage strategic and potential cost advantages associated with renewable energy and Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions reduction. The Erb Team will aid in de...

Michigan Memorial Phoenix Energy Institute - Energy, Science, Technology and Policy (ESTP) Award Energy use and climate change are two of the most critical areas for sustainability research in ...

The over-all objective of this research is to determine the future potential of PV technology in generating electricity in the U.S, by integrating energy, environmental and economic facets of the tech...

The Government of Ghana created an electrification initiative, the National Electrification Scheme (NES), which intended to provide electricity to all villages with more than five hundred inhabitan...

The overall objective of this project is to analyze the energy and environmental performance of the PureCell - 200 Power System using life cycle assessment (LCA).  LCA is an analytical technique ...

The goal of the University of Michigan Alcoa Conservation and Sustainability Fellowship Program (ACSFP) is to develop an innovative interdisciplinary research initiative that addresses the link bet...

The Department of Energy and DTE  Energy opened the Hydrogen Technology Park, a first-of-a-kind facility that produces hydrogen and fuel cell electricity, all located in a residential neighborhoo...

This project addresses the general lack of understanding about the benefits of large-scale photovoltaic systems by the general public.  Therefore, the design, installation and operation of a 3...

Alternative Energy Technology (AET) will dominate Michigan’s industrial and technology landscape for the coming decades, as evidenced by the tremendous amount of investment that the Federal government...

The objective of this project is to undertake a technology assessment of the Microgrid System to both describe and quantify its benefits in terms of life-cycle performance, energy efficiency and en...

Development and maintenance of factsheets that illustrate current unsustainable patterns of providing various services to society in the United States (e.g., food, personal transportation, housing)...

Current energy systems that rely primarily on fossil fuels are not sustainable because of the finite nature of fossil fuels and the environmental impact of their use.  Biomass is emerging as a...

This project was sponsored by Dupont's Educational Aid Program, 2000 - 2001 Science and Engineering Grant.   It served as a pilot for subsequent funding of a two-year project on willow bioma...

BACKGROUND A very small percentage of U.S. electricity is currently generated from renewable, potentially sustainable sources (hydropower - 8.6%, wood - 1.1%, geothermal - 0.5%, wind - 0.1%, so...

Photovoltaic modules (PV), devices that convert solar energy into electricity, are emerging as an important alternative to electricity generating systems based on nonrenewable fossil fuels. This li...

Graham Catalyst Grant - Graham Sustainability Institute supports a range of short-term, small-scale collaborative activities. These grants are intended to help better define an issue or decisi...

Innovative technologies are required to offset increasing consumption and declining stocks of non-renewable resources. This study examines a possible enhancement of waste management and transportation...