Securing a clean, sustainable and vibrant energy future requires a multifaceted approach. Researchers at the University of Michigan are improving the technologies to deploy clean energy sources—wind, solar, hydrogen, and bioenergy—and are confronting the societal challenges and opportunities that will accompany the shift away from carbon-intensive sources. The U-M Battery Lab is finding new ways to maximize storage of renewable sources, and the Urban Energy Justice Lab emphasizes how future energy development can ensure fair and equitable access to energy.
2023 warmest year on record
"“And the warming will continue to accelerate until we halt the burning of fossil fuels. This means continued worsening extreme heat and heat waves, but also many other worsening climate extremes driven by warmer temperatures. More severe droughts, more intense rainfall, more devastating hurricanes and bigger, more widespread wildfires."
Rabe comments on COP28 climate deal
At the COP28 climate summit in Dubai, nearly 200 nations approved a global pact that calls for transitioning away from fossil fuels—a first. The deal also calls for tripling the use of renewable energy, doubling energy efficiency and slashing methane emissions.
New energy
Once derided as “forever 30 years away,” fusion energy has a new swagger. Will it last?
U-M study outlines cost, energy savings of switching from fluorescent lamps to LEDs
LED lighting is up to 44% more efficient than 4-foot fluorescent tubes, according to a U-M study. Lighting is responsible for 11% of electricity use in commercial buildings and residential basements, garages and shops. Linear recessed lighting systems, which are also called linear fixtures or troffer lights, are among the largest opportunities for energy efficiency improvement, given their long operating hours.
COP28 climate summit in Dubai: U-M student team attending
Sixteen U-M students and their faculty adviser will attend the two-week COP28 climate summit in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The students will observe the negotiations, attend side events and interact with various experts. This year’s conference runs from Nov. 30 to Dec. 12. U-M has sent student delegations to U.N. climate change conferences since 2009.
New U-M study focuses on equity disparities of green technologies
Because large disparities in access to green technologies exist between countries in the Global North and the Global South and among different demographic groups within those countries, it’s important to focus on equity in access to energy services and not simply on energy technologies, according to a new U-M review paper.
Car country plugs in
Electric vehicles (EVs) represent the largest auto industry shakeup since, perhaps, the introduction of the assembly line more than a century ago. Moving consumers from the internal combustion engines (ICE) that have powered their transportation since birth to something fundamentally different means major changes at all levels of the business.
U-M publishes second annual climate action report
Since 2010, the university has reduced its total greenhouse gas emissions by 28%, even as total building area has increased by 14%. U-M is on pace to reduce its total quantified emissions by 50% by 2025, exceeding Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change guidance to reduce emissions by 45% by 2030.
Opinion | Michigan’s system to approve green energy projects is broken
"Michigan’s legislative leadership earlier this year announced its intention to introduce a package of bills to accelerate the Mi Healthy Climate Plan. Recently, Governor Whitmer put her support behind the proposal and echoed what those involved in the renewable energy transition have noted for some time: the current approach to permitting clean energy projects is broken."
Cracking in lithium-ion batteries speeds up electric vehicle charging
Rather than being solely detrimental, cracks in the positive electrode of lithium-ion batteries reduce battery charge time, research done at U-M shows. This runs counter to the view of many electric vehicle manufacturers, who try to minimize cracking because it decreases battery longevity.
$7.5M to advance nuclear energy awarded to U-M
In an effort to speed the licensing of advanced nuclear reactors, ensure that communities are respected during reactor siting, monitor and limit corrosion in nuclear reactors, and more, the Department of Energy has awarded $7.5 million to Michigan Engineering researchers.
Center to help communities tackle renewable energy projects
The Center for EmPowering Communities will help Michigan communities tackle the planning and zoning challenges related to renewable energy projects such as wind and solar installations. In addition, the center will spur collaborative research that integrates social science with technology design, community engagement and policymaking.
‘Astrum’ solar car shoots for the stars by pushing energy efficiency
With a name inspired by the Latin phrase “ad astra,” which means “to the stars,” the U-M Solar Car Team unveiled its first three-wheeled bullet-style vehicle. “Astrum” is scheduled to race in this year’s Bridgestone World Solar Challenge, a biannual, 1,800-mile race from Darwin on Australia’s northern coast to Adelaide on the country’s southern coast.
Study evaluates potential decarbonization of industry through use of small modular nuclear reactors
A new study evaluated the potential decarbonization of industry through the use of nuclear energy, specifically small modular nuclear reactors (SMRs). Researchers performed an analysis on individual facilities and grouped processes within them to quantify the technoeconomic potential when compared to existing fossil fuels. They also tested the economic benefits available if these facilities additionally sell electricity onto the wholesale power market as an additional revenue stream. Key findings of the paper are discussed below.
$130M Electric Vehicle Center launches at U-Michigan
In an effort to cultivate a robust EV ecosystem in the place where the modern auto industry was born, the U-M Electric Vehicle Center is launching with these three focus areas: accelerating collaborative R&D, developing a highly skilled workforce, and establishing advanced campus infrastructure and facilities to support both research and education.
U-M’s botanical gardens taking steps toward carbon neutrality
A U-M team, along with researchers and staff from Eastern Michigan University, Duke University and cleantech company 374Water, received $200,000 to fund research around converting lawn, garden and food waste from U-M’s Matthaei Botanical Gardens into valuable products, as well as heat and energy for the gardens’ facilities.
Wege lecturer Mary Robinson ties climate crisis to injustice
“We are on the cusp of a clean-energy world, which we should all be immensely excited about and look forward to. Yet, we have this strange paradox where our world continues to warm 2.4 degrees above pre-industrial levels, and we don’t talk about it."
U-M earns Gold rating for climate, sustainability work
The Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education recently awarded U-M a Gold rating in recognition of universitywide climate action and sustainability work. U-M earned 73.84 points — more than four higher than its previous submission, due in large part to new sustainable investing strategies and renewable power purchase agreements.
U-M seeking 25 megawatts of on-campus solar power
U-M is planning to build on-campus solar installations with a capacity of 25 megawatts across the Dearborn, Flint and Ann Arbor campuses, including Michigan Medicine and Athletics. The total amount of electricity that would be generated by the installations is estimated to equal the power consumed by approximately 3,000 homes annually.
New Carbon Neutrality Acceleration Program projects receive over $1M in funding
The Graham Sustainability Institute’s Carbon Neutrality Acceleration Program (CNAP) announced $1,160,000 in funding for six new faculty research projects. They tackle a range of carbon neutrality topics and augment the CNAP portfolio, which addresses six critical technological and social decarbonization opportunities: energy storage; capturing, converting, and storing carbon; changing public opinion and behavior; ensuring an equitable and inclusive transition; material and process innovation; and transportation and alternative fuels.
Ann Arbor campus meets two sustainability goals early
The U-M Ann Arbor campus achieved two of its 2025 sustainability goals in 2022, according to an annual Planet Blue fact sheet. It reduced greenhouse gas emissions by 25% from its 2006 benchmark — three years ahead of schedule — and exceeded its goal of applying 40% less chemicals to campus landscapes, compared with 2006, for the fourth consecutive year.