TechPulse 360

Clean-tech research at American universities appears to have a heavy focus on solar technologies as the nation looks for 21st Century ways to battle climate change.

Several of the country’s top educational institutions list solar as their top green research area, including novels approaches such as using nano-materials, organic semiconductors and solar thermal systems to get more energy from the sun.

MIT's Ernie Moniz says he is optimistic about the development of clean tech technology. But business models won't change until public policy is in place

This emphasis appears to earmarked more resources for solar breakthroughs than for other green-tech efforts, such as advanced batteries development and the evolution of smart energy grids.

At the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, for instance, solar is at the top of the university’s clean-tech agenda, along with energy storage, says Ernie Moniz, director of MIT’s energy initiative.

The research focus includes efforts with solar thermal – or mirror technologies – and organic semiconductors, Moniz said Monday evening at Google-sponsored green tech event in San Francisco.

Stanford University also describes solar as among its biggest research areas. The institution’s Global Climate and Energy Project awards about $20 million a year for projects, and among the initiatives is an effort to use nano-structured materials to better capture energy, says Lynn Orr, director of the Precourt Institute for Energy.

The University of California, Berkeley has a similar emphasis on solar and nano solar research, even as it works on advanced energy storage and wind turbines, says Daniel Kammen, director of the renewable and Appropriate Energy Lab.

MIT is optimistic about the development of technologies to solve global warming, says Moniz. The challenge is putting public policy in place so that energy industry business models can change to keep pace.