Today (Sept. 30) a group of state legislators and staff had a chance to tour UW’s Clean Energy Institute to learn more about its innovative faculty, students and leading edge research in the fields of next generation solar energy and battery technologies.
In 2013, the Legislature invested $3 million to establish the Institute at UW. In its inaugural year, CEI faculty and graduate student researchers have begun conducting leading-edge research with the power to sustain and grow Washington’s leadership and economic advantages in clean energy.
Tour attendees got a first-hand look at the impact of the Governor and Legislature’s forward-thinking investment, as well as a chance to meet the faculty, students, community and industry partners working to make it all happen.
Several key takeaways from today’s lab tours and research showcase:
- UW is leveraging state investment to pursue new discoveries and innovations that will grow Washington’s clean energy economy, and enable a new future of high-paying jobs.
- CEI faculty and students are working to develop efficient, cost-effective solar power and better energy storage systems, creating new materials that will dramatically improve solar technology, while also educating the next generation of clean energy leaders.
- Shared instrumentation such as advanced microscopes and lasers have the power to accelerate the knowledge and development of new clean energy materials, as well as enable collaborative research.
- Advances in new materials and battery systems are needed in order to monitor and deploy clean energy to the power grid when needed.
Learn more about CEI by watching this informational video or visiting them on the web at cei.washington.edu. Photos from today’s event follow below…
