MIT Tackles World Energy Needs

CAMBRIDGE, Massachusetts - An ambitious project is in the works to power the world. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Massachusetts has launched the "MIT Energy Initiative." The goal is to seek solutions to the world's energy problems. What's in progress at MIT's high-tech Sloan Automotive Laboratory is a project to turn a Porsche 914 into an electric car. Out with the old engine, and in with new lithium ion batteries. Professor John Heywood, MIT Automotive Lab Director, explained, "The lithium ion technology can store more energy for a given size and weight and deliver high power." This research project is an example of the many at MIT that fall under the institute-wide MIT Energy Initiative. Scientists and engineers are looking into ways to transform the global energy system away from fossil fuels to alternatives. Professor Ernest Moniz, MIT Energy Initiative Director, said, "It changes the focus from a dependence on, let's say oil, which is not optimally distributed across the world, to technology, which is, of course, an American strength." Researchers want to develop new technologies that supply clean, affordable energy and reduce energy demand. Heywood said, "The amounts of energy we use are vast. They're incomprehensible to individual people, and it's growing because countries like India and China are on very fast growth paths. The amount of petroleum they now use, for example -- it's significant." Transportation is one arena where researchers are hoping to make significant changes. Professor Heywood says that the Sloan Automotive Lab is currently working on about 20 projects. Researchers are motivated to make our cars and trucks as energy efficient as possible. "So we use less energy, produce less pollution," Heywood explained. Producing less pollution is what another of their machines does. It's called the Plasmatron Reformer. It removes nitrogen oxides from emissions, which are the main components of smog. MIT Senior Research Scientist Dr. Dan Cohn said, "It could make it possible to use these high fuel-efficiency diesel engine vehicles while still meeting environmental regulations." And Cohn says that being able to put diesel engines in more vehicles can help cut the amount of oil we use. Diesel engines are more efficient than gasoline engines. Then there's the "engine on a chip." Principle Research Engineer Dr. Stu Jacobson and others at MIT have put a tiny gas-turbine engine inside a silicon chip. The goal is long-lasting, portable power. If the project is to be a success, Jacobson and his team have to answer the question, "Can we make a very small-scale engine that will run and produce power to run a laptop, probably a factor of 5 to 10 times longer, than a current rechargeable battery?" The engine on a chip is also of interest to the Army. The tiny chip could dramatically lighten the load for soldiers out on the battlefield, who could not connect to a power grid, and have to carry around equipment powered by heavy batteries. But don't count out batteries. High-powered new technology is showing up at MIT in battery packs for power tools. Professor Yet-Ming Chiang of MIT's Department of Materials Science, said, "The difference in power is that [a normal battery can supply] 600 to 700 watts. This supplies about 3,000 watts - wow!" "By using this battery pack," Chiang explained, "we have a cordless tool that actually has twice the power of the corded tool." Power transmission is also being targeted by the MIT Energy Initiative. That's where another piece of equipment comes in -- the Superconductor. MIT Senior Research Engineer Dr. Joe Minervini said, "If you cool them below what's called a critical temperature, then they enter the superconducting state. In that state, they lose all electrical resistance." In other words, you can put through a substantial amount of electric current without a loss of energy. Since energy use is on the rise, power grids with superconductors could help prevent blackouts and lower the cost of electricity. And could the power one day come from thermonuclear fusion power plants? Professor Miklos Porkolab, MIT Plasma Science and Fusion Center Director, said, "This kind of reaction produces no pollution." In one laboratory, MIT researchers are looking at fusion as a possible major power source. They explained that the heat of the plasma used is around a hundred-million degrees. Fusion happens when two nuclei combine to form a heavier nucleus, and a tremendous amount of energy is released. "It will certainly supplant fossil fuel use," said Senior Scientist Dr. Earl Marmar. "Eventually it could be a major player in energy production." MIT had a major role when researchers helped develop radar, a vital technology that helped win World War Two. Faculty and students hope research again becomes reality, and a profound impact is made -- this time, on the world's energy concerns.