Finding the Energy

Sweet potatoes that will eventually become fuel.

Sawdust, French fry grease, pond scum, bacteria from the bottom of the sea...it's no witches' brew but a promising array of materials that may one day help us meet our energy needs without adding harmful greenhouse gases to the air we breathe.

During the "Year of Energy" at NC State in 2008, we left no stone unturned in our quest to find new sources of energy.

Researchers across campus launched a multidisciplinary effort to find practical, sustainable solutions that move North Carolina – and the nation – closer to energy independence.

A process that converts nearly any type of vegetable oil and animal fat into liquid fuel is being perfected at NC State. The resulting fuel could replace gasoline – even jet fuel – without requiring modifications to engines and pipelines.

Researchers are working to harness the power of heat-loving bacteria that produce large amounts of hydrogen to help propel the development of hydrogen-powered vehicles.

NC State has opened a new center to develop technology that transforms the nation's century-old, centralized power grid into an alternative-energy-friendly "smart grid" that can easily store and distribute energy produced from solar panels, wind farms, fuel cells and other energy sources.

Using a special polymer, we've developed capacitors that store up to seven times more energy than those currently in use. New ultrafast batteries could give electric cars the same acceleration capability as their gas-powered counterparts.

We pioneered a process to increase the efficiency of ethanol production by genetically modifying trees to contain a greater percentage of cellulose.

We've also proved to be good stewards of the environment. Students at NC State and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill combined to save more than 11 million gallons of water in a three-month water-conservation competition that saw NC State students edge out their Carolina counterparts.