Energy Dept. earmarks $37.5M for joint energy research with China

The U.S. Department of Energy announced today that it is investing $37.5 million in joint research initiatives with organizations in China over the next five years. After this sum is matched by private organizations, about $75 million will go toward U.S. efforts to improve energy efficiency, clean coal technologies, carbon sequestration and green vehicles.
Specifically, the money will be used to construct a U.S.-China Clean Energy Research Center, which will have branches in both countries. China will kick in another $75 million to develop technologies it can use to cut carbon emissions and become more energy efficient. With electric cars rolling out en masse in both countries in the next two years, this kind of research is more critical than ever.
The collaboration between the U.S. and China was originally announced in November 2009.
The idea behind the partnership is that both the U.S. and China have a lot the can learn from each other when it comes to best practices, and various challenges. There are also a lot of overlapping opportunities for companies based in each country to work in the other. For example, China’s BYD Auto ultimately hopes to launch its electric sedans in the U.S. And U.S. companies like First Solar have benefited from contracts to build renewable energy resources in China. There’s a lot of money to be made on both sides.
China and the U.S. are the two top energy consumers and energy emitters in the world. On top of that, China’s auto market has grown to surpass the U.S.’s as millions more of its citizens enter the middle class and earn disposable incomes. If these trends continue at this rate, the whole global community will have major environmental problems to contend with.
The Clean Energy Research center is calling for applications from projects working in any of the specified areas of cleantech. Companies, national labs, academic institutions and independent scientific organizations are encouraged to apply before May 14.
The collaboration between the U.S. and China was originally announced in November 2009.
Tags: china
Companies: BYD Auto, First Solar, U.S. Department of Energy