April 30, 2015 | By Jaclyn Brandt

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is funding innovation into harnessing solar energy used for production of fuel. The department has announced another $75 million for the project.

Caltech campus entrance. Credit: Canon.vs.nikon~commonswiki/Wikimedia Commons

The funding will renew the Joint Center for Artificial Photosynthesis (JCAP), a DOE Energy Innovation Hub that has been around since 2010. The center's goal is to achieve "the major scientific breakthroughs needed to produce liquid transportation fuels from a combination of sunlight, water, and carbon dioxide, using artificial photosynthesis," according to DOE.

The JCAP project takes place at both California Institute of Technology (CalTech) as well as the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. JCAP is also partnered with SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory; the University of California, Irvine; and the University of California, San Diego.

The original funding in 2010 was worth $122 million, which was distributed over the past five years.

DOE explained that there are numerous challenges to the goal, but in the first five years of research, they have been developing "state-of-the-art capabilities" -- including characterization tools, and automated high-throughput experimentation. The end result is a facility that can easily screen large libraries of materials to identify components for articificial photosynthesis systems.

"Basic scientific research supported by the Department of Energy is crucial to providing the foundation for innovative technologies and later-stage research to reduce carbon emissions and combat climate change," said Under Secretary for Science and Energy Lynn Orr. "JCAP's work to produce fuels from sunlight and carbon dioxide holds the promise of a potentially revolutionary technology that would put America on the path to a low-carbon economy."

JCAP is only one of the many Energy Innovation Hubs established by DOE since 2010. The Oak Ridge National Laboratory was also funded in 2010 to help research simulations for nuclear reactors.

The funding next needs to pass congressional appropriations. If approved, the center would receive funding for an additional five years.

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