Cooperative Program with the ERCWC

This project will provide funding for cooperative programs on technology transfer from National Laboratories with the Education and Research Consortium of the Western Carolinas to perform technology maturation research to improve the cost-performance of technologies including late-staging engineering and high performance computing support, as well as database development, data mining, and monitored field evaluations of novel technologies. The DOE National Laboratories have developed numerous new energy conservation technologies that have the potential to reduce the energy required to heat and cool buildings in southeastern climates. Their micro sensors, controls, and wireless communications inventions can significantly improve the energy efficiency and economic competitiveness of industrial processes such as the pulping and drying of forest products. The National Laboratories also have developed fuel cell devices and engine emission control systems that have significant commerical appeal, can improve air quality, and can strengthen the energy security of the nation. A concerted technology transfer effort will help translatethese and other National Laboratory-developed technology concepts into marketable products that have significant potential for reducing both energy usage and energy costs.