Research
The EFRC awards span the full range of energy research challenges described in the series of BES workshop reports while also addressing one or more of the science grand challenges described in the BESAC report, Directing Matter and Energy: Five Challenge for Science and the Imagination and one or more of the transformative opportunities identified in the follow-on BESAC report, Challenges at the Frontiers of Matter and Energy: Transformative Opportunities for Discovery Science.
A new fundamental understanding of how nature works is necessary to direct and control matter at the quantum, atomic, and molecular levels in order to meet the global need for abundant, clean, and economical energy.
Progress made to date on the five Grand Challenges has created a springboard for seizing five new Transformative Opportunities that have the potential to further transform key technologies involving matter and energy.
Use-inspired basic energy research in the areas of solar energy utilization, electrical energy storage, quantum materials, quantum information science, microelectronics, carbon capture and sequestration, geosciences, energy and water, catalysis, polymer upcycling, nuclear energy, environmental management, hydrogen science, solid state lighting, synthesis science, and transformative experimental tools is required to create advanced energy technologies for the 21st century.