The Advanced Research Projects Agency–Energy (ARPA-E) named two Hopkins research projects among the 18 recipients for its Creating Revolutionary Energy and Technology Endeavors (CREATE) Awards. Both projects are being led by Ralph O’Connor Sustainable Energy Institute (ROSEI) faculty: Chao Wang (core faculty member) and Corey Oses (associate faculty member).

Per the award’s website, recipients are chosen based off their potential to “create new paradigms in energy technology” in ARPA-E’s areas of interest, which include:

• reducing energy imports;
• improving energy efficiency of all economic sectors;
• reducing energy-related emissions, including greenhouse gas emissions;
• improving management, clean-up and disposal of radioactive waste and spent nuclear fuel; and
• improving resilience, reliability and security of infrastructure to produce, deliver and store energy.

Here is information about both projects:

Enantioselective Electrosynthesis of Amino Acids (Wang)

Johns Hopkins University will develop a process using new electrocatalysts to make amino acids, the building blocks of proteins, that could accelerate the development of chemicals and food. The novel process would synthesize amino acids using chemical feedstocks that can be derived from merely air, water, and renewable electricity to substantially reduce carbon dioxide emissions in food and chemical production.

High-Entropy Glass-Ceramics for Nuclear Waste Immobilization (Oses)

Johns Hopkins University will develop a new class of high-entropy materials that could store more nuclear waste by percent weight than the industry-standard. The novel materials could significantly lower the infrastructure cost of nuclear waste disposal deep underground by reducing the volume of deep earth that must be excavated for every kilogram of waste.