POTSDAM -- Clarkson University’s advanced photovoltaic and solar thermal research could be in for an $800,000 boost if the U.S. Senate approves an appropriations bill set for a vote this weekend.

U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand says the Senate is expected to vote on the omnibus appropriations bill which, if approved, will then go back to the House for final approval and then to the president for signature.

Clarkson University’s four-decade-old, world renowned expertise with the science and engineering of fine particles, which resulted in the creation of the Center for Advanced Materials Processing, can yield these breakthroughs and advance the warfighter’s technological edge.

This federal funding would help develop portable power generation systems based on concentrated solar thermal technology. It would allow a team of interdisciplinary nanomaterials researchers from Clarkson’s Center for Advanced Materials Processing (CAMP) in Potsdam to develop several types of efficient organic, inorganic and hybrid solar and thermal systems and devices for national defense.

“Developing new, clean, homegrown sources of energy is a vital part of our economic recovery,” Senator Gillibrand said. “This federal investment would help drive research and develop of new solar power technology, helping make solar power more efficient for the military and eventually for the entire marketplace. By making solar power more effective and affordable over the long term, we can cut emissions, improve our environment, lower our energy bills, and create good-paying green jobs right here at home.”

Thermoelectric devices use a temperature differential to create a charge potential in a specialized thermoelectric material. Portable solar thermal power generation systems have the potential for significant increases in efficiency and reliability with decreases in footprint and scale of compared to conventional PV systems. Solar power now accounts for less than one percent of the total U.S. electrical capacity of 1,000 gigawatts.

Current solar power systems cannot power the larger warfighter electronic weapons, radar, field hospital, and logistics systems that now require combustible, liquid-fueled generators with their attendant heat, emissions, and sound signature problems. Improvements in collecting sunlight energy and more efficiently transferring it to its collection units or end uses are dependent on research breakthroughs with nanoparticle-sized materials.