House budget provides no funding for one of DOE’s innovation labs
DOI: 10.1063/PT.5.028031
Nature : The US House of Representatives provided no funding in its version of the 2015 budget for the Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Joint Center for Artificial Photosynthesis (JCAP), based at Caltech. One of the five innovation hubs established by former DOE director Steven Chu, JCAP had as it’s goal the development of a process to convert sunlight into fuel. The hub was originally given $122 million for 5 years with a possibility of renewal in 2015. Instead of going ahead with the renewal, DOE officials asked for a one year extension in the 2015 budget. In response, the House appropriations committee decided that it did not want to support the program if DOE itself wasn’t willing to continue with the renewal as originally designed.
