Google.org opened up its wallet to give $250,000 to the U.S. National Academies to study how the United States and China can work together on developing and deploying renewable energy technologies.
The 18-month study will examine electrical power generation, energy storage and grid technologies, and it will build on an existing energy technology assessment by the National Academies, Google.org said Monday (see description of the study).
The research will primarily look at solar, wind and biomass, but will also examine enhanced geothermal systems, a technology Google.org has previously invested in (see Google Funds Hot Rock Technology).
The National Academies will carry out the joint study with the Chinese Academies of Sciences and Engineering. The first meeting to discuss the project is scheduled to take place on Nov. 12.
Google.org, the search giant's charitable arm, has poured millions into renewable energy and electric car companies. Google is keen on not just making money from the investments, but also on influencing national energy policies (see Google Proposes $4.4T U.S. Energy Plan and Aptera Scores $24M to Produce Electric Ride).
The new study will recommend ways for the two countries and their private industries to set more aggressive renewable energy goals and collaborate on technologies that can be commercialized in the near future. The United States and China are the world's two largest energy consumers and greenhouse gas emitters.