The U.S. Department of Energy — together with the Government of India — recently established a Joint Clean Energy Research and Development Center (JCERDC) “designed to promote clean energy innovation by teams of scientists and engineers from India and the United States.” DoE is committing $25 million to the Center over the next five years.

The first JCERDC solicitation was issued earlier this month, with a focus on three priority areas. At least one of these — building energy efficiency — specifically aligns with computing research:

The objective is to contribute to dramatic improvements in the energy efficiency of buildings (commercial or residential) in the United States and India. Recommended topics include: building heating and cooling, cool roofs, advanced lighting, advanced shells, daylighting designs, energy-efficient building materials, software for building design and operations, sensor and control networks, and ways to reduce the cost of building retrofits. Research on integrating renewable energy technologies such as building-integrated photovoltaics (BIPV), wind energy, ground source heat pumps,and biomass could also be explored. With respect to these technologies, emphasis will be placed on the understanding of and approach to identifying research gaps; prioritization of research; implementation of collaborative research teams drawing on expertise in both nations.

Applications — requiring teams of U.S. and Indian researchers spanning universities, national laboratories, private companies, and others — are due by Aug. 16, 2011. DoE and the Government of India expect to make one award in the above priority area, at a rate of at least $1 million per year over five years.

See the full funding opportunity announcement here.

(Contributed by Erwin Gianchandani, CCC Director)