Low Carbon and Renewable Energy
Developing sustainable, secure, resilient, and adaptive energy systems and infrastructure that fosters economic growth while reducing environmental impact.
About Low Carbon and Renewable Energy
Colorado School of Mines conducts multidisciplinary research and education to create innovative, efficient and cost-effective low carbon and renewable energy systems. Mines connects this scientific and technical knowledge to societal problems that require economic solutions, policy innovation, and community engagement.
Low Carbon and Renewable Energy Focused
research consortia and centers
Advanced Energy Systems Group
Focused on the study and advancement of sustainable and alternative energy systems that either convert valuable resources to useful products (such as power, heat, cooling, synfuels, etc.) or store energy for later use.
COLORADO FUEL CELL CENTER
The Colorado Fuel Cell Center develops electrochemical devices to address our nation’s needs in electricity generation and energy storage. Batteries, fuel cells, electrolyzers and membrane reactors are all active topics of research and development.
NEXUS
A strategic partnership between Colorado School of Mines and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) to invest in the development of joint responses to grand challenges; catalyze research funding to pursue joint work; and foster the exchange of ideas and funding via research and teaching.
NREL
NREL advances the science and engineering of energy efficiency, sustainable transportation, and renewable power technologies and provides the knowledge to integrate and optimize energy systems.
NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING PROGRAM
The Nuclear Science and Engineering program at Colorado School of Mines delivers a traditional nuclear engineering core curriculum while emphasizing all aspects of the nuclear fuel life cycle.
SUSTAINABLE ENERGY
Students from different majors focused on learning about and shifting the landscape on sustainable energy: sustainable and affordable buildings/communities, renewable energy (e.g. solar, wind), energy storage, policy and business solutions for sustainable systems and energy equity. The program is dedicated to encourage, recruit, and train next generation energy professionals that will find innovative and holistic solutions to challenges such as climate change, clean energy transition, and energy equity.
SUSTAINABILITY AT MINES
The mission of the Colorado School of Mines is education and research in engineering and science to solve the world’s challenges related to the earth, energy, and environment. Mines sustainability efforts are focused in three main areas: teaching, research, and facilities. Students from nearly every discipline have opportunities to take courses that relate environmental issues to society, culture, engineering, and applied sciences.
Low Carbon and Renewable Energy
Educational Programs
ADVANCED ENERGY SYSTEMS – A Transformational Graduate Program
Through a unique interdisciplinary graduate program, Colorado School of Mines (Mines) and National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) are cultivating the rich opportunity landscape needed to develop these future innovators. The Mines/NREL Advanced Energy Systems (AES) degree program prepares researchers at the doctoral level and energy professionals at the master’s level to address the full complexity of tomorrow’s infrastructure, economic, and environmental challenges.
DESIGN ENGINEERING
The Design Engineering focus provides hands-on experiences from the start of your education, including working on real-world challenges in interdisciplinary teams and mastering all phases of problem definition, concept generation and solution implementation. Our BSE student’s focus area addresses world-wide challenges in energy studies.
ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING
The undergraduate EE degree at Mines caters to various industries including electric power and energy, renewable energy, aerospace, communications, robotics, and diverse industries that rely on embedded intelligence to manage data and systems.
ENERGY MINOR PROGRAM
The Energy Minor program is intended to provide engineering students with a deeper understanding of the complex role energy technology plays in modern societies.
MINERAL AND ENERGY ECONOMICS PROGRAM
Since 1969, Mineral and Energy Economics at Mines offers a specialized program in applied economics that includes training in valuable quantitative methods. Our faculty and graduate students are unique in their focus on applied energy, mineral and environmental topics.
NATURAL RESOURCES & ENERGY POLICY
NREP applies a multidisciplinary social science lens to natural resources and energy issues, teaching a combination of qualitative and quantitative methods, with a strong focus on original research, critical thinking, and written and oral communication.
Latest News
- Colorado School of Mines awarded $10.5M in fuel cell funding 4/26/2024
- Greenhouse Gases Life Cycle Assessment for Natural Gas and Liquefied Natural Gas 4/23/2024
- Hydrogen Tax Credit Rules Must Sync With Biden’s Climate Agenda 4/10/2024
- The United States’ Strategy for Securing Critical Minerals Supplies: Can It Meet the Needs of the IRA? 4/9/2024
- Colorado School of Mines, Chevron announce partnership for Global Energy Future Initiative 4/8/2024
Leadership
Learn More
For more information about Integrated Carbon Capture Utilization and Storage (CCUS) at the Colorado School of Mines, please contact Global Initiatives Deputy Director Greg Clough, at gclough@mines.edu.
Neal Sullivan
Director, Colorado Fuel Cell Center
Robert Braun
Director, Mines/NREL Advanced Energy Systems Program
Why Mines?
Since 1874, Mines has been a pioneer at the frontiers of science and engineering, from locating and recovering earth resources, to energy production, to environmental stewardship.
Over time, Mines’ expertise expanded to meet the changing needs of industry and society, playing key roles in the growth of the global energy and natural resource industries. We are now positioned to leverage that deep expertise through a data-driven approach to informing the global energy future, in collaboration with academia, industry, government and civil society partners.
Mines@150
As Colorado School of Mines approaches our sesquicentennial, we are ideally suited to lead this initiative. Our bold and ambitious MINES@150 strategic plan builds on the exceptional legacy of our PAST, the ways we impact the PRESENT and the POSSIBILITIES of our global energy future.