Energy Transitions | Institute for Sustainability, Energy, and Environment | Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research and Innovation

Energy Transitions

At Illinois, the future of energy is already taking root.

In a greenhouse just outside campus, a new variety of sorghum grows taller, faster, and richer in oil than any crop before it. Across town, rows of data points flow from campus buildings, powering dashboards that inform everyday decisions about energy use. And in labs, fields, and testbeds across the state, researchers are reshaping how we power our world, working not only to reduce emissions but to reimagine what energy can be.

At the Institute for Sustainability, Energy, and Environment (iSEE), we believe that energy transitions are more than a technical challenge. They are a chance to transform systems, unlock new science, and create real-world solutions that scale.

Focus Areas

Agrivoltaics
Studying the co-location of solar panels and crops to improve land-use efficiency, generate renewable energy, and support resilient food systems.
Bioenergy and Bioproducts
Developing sustainable feedstocks and converting biomass into fuels, chemicals, and industrial materials.
Campus Energy Management
Monitoring, reducing, and optimizing energy use in buildings and systems through data dashboards and operational strategies.
Energy Efficiency and Emissions Reduction
Designing and implementing cost-effective solutions for reducing energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions across Illinois.
Clean Energy Innovation
Advancing technologies and strategies for low-carbon energy systems, including electrification, smart infrastructure, and renewable integration.
Sustainable Infrastructure and Building Design
Modeling energy performance in buildings and integrating climate-responsive design into the built environment.

Featured Researchers

Dokyoung "D.K." Lee
Professor of Crop Sciences

Professor Lee leads iSEE’s Next-Generation Feedstocks project, which is investigating the benefits of switchgrass and other prairie grasses as affordable, sustainable sources of market-ready biofuels and high-value products.

Illinois Experts
Nenad Miljkovic
Professor of Mechanical Science and Engineering

Professor Miljkovic is a key part of the SCAPES Agrivoltaics Project, which studies how to integrate crops and solar arrays to maximize agricultural and energy production and enhance the farm economy. He applies his expertise in energy efficiency and thermo-fluid sciences to the solar photovoltaic systems used in SCAPES research.

Illinois Experts
Andrew Leakey
Professor of Plant Biology
Director, Center for Advanced Bioenergy and Bioproducts Innovation (CABBI)

Professor Leakey leads CABBI, a $262.5 million DOE-funded center focused on growing next-generation bioenergy crops and converting them into sustainable fuels and chemicals. Under his leadership, CABBI has produced 18 patents and pioneered innovations, including high-oil sorghum, drought-resilient miscanthus, and low-emission bioconversion processes.

Illinois Experts

Impact Highlights

New sorghum variety can outperform soybeans in oil production

CABBI’s newly developed sorghum variant has great potential as a clean source of renewable fuel.

Illinois develops bioprocessing method to generate high-value products from sugarcane

CABBI researchers have developed a sustainable process that has redefined and expanded oilcane’s product portfolio, adding value to this feedstock.

CABBI technologies pave the way to industry adoption

Recently generated intellectual property on high-oil crop lines and extraction techniques to maximize extraction of oils and pigments from biomass are on their way to commercialization.

Sustainable aviation fuel research brings together scientists across campus

iSEE is working to coordinate the efforts of scientists across campus researching sustainable aviation fuels (SAF) to meet the needs of hard-to-decarbonize transportation—this involves aerospace engineers, mechanical engineers, agricultural economists, and agronomists. We contribute our research findings to the broader discussion on this emerging economic opportunity in Illinois, such as the Illinois Sustainable Aviation Fuel Conference organized by the Illinois Manufacturer’s Association and other industry stakeholders.