Scientists from the U.S. and China will jointly tackle carbon capture and storage research, thanks to a memorandum of understanding that was entered into between the University of California, which manages Berkeley Lab, and Peking University on Nov. 12.

Berkeley Lab researchers have produced non-toxic nanocrystals that efficiently emit blue light, making them a bright candidate for solid-state lighting. These materials could also play a role in long-term storage of carbon dioxide, a potential means of tempering the effects of global warming.

The biggest environmental challenges facing scientists today will require a better understanding of nanosized minerals, which abide by their own often mysterious rules. Scientists at the Berkeley Nanogeoscience Center are working to learn these rules.

The Department of Energy will invest $777 million in 46 new Energy Frontier Research Centers over the next five years as part of President Barack Obama’s plans to reinvigorate American science. Berkeley Lab will be home to the Center for Nanoscale Control of Geologic CO2, led by Don DePaolo, director of the Earth Sciences Division, to study carbon dioxide storage deep underground.