Climate
Forecasting Wind Energy
Annual Eversource Energy Center Workshop 2024
The Annual Eversource Energy Center (EEC) Workshop convened on February 9th at the Innovation Partnership Building and attracted over 80 participants from industry, government, and academia, including top New England utility companies Eversource, Avangrid, ConEdison, and National Grid, alongside others such as PECO (Exelon) and Hydro Quebec. Notable attendees also included ISO-NE, with responsibility for ensuring reliability and overseeing electricity markets across all of New England. Keynote speaker David Howard, Director of Grid Components at the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Electricity, addressed the gathering.
The workshop centered on EEC’s five research pillars, encompassing grid resilience and reliability, renewable energy, cyber-physical system security, and workforce training and outreach. The morning kicked off with presentations from UConn faculty showcasing nineteen ongoing funded projects spanning these topics, sharing progress with industry stakeholders, advisory board members, and colleagues.
Afternoon breakout groups provided the opportunity for in-depth discussion of the individual projects presented during the morning session. Researchers received valuable feedback on industry priorities and needs, discussed next steps, and shared insights on potential new research and funding opportunities.
According to Assistant Professor Diego Cerrai, Associate Director for EEC, “This was a fantastic day where we were able to network, reconnect, and exchange ideas.” Assistant Professor Xinxuan Zhang, EEC Center Manager, adds, “The afternoon session I participated in was extremely valuable for informing new ideas for my research. It was very inspiring to see the enthusiasm and engagement of my colleagues and industry partners.”
This robust framework is central to EEC’s continued success. EEC Center Director and UConn Tech Park Executive Director Emmanouil Anagnostou was delighted with the outcome. “The annual workshop is vital to the Eversource Energy Center’s power grid resilience and clean energy. It continues to build upon ongoing research and provides a critical foundation that enhances our prospects for future federal funding on climate resilience, smart grid, and sustainability as well as collaboration and co-sponsorships with industry.”
Eversource Energy Center Mission Statement and Pillars
Mission
To be the foremost energy utility-academia partnership advancing leading-edge interdisciplinary research and technology assuring reliable power during extreme weather and security events.
Pillars
To fulfill our mission, our center will focus the new EVERSOURCE-UConn partnership research activities over the next five years under the following five pillars:
1. Grid Resilience in a Warming Climate
2. Grid Reliability in a Changing Demand Environment
3. Renewable Energy Integration
4. Cyber-Physical System Security
5. Workforce training, outreach, and policy
About Eversource Energy Center
The Eversource Energy Center, a partnership between UConn and Eversource utility company, addresses resilience challenges in the energy sector, particularly regarding extreme weather, climate change, and clean power infrastructure. Housed at UConn’s Innovation Partnership Building, the Center leverages university resources to innovate and develop solutions for weather-related risks and security events. Supported by funding from various sources, including utilities, industry, and federal entities, the Center serves as a hub for interdisciplinary research, teaching, and workforce development. Emphasizing both technological advancement and people development, the Center supports student programs and diversity initiatives. EEC is committed to active collaborations driving innovation in storm preparedness, grid resilience, and modernization, inviting further participation in shaping the future grid.
Moving Beyond Implications: Research into Policy Inaugural Conference
UConn Tech Park responded to a call for researchers to shape policies that optimize benefit to Connecticut’s communities, environment, and economy. Interim Executive Director Emmanouil Anagnostou and Professor George Bollas, along with other researchers and academicians, participated in the inaugural “Moving Beyond Implications: Research into Policy” conference at the State Capitol. This event fosters collaboration between policymakers and researchers, promoting evidence-based policymaking in the state. Anagnostou and Bollas presented topics related to the impact of extreme rainfall on water infrastructure and non-carbon-based fuels, respectively, contributing to the dynamic discussion on how scientists can inform future policy decisions for impactful results.
Check out the UConn Today article, “Conference to Unite Legislators and Scientists in Joint Effort to Strengthen Connecticut” for additional details on the conference’s objectives and background.
Co-organizers State Rep. Jaime Foster and Kerri Raissian provide post-conference commentary in the CT Mirror article, “For progress, put Connecticut lawmakers and researchers in the same room.”
UConn Receives DoE Grant Supporting Offshore Wind Grid Integration
Opportunity Lights Up UConn Sustainable Energy Summit
Future Climate Venture Studio Launches Second Cohort
UConn Students Help ASSA ABLOY Advance a Sustainable Future
Connecticut and University of Connecticut (UConn) are national leaders in Clean Energy and Sustainability. UConn was recently selected by the U.S. Department of Energy to lead a nationwide decarbonization effort, centrally coordinating critical activities that can facilitate the adoption of Onsite Sustainable Energy Technologies among large energy users. This honor builds upon UConn’s reputation as a national leader in advancing clean energy.
UConn’s Innovation Partnership Building (IPB) at UConn Tech Park is a focal point for businesses interested in reducing their carbon footprint. By connecting companies to critical energy research, incredible high-tech facilities, and programs like Senior Design projects and professional education, the IPB is committed to driving progress in sustainability, and securing a sustainable, efficient, and profitable future powered by clean energy.
Recently, the IPB began conversations with ASSA ABLOY on applying state-of-the-art research towards achieving ASSA ABLOY’s sustainability commitments. Discussions led to options for student engagement, particularly through UConn’s Senior Design program.
Each year, UConn’s School of Engineering capstone Senior Design program engages seniors, faculty, and industry in a yearlong partnership to develop and apply innovative solutions to engineering challenges faced in real-life business settings.
In 2023, over 240 Senior Design projects were sponsored by more than 120 global and domestic participating organizations representing manufacturing, pharmaceuticals, medical, consulting, and utilities sectors. Students and their supporting faculty advisor work together with an industry sponsor to develop solutions to real-life problems in the field. The students research and analyze the problem, conceptualize design solutions and present solutions that can make a real difference to local industry and the state of Connecticut.
Recognizing the potential of enlisting student help to achieve their sustainability goals, ASSA ABLOY sponsored two UConn Senior Design projects.
ASSA ABLOY is the global leader in access solutions, operating in over 70 countries around the world with industry leading innovation and technology, making them a perfect fit as a sponsor for the Senior Design projects.
ASSA ABLOY supported three Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science Engineering teams with two projects: reduced carbon footprint door construction, and improved materials for door-locking cylinder products for increased security. Through mentorship from ASSA ABLOY employees Dan Glover, Product Manager, Door Group; Dan Picard, Senior Director of Innovation, ASSA ABLOY Opening Solutions Americas; and Clyde Roberson, Director of Product Management and Tech Services, Medeco Security Locks, the student teams spent two semesters dedicating hundreds of hours to their projects. Final projects were presented at an end-of-year public demonstration, where hundreds of teams shared their projects and findings.
“The projects we sponsored were based on some real challenges we have,” Picard explains. “We can only do so much with our limited resources, specifically on challenges surrounding science-based targets and materials themselves. We don’t have materials scientists or materials engineers in-house, so we must go to the experts. Fortunately, UConn has a wealth of experience and knowledge, so it made sense to sponsor the Senior Engineering Capstone projects.”
Sponsoring these projects also gave ASSA ABLOY the opportunity to meet new subject matter experts in these different areas and collaborate with UConn’s faculty. Picard affirms that “The engineering teams at UConn have access to some amazing technology, such as theoretical tools that help us to understand how materials function. These tools enabled the door construction project to do finite element analysis and see potential product failure points through all different types of door assemblies. They could test different amounts of force and impact resistance. This is something we do in our test lab, but they were able to simulate on a computer. The expertise of this software is something we don’t have in-house.”
Out of the 240 teams participating in Senior Design, one of ASSA ABLOY’s sponsored teams placed 3rd in the Materials Science and Engineering department competition. The project that focused on improving door locking cylinders for increased security and drill resistance, involved in-depth research of harder and tougher materials that improve the product but are easier to manufacture and machine.
“This team placing third is huge,” Glover explains. “They were competing against major companies and corporations like Sikorsky Helicopter, NASA, and Pratt and Whitney. They were also featured in UConn’s magazine, where only four projects were listed. It was an exciting achievement for them and for us as sponsors.”
What’s next for these winning ideas? They aren’t just forgotten at the end of the year. The work by the sponsored teams is being served as a baseline to kick-start new innovation initiatives at ASSA ABLOY.
“The teams at UConn provided us with ideas and insights that will help guide our future product development,” according to Picard. “We were beyond impressed with the results, particularly in lowering the CO2 footprint of the door, while maintaining its performance and integrity, and the investment was worth it. We had a real-life problem and were able to share our experiences with the students. In exchange, they provided us with hundreds of hours of research and offered potential solutions to our challenges.”
Both Glover and Picard comment on invaluable personal experiences during the program. “It’s an extra “above and beyond” what we normally do, but I learned so much,” Glover says. “I thank ASSA ABLOY for the opportunity to get involved and I would recommend we do it again in a heartbeat! It is such an enlightening experience and working with young engineers that see problems differently is energizing. We are helping develop our next generation of innovators and potential ASSA ABLOY teammates – it’s so rewarding.”
If your organization is interested in sponsoring a future UConn Senior Design project or partnering with IPB at UConn Tech Park to advance efficiency and competitiveness through sustainability, we would love to hear from you. Please contact:
| Senior Design
Charles B. Maric |
IPB Partnership for Sustainability
Michael DiDonato |
Supporting Startups Striving for a Sustainable Future
The Innovation Partnership Building hosted a four-day kickoff meeting this month with the first cohort of the Future Climate Venture Studio: six selected companies creating solutions across a range of critical areas of climate and sustainability including energy, agriculture, manufacturing, and financial services solutions.
The companies selected to the first cohort are:
Applied Bioplastics (Austin, TX) – appliedbioplastics.com
Clean Crop Technologies, Inc. (Holyoke, MA) – cleancroptech.com
Cool Amps Corp., (New Haven, CT) – coolamps.tech
GreenPortfolio (New York, NY) – greenportfolio.com
INOVUES (Houston, TX) – inovues.com
Urban Stalk (Hamilton, Ontario, Canada) – urbanstalk.ca
Future Climate Venture Studio, launched in September 2022, is taking an entrepreneurial approach to tackling the climate change crisis. Its mission is to identify, support, and collaborate with the startups addressing the most critical dimensions of the climate challenge, including decarbonization, alternative energy, planetary resilience, social impact, and more.
The program and its partners will provide the selected companies with access to industry and UConn faculty experts, capital investment from R/GA Ventures, technology facilities at the Innovation Partnership Building at UConn, as well as guidance from the Studio’s Investor-in-Residence, Cody Simms from MCJ Collective, a media platform and investment fund powering innovative climate solutions.
The studio is led by the University of Connecticut, a national and global leader in interdisciplinary climate research, in partnership with R/GA Ventures, a leading venture studio operator and early-stage investor; and CTNext, a state agency dedicated to public-private partnership to catalyze Connecticut’s innovation ecosystem.
The event marks the latest in a series of investments and initiatives for UConn as it establishes itself as a leader in climate change and clean energy research and innovation. Working with other institutions and industrial leaders, the University has expanded its influence and worked lockstep with state leaders toward the goal of net zero carbon emissions by 2040.
“The selected companies align perfectly with UConn’s mission to contribute valuable research toward clean energy production and reducing dependence on carbon-based fuels,” says Pamir Alpay, UConn’s interim Vice President for Research, Innovation, and Entrepreneurship. “Our faculty and students are committed to the solutions that will steer us toward a cleaner energy future.”
“The transition to a green economy is an increasingly crucial focus to produce positive change for our world and markets. Therefore, sustainability is a core value at CTNext and a major factor in where we invest as an organization to generate a stronger innovation ecosystem in Connecticut. In supporting this first cohort, we’re excited to showcase how our regional resources and relationships can drive greater impact both on a local and national level,” says Onyeka Obiocha, Executive Director at CTNEXT.
Additional partners include CT Innovations, the state of Connecticut’s venture capital arm; Connecticut Green Bank, the nation’s first green bank; the Connecticut Public Utilities Regulatory Authority (PURA); technology leader Oracle Corporation; and investor partners such as Cimbria Capital, Nexus Venture Partners, and others.