As the energy grid in the United States ages and power usage increases, something needs to be done to ensure that everyone has reliable access to electricity. Luckily, there’s a team of University of Pittsburgh researchers working with industry partners to tackle these energy issues.
Fang Peng, RK Mellon Endowed Chair Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering in the Swanson School of Engineering, is one of a number of Pitt scholars and researchers who are tackling the aging characteristics of the U.S. power grid. Peng directs the Energy GRID Institute at Pitt, with Brandon Grainger, associate professor of electrical and computer engineering and Eaton Faculty fellow in Pitt’s Swanson School of Engineering, serving as associate director.
Located in the Energy Innovation Center, the Energy GRID Institute focuses on advancing electric power systems through the use of novel power electronics conversion systems.
“Our real-world setups enable us to perform at-scale research, development, testing and validation of new grid technology,” says Peng. “By working together with industry, agency, local foundation and academic partners, we are poised to rebuild and revolutionize the electric grid.”
“By working together with industry, agency, local foundation and academic partners, we are poised to rebuild and revolutionize the electric grid.”
But it’s not only large-scale grids that have an effect on energy consumption. As more necessary products in our lives use electricity, the capacity of batteries is increasingly important.
Prashant Kumta, Distinguished Professor of Bioengineering and Edward R. Weidlein Chair Professor in the Swanson School, explores novel ways to safely pack more power into smaller batteries using nanostructures, new redox chemistries and new approaches for making those materials, resulting in safe and long-lasting high-power batteries.
One way he is doing this is by investigating a new battery chemistry that combines lithium and sulfur, a cheap industrial affluent, which could easily outperform the current lithium-ion batteries but leads to a reaction that will eventually dissolve the sulfur. The new materials he and his group have identified can generate a more resilient, safe and long-lasting battery.
By uniting large-scale grid modernization with advanced materials science, the work of these engineering researchers highlights a comprehensive approach to future energy challenges. Their combined efforts—integrating resilient power system architectures with breakthroughs in energy storage—represent a critical step toward building an electricity infrastructure that is not only reliable and efficient but also adaptable to the evolving demands of modern society.