Georgia Tech Strategic Energy Institute

Georgia Institute of Technology is home to 17 research centers focused on cutting edge energy innovation covering cybersecurity, transportation, renewable energy, energy storage and more. The ongoing research from these centers has helped maintain Georgia Tech's status as one of the leading energy research universities in the nation. To learn more, follow the link below or contact SEI. https://lnkd.in/eREBi5HY

My earlier post noted that most studies that model out a least cost path to a net zero society lead to a roughly equal mix of fuels and electricity as energy carriers. Expect a big growth for use of electric power, but also a substantive role for fuels, such as hydrogen, fossil fuels, or renewable liquid fuels. This post will explain why these economic analyses lead to this balance between electricity and fuels as energy carriers.   There are at least two key drivers – first, and quite well understood, are the so-called “hard to decarbonize” sectors such as transportation, particularly aviation. There is a second driver which is far less understood which I’ll focus on here. This one occurs in sectors with high reliability requirements, such as the electric power sector, one of the “easier to decarbonize” sectors.  A key constraint in a least cost analysis is a specified requirement on system reliability. And, the relative mix of wind, solar, batteries, and gas are fundamentally different if we expect say, 80% reliability, vs 99.9% reliability. My colleague Micah Ziegler has written a paper quantifying this point – see https://lnkd.in/d2Xnc-hs. He took 20 years of wind and solar data and constructed a least cost electricity system composed of wind+solar+storage , as a function of reliability. Want to know how much more it will cost you to have a system with 99% reliability instead of 90% reliability? His paper will tell you.  He showed that the cost of an all-electric system increases dramatically beyond about 95% reliability.     In order to understand this, its helpful to consider two limiting cost models. At one extreme, are components with relatively little recurring or O&M costs – the majority of the costs is up front capital. Whether you use the system a lot or a little, you still pay the same amount. Photovoltaic generation or battery storage tend towards this limit. The opposite limit are “pay as you go systems” – no upfront capital but costs scale with how much you use it. Fuel is the dominant overall cost of many thermal systems, such as gas turbines using natural gas or hydrogen, which scale directly with utilization.   Now, consider Micah Ziegler’s analysis – with systems subject to weather, there is always a tail distribution of infrequent events that required coverage. While some storage capacity was used frequently, some was only deployed a few times over 20 years.   So, the reason that fuel shows up is that they are used in systems that push you closer to the “pay as you go” cost model – they may be more expensive for a regular, daily energy storage demand, but at some level of reliability, can be less expensive than technologies that are front end capital intensive. It is not something intrinsic to fuels themselves that drive this business case, but rather that they are tied to systems whose costs tend to be dominated by the actual energy delivered, rather than the nameplate capacity.

#decarbonization strategies for the southeastern US to help visualize the pathway for a cleaner region.

Georgia Tech mechanical engineering researchers from the lab of Assistant Professor Akanksha Menon have developed a method to store thermal energy using two common salts. This is a big step towards reducing reliance on burning fossil fuels to produce heat. As a bonus, the technology can be integrated into modern heat pumps. Read the full story here: https://lnkd.in/ekTZhaPm #energystorage #sustainability

Do you know any incoming GT freshman? If so, please share with them these campus opportunities to become involved in the campus energy community. Our student energy club is widely regarded as one of the most active and well run energy clubs in the region, offering leadership opportunities and social activities for students of all majors. Georgia Tech also offers an energy minor, making it possible for students of all majors to become fluent in the current energy landscape. To learn more about these opportunities: https://lnkd.in/egSuVi_T

ATL Cleantech Connect social #3 was a huge hit. It is no exaggeration that Atlanta has a wonderful #Cleantech ecosystem, and it is growing fast. You can follow SEI on X and/or here to stay abreast of future ATL CleanTech Connect events.

There are only a few spots left for the 3rd installment of the Atlanta CleanTech Connect series of socials. The first two events 'sold out' and late registrants were waitlisted. If you have been waiting to register, wait no longer and register now to secure your spot. Follow this link to register: https://bit.ly/3zfUZxv

We developed this series of short, educational videos to teach basic energy concepts to lay-persons. Divided into chapters by topic, it is easy to focus on the area of energy you want to learn more about without a huge time commitment. Teachers can incorporate these videos into lesson plans involving sustainability, supply and demand, government, or even engineering concepts. Policy-makers can utilize the videos to become more fluent in the influences driving different aspects of our energy policies. Would you like to see more content like this? If you have suggestions on future energy video topics, let us know in the comments. https://lnkd.in/eyvfZide

Focusing on utility-scale solar rather than residential solar could enable solar to reach its full carbon reduction potential. Why? Georgia Tech Associate Professor Matthew Oliver of the School of Economics, and EPICenter Affiliate, shows how utility-scale solar better realizes carbon reduction potential of photovoltaics (PV) as compared to rooftop PV in this article: https://lnkd.in/g6gTV9hU

Hydrogen has enormous potential in the transition to a clean energy future. As an energy carrier, hydrogen could play a major role as a means to equalize energy supplies from intermittent renewable sources such as solar and wind. It is simultaneously a key enabler of decarbonized energy and synthesized materials, such as net-zero carbon synthetic hydrocarbons. Georgia Tech researchers are exploring innovative ways to produce, use, transport, and store hydrogen. Hydrogen is already a key ingredient in many processes in the chemical industry. Supplying hydrogen that is produced in a more sustainable manner to the industrial sector is a parallel objective. Georgia Tech is committed to developing effective technologies related to all aspects of hydrogen and its applications in society. The Institute is also committed to ensuring that these advancements impact our society in an environmentally and socially equitable manner. Learn more about hydrogen research at Georgia Tech here: https://lnkd.in/ePiMAnGG