Four teams from the University of Connecticut have been selected as top competitors nationwide for the U.S. Department of Energy’s virtual EnergyTech University Prize (UP) 2024.
One group of students presented a project titled “PowerPulse: A Resilience Revolution for the U.S. Power Grid” as part of their award as an Explore Phase competitor.
The students, including Rani Kamel, Alaa Selim, Soroush Vahedi, Essam Boraei, Mostafa Karami and Mohammadamin Rajabinezad, made their presentations late last month.
“It was a great experience pitching our technology solution and competing against some great teams from the New England region,” said Selim. “Although we didn’t advance to the next stage, we learned a lot from this competition and it was an honor to showcase UConn and remain on this stage.”
The students’ business model is designed to accelerate the adoption of Grid Enhancement Technologies (also known as GETS) in the United States and focuses on two areas.
Key areas: Quantifying grid resilience and optimizing emergency recovery.
The team developed a comprehensive system of metrics to quantify the resilience gains brought about by GET.
The system evaluates how technologies such as advanced conductors, dynamic line rating and power flow control contribute to the grid’s robustness against outages. By providing clear, quantifiable values of resilience, the model helps investors and stakeholders understand the tangible benefits and return on investment of deploying these technologies. This data-driven approach helps create a compelling business case for investing in grid-strengthening technologies.
To optimize emergency restoration, the team leveraged artificial intelligence algorithms to integrate GET into grid restoration plans. The model shows that implementing these technologies can significantly speed up power restoration, reduce operational costs during outages, and improve overall service reliability. This is appealing not only to grid operators but also to end consumers, who are increasingly concerned about energy reliability and efficiency. The business model positions GET not only as an enhancement to the current grid, but also as a necessary evolution to meet growing energy demands and environmental challenges.
By focusing on improving ROI and operational efficiencies, the team aims to attract significant investments and partnerships to drive the adoption of these critical technologies for a more robust, efficient and future-proof power infrastructure.
In late February, another group of students, Al Kasani, Reiner Reichenberger, and Michael Dunn, presented: The team developed Particle-N, a scalable core-shell manufacturing technology that can help industry meet the Department of Energy’s goal of improving the efficiency of precious metal catalysts used in proton exchange electrolyzers.
“There is a great group of young entrepreneurs at the University of Connecticut,” says Kasani, a serial entrepreneur whose project was “Revolutionizing Precious Metal Catalysis.” “We were all fortunate to meet in Professor Daneshmandi’s class.”
Particle-N addresses the shortage of iridium, which is used in the clean hydrogen industry. Experts believe that burning hydrogen is the future of clean energy because the only by-product produced is water.
Casani is in the lab of University of Connecticut Chancellor Radenka Maric at the Center for Clean Energy Engineering.
“Students are developing and acting on an entrepreneurial mindset,” said Professor Leila Daneshmandi, full-time assistant professor of innovation and entrepreneurship. “By collaborating with private and public backers, students are able to advance innovative designs and create new environmentally friendly technologies.”
The UConn School of Engineering offers entrepreneurship training to all students across the campus. Learn more about these courses online.
A total of 225 student teams from 117 schools across the country participated in the tournament.
“We see immense value in supporting the next generation of clean energy leaders through EnergyTech UP,” said Dr. Vanessa Z. Chan, DOE’s chief commercialization officer and OTT director, in a DOE release. “These teams are committed to developing energy technologies and business opportunities that are feasible, equitable and scalable. They have the potential to have a significant impact on the clean tech industry, and we’re proud to provide resources to help strengthen their ideas.”
Students Brian Penn, Shivam Patel and John Toribio also participated in a project titled “Electrochromic Windows for Agriculture and Energy.”
The three are co-founders of Shadesnap, which is using a new kind of electrochromic polymer to make electrochromic technology more sustainable and affordable. Unlike typical electrochromic polymers, the team’s modular electrochromic polymer is highly tunable.
“This unique property can be harnessed to enable a variety of technologies, including windows that selectively adjust/filter light to optimize plant growth and maintain a comfortable indoor environment, as well as wearable technologies such as dynamic and adaptive eyewear,” Toribio says.
The other UConn team competed with a project titled, “Energy Tools for Scaling Renewable Technologies.”
The EnergyTech UP student track will challenge university teams to develop actionable plans for business and commercialization opportunities for high-potential energy technologies, and participants will gain free and exclusive access to OTT’s Energy I-Corps curriculum, allowing finalists to receive mentorship from industry leaders to hone their proposals.
Teams will compete for more than $400,000 in prize money across three phases – exploration, refinement and proposal – with bonus prize winners also selected along the way.