INL looks to the Sun (Devils) for clean energy research

Idaho National Laboratory is continuing a research partnership, heating up research into clean energy.

The lab signed an agreement in October with Arizona State University (home of the Sun Devils) to expand their joint research efforts into clean energy over the next five years. The agreement, INL stated, establishes a framework for both the lab and the school to develop low-carbon processes for the energy and manufacturing sectors.

Researchers from both institutions have previously worked together on projects ranging from solar thermochemical hydrogen production to making congested electrical transmission lines more efficient. The agreement “formalizes both parties’ interest in developing and improving applied and advanced energy technologies and infrastructure,” a release stated.

“ASU is one of the most rapidly growing research universities in the U.S.,” said Todd Combs, associate laboratory director for energy and environment science and technology at INL. “We look forward to working with their faculty and students to create transformative clean energy solutions.”

The agreement makes ASU one of six universities that INL has partnered with across the country.

INL Directorate Fellow Seth Snyder pointed out that the agreement with ASU is special because the school “is classified as an R1 research institution, an elite designation given to universities with exceptionally high levels of research activity. Of the nearly 4,000 degree-granting institutions across the U.S., only 146 held the designation in 2021.”

ASU also has the largest student body population of any engineering school in the U.S., INL stated.

The lab stated that ASU is what’s known as a “minority-serving institution.” Such schools have access to Interior Department funds and other federal resources to help students overcome racial discrimination and limited economic opportunities.

“This is a unique opportunity for INL to collaborate with academics and industry,” Snyder said. “It will establish a strong and ongoing collaboration and bring us into new relationships with highly motivated and talented people.”

One notable collaboration between the entities is the Electrified Processes for Industry Without Carbon (EPIXC), which is a $70 million Clean Energy Manufacturing Innovation Institute the Department of Energy announced earlier this year as part of its Manufacturing USA initiative. The mission of the program is “to achieve net-zero carbon dioxide emissions in the hard-to-decarbonize chemical, petroleum, cement, food and forest product sectors. Additional components of the program include workforce training and development of environmental justice.”