Innovative Energy Technologies: The Next Generation

Innovative Energy Technologies: The Next Generation
TECHNOLOGY GUIDE

Our lifestyle is sustained by energy. Technologies developed at Carnegie Mellon have the ability to enhance energy generation and the consumption of that energy in our buildings, transportation, industry, and our homes. Some of these technologies are just emerging from the university while others have already entered, or are on the cusp of entering, the marketplace. These next generation technologies have been developed by undergraduate and graduate students, researchers, faculty, and alumni from all across Carnegie Mellon.
Technologies such as these can reduce the cost of energy generation and consumption, mitigate the resulting pollution emitted to the environment from that energy, and improve the reliability and resilience of our energy system. However, to reap the benefits of these technologies in our everyday lives it is critical that industry, policy makers and the public support their development from ideas generated in the laboratory to the commercial marketplace.
THE DEVELOPMENT AND DISSEMINATION OF THIS GUIDE WAS MADE POSSIBLE THROUGH THE GENEROSITY OF MICHAEL AND JANET JESANIS AND THE NISOURCE CHARITABLE F O U N D AT I O N .

CONTENTS

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OVERVIEW

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What are Next Generation Energy Technologies?

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How Do We Realize the Benefits of Next Generation Energy Technologies?

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ENERGY GENERATION, CONVERSION, STORAGE AND THE ENVIRONMENT

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Stationary Source Energy Storage and Conversion

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Personal Device Energy Generation and Storage

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Environmental Sensors

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INDUSTRY DEVICE MANUFACTURING AND ENERGY EFFICIENCY

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Energy, Materials, and Manufacturing

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Optimization of Industry Energy Use

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COMMERCIAL FACILITY AND RESIDENTIAL ENERGY MANAGEMENT

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Commercial Facility Management

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Residential Energy Management Services

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TRAFFIC AND VEHICLE ENERGY MANAGEMENT

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Traffic Management

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Vehicle Management

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Fuel Generation

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CONCLUSION

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Valleys of Death and Next Generation Energy Technologies

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Energy Innovations Compared to Pharmaceutical and Software Innovations

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Policy Opportunities and Challenges for Next Generation Energy Technologies

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Human Behavior and Next Generation Energy Technologies

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Carnegie Mellon University Inventions and New Technology Commercialization

ABOUT THE CARNEGIE MELLON UNIVERSITY
Wilton E. Scott Institute for Energy Innovation
Over the coming decades the world must make fundamental transformations in how energy is used and produced. This will require new science, technology and public policy innovations. That’s the role of the Scott Institute.
The Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) Wilton E. Scott Institute for Energy Innovation is addressing several complex challenges:
• How to use and deliver the energy we already have with greatly improved efficiency • How to expand the mix of energy sources in ways that are clean, reliable, affordable
and sustainable • How to create innovations in energy technologies, regulations and policies
Carnegie Mellon’s longstanding expertise in technology, policy, integrated systems, and behavioral and social science is uniquely suited to addressing these challenges. What makes us different is our ability to seamlessly combine these areas for maximum impact.
The purpose of this technology guide is to document research from throughout Carnegie Mellon — to provide an up-to-date understanding of the next generation of energy technologies.
For more information about the Carnegie Mellon’s Scott Institute for Energy Innovation and the research discussed in this guide, visit www.cmu.edu/energy. The institute’s directors are Jared L. Cohon, President Emeritus and University Professor, Civil and Environmental Engineering & Engineering and Public Policy, and Andrew J. Gellman, Lord Professor of Chemical Engineering. Deborah D. Stine, Professor of the Practice, Department of Engineering and Public Policy, is the Associate Director for Policy Outreach for the Scott Institute for Energy Innovation. If you have questions about this guide, please contact Dr. Stine at [email protected]
This technology guide was developed by a team led by Deborah Stine and Reed McManigle, Senior Manager, Center for Technology Transfer and Enterprise Creation, Carnegie Mellon University. The names of the CMU-related students, faculty, and alumni who developed the technologies summarized in this guide is provided as each technology is described. They or the Center for Technology Transfer and Enterprise Creation should be contacted directly if you would like more information about their technology.
© Carnegie Mellon University Most photos credit of the U.S. Department of Energy.

Overview

OVERVIEW Our lifestyle is sustained by energy. Energy increases our daily productivity and quality of life. These may include daily activities such as making our homes warm or cool, moving us from one place to another in our car, or running machines like refrigerators, washers, televisions, and computers. Just as we draw upon the energy stored in fat cells in our body to move throughout our day, we draw upon energy stored as gasoline in our car when we need to move from one place to another. This Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) Scott Institute for Energy Innovation technology guide focuses on the host of next generation energy technologies started at CMU.
WHAT ARE NEXT GENERATION ENERGY TECHNOLOGIES? Throughout history, society has evolved from reliance on one source of energy to another. We have evolved from using wood to coal, petroleum, wind, natural gas, solar, and nuclear. Over time, we have also discovered, the importance of being efficient in our use of energy, reducing our environmental impact, and enhancing our energy security. Next generation energy technologies can serve all these purposes so that, globally, we can reach these societal goals of energy availability, security, and sustainability.
These next generation energy technologies have the ability to enhance the efficiency of energy generation and its consumption in our buildings, transportation system, industry, and homes as well as inside our body and deep in the ocean. Some of these technologies are just emerging from the university while others have already entered, or are on the cusp of entering, the marketplace. Undergraduate and graduate students, researchers, faculty, and alumni from across Carnegie Mellon have developed these technologies.
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HOW DO WE REALIZE THE BENEFITS OF NEXT GENERATION ENERGY TECHNOLOGIES?
The benefits of the next generation of energy technologies occur throughout the interconnected system of energy suppliers, transmitters, and consumers. These technologies, however, need support from industry and policy makers, and the public itself, to reach the point of competitive maturity. Doing so will help society realize the benefits of these nascent technologies as they move from ideas generated in laboratories to the marketplace and into our every day lives.
Figure 1 illustrates the interconnected U.S. energy system. The left side of the chart lists how much energy we obtain today from the wide variety of sources available. On the right side is information about how much of that energy in consumed in the residential, commercial, industrial and transportation sectors, and how much of the energy generated is lost due to inefficiencies throughout the system. The “rejected energy” at the far right of the figure, is the energy that is lost to due to inefficiency. While we cannot reduce this loss to zero, there is significant room for improvement. This is important as the energy rejected is more than the energy providing valuable services. The greater the degree to which we can improve our generation and consumption of energy, the more efficient will be the nation’s use of energy. Energy technologies can help us reach that goal and the related societal benefits.
Some energy uses will not be apparent from this chart. For example, we also need energy storage and conversion technologies that power devices inside our bodies and in challenging environments such as deep in the ocean and in mines. In addition, the use of energy technologies can be enhanced by implementing policies that optimize their use. You can read about some of those policy issues in other Scott Institute guides. For more information, go to www.cmu.edu/energy.
Figure 1: Energy Generation and Consumption Flows, 2010. This diagram shows 2010 energy flow from primary sources (oil, natural gas, coal, nuclear, and renewables) through transformations (electricity generation) to end uses (transportation, industry, and residential, and commercial sectors). Oil provided the largest share of the 98 quads of primary energy consumed, and most of it was used for transportation. Consumption of natural gas, the nation’s second largest energy source, is split three ways—electricity generation, industrial processing, and residential and commercial uses (mostly for heating). Coal, our third largest source, is used almost exclusively for electricity. Nuclear energy and renewables each meet less than 10% of U.S. energy demand.
Source: U.S. Department of Energy at http://science.energy.gov/bes/newsand-resources/energy-flow/energy-flowdiagram/. Data Source: Data are from the U.S. Energy Information Administration’s Annual Energy Review (www.eia.gov/ aer/) and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (flowcharts.llnl.gov).
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Energy Generation, Conversion, Storage and the Environment

STATIONARY SOURCE ENERGY STORAGE AND CONVERSION Aquion Energy, a CMU spinoff company, has developed the aqueous hybrid ion battery, a low-cost, long-lasting, large-scale aqueous electrolyte sodium ion battery that uses salt water (sodium sulfate in water) to store electricity. In developing the battery, CMU researchers started out with a simple set of goals deemed necessary for economically competitive energy storage devices including necessary price point, environmental impact, cycle life, and efficiency. The result is a battery optimized for stationary storage applications such as microgrid support, off-grid generator optimization, and grid-level energy services. Among its many awards are the 2011 World Technology Award, the Global Cleantech 100, MIT’s TechReview 50 Disruptive Companies and 50 Smartest Companies, and funding from Bill Gates, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, Foundation Capital, Advanced Technology Ventures, and others. Key Researcher: Jay Whitacre. More information is at http://www.aquionenergy.com/.
A Microfluidic Microbial Fuel Cell, which includes the world’s smallest low-cost fuel cell as developed at Carnegie Mellon, converts bacteria into power. The device, no bigger than a human hair and 300 times smaller than a raindrop, uses microbial electricity generation enabled by microfluidic flow control to produce power from natural organic compounds. This fuel cell can be used for remote electricity generation such as self-powered sensing devices in remote locations such as deep in the ocean, earth, or human body where batteries are impractical. For example, in the oil & gas industry, these fuel cells can be used to power devices that can communicate the degree of corrosion and pressure in pipelines located deep in the ocean, where changing batteries is challenging. In the human body, such devices can be used for a glucose sensor. In addition, biofuel cells could use waste biomass as a fuel for large-scale electricity generation. Key Researchers: Kelvin Gregory and Philip LeDuc. More information at: http://www.cmu.edu/cee/news/news-archive/2013/2013-energy-part-one.html.
Energy Harvesting Diodes being developed at CMU are able to generate an electric signal when ‘detecting’ energy in the terahertz (THz) bandwidth. Background heat energy that is released by bodies, buildings, furniture, etc. is in the ten’s of THz bandwidth. With the CMU diodes and associated devices, this heat energy can be converted into DC electricity. Potential applications include energy generation for portable electronics, and room air conditioning/electricity generation. Key Researcher: Yi Luo. More information at: http://www.google.com/patents/WO2013158986A2?cl=en.
PERSONAL DEVICE ENERGY GENERATION AND STORAGE SolePower is an innovative technology company striving to power small mobile electronic devices through the use of everyday movement of a person. First, a cut-to-fit SolePower insole is placed in any shoe. As an individual walks, the power generated is stored in an external Power Pack. This Power Pack is waterproofed and can be placed inside of a fabric holster that integrates with the shoelaces to create a secure and comfortable attachment. Mobile devices are then charged at the same rate as via a computer by connecting the device to the Power Pack’s USB port. This invention, developed while the researchers were students CMU, has won several awards including a Popular Science 2014 invention award, an Africa Energy Award for Innovator of the Year, and AOL co-founder Steve Case’s Rise of the Rest’s Innovation Award. Key Researchers: CMU Alumni Matthew Stanton and Hahna Alexander. More information at: http://solepowertech.com/
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