UTK wins DOE award to improve the domestic power grid
Funding of nearly $2.8 million will develop semiconductor switching modules with integrated sensing for protection of the grid and other power distribution systems.
The University of Tennessee, Knoxville (UTK) was one of 15 recipients across 11 states that are sharing $42 million in funding to improve the reliability, resiliency, and flexibility of the domestic power grid through the development of next-generation semiconductor technologies. The winners were announced Tuesday by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE).
Funded through the federal agency’s Unlocking Lasting Transformative Resiliency Advances by Faster Actuation of power Semiconductor Technologies (ULTRAFAST) program, the technologies being developed would enable more effective control of grid power flow and better protection of critical infrastructure assets. Streamlining the coordinated operation of electricity supply and demand will improve operational efficiency, prevent unforeseen outages, allow faster recovery, minimize the impacts of natural disasters and climate-change fueled extreme weather events, and reduce grid operating costs and carbon intensity.
UTK, which received an award of $2,759,821, will develop scalable, light-triggered semiconductor switching modules with integrated sensing for protection of the grid and other power distribution systems.
More information about the awards, which are managed through DOE’s Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy, can be found here.
