Department of Defense to invest $30 million in battery technology research at UTD
The DOD announced Monday that the Defense Department will invest $30 million over three years at the University of Texas at Dallas to create new battery technologies and worker training programs.
As part of its investment, UTD will build an energy storage systems campus that will also optimize existing battery technologies, reduce battery dependence on scarce raw materials, and train workers for jobs in the emerging battery energy storage workforce. , the university said on Monday.
UT Dallas President Richard C. Benson said, “This initiative is a tremendous opportunity to showcase UTD’s mission of research, service and teaching in the context of accelerating workforce development and next-generation solutions that support our nation’s economy and are important for defense preparedness.” a statement.
The $30 million award, part of the Defense Department’s Local Enterprise Initiative, is the largest UTD has received from a federal agency.
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In addition to the initial award, the university said it will leverage $200 million in private capital and $700,000 from UTD’s seed program to finance operations at the energy storage system complex.
Laura Taylor-Cale, assistant secretary of defense for industrial base policy, said in the government’s announcement that it had identified the need to invest in new battery technologies. It seeks to create “market traction” to commercialize innovative research that can enhance the country’s base capacity and affordability.
“Our approach of aggregating demand across national security and commercial markets will create market traction that will ease the transition and scale of emerging technologies,” Taylor-Cale said.
The university said it hopes the campus and center will also provide opportunities for entrepreneurs to invest in, design and develop industry.
UTD led the bid with partners Leap Manufacturing, Associated Universities Inc., the University of California at Berkeley, the University of Chicago and other energy storage companies.
Dr. Kyoungjae Cho, professor of materials science and engineering, demonstrates a finished battery and the hardware used to test its efficiency. Cho is the director of the Battery and Energy Ton Advanced Commercialization and National Security Center. (University of Texas at Dallas)
Kyongjae Cho, UTD professor of materials science and engineering, will lead and direct the project as he drives batteries and energy to advance the commercialization and national security center. He said it is important for the US to get ahead of emerging technologies in battery development.
“Renewable energy is a rapidly expanding sector and Texas is leading the nation in expanding energy storage capacity,” Cho said. “We need not only PhD-level experts, but also technicians who know how to handle batteries safely.”
According to the US Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory, the US will need more than 130,000 additional workers in the battery energy storage industry by 2030. At least 12,000 of those workers are expected to be in Texas.
Joseph Pancrazio, vice president of research and innovation at UTD and co-principal investigator of the project, said the project that gets the funding support will ensure that laboratory research is brought to market faster.
“As a national resource, the collaborative space we are creating will streamline the path to innovation in energy storage and battery technology,” Pancrazio said. “From prototyping and testing to manufacturing. “Linking technological advancements with workforce development will ultimately promote national security as well as drive economic growth.”
Source: www.bing.com