Officials from The University of Texas at Dallas and the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Sandia National Laboratories recently signed an agreement to collaborate to advance energy storage, power electronics and energy conversion technologies to help strengthen the nation’s electric grid.
Dr. Joseph Pancrazio , vice president for research and innovation and professor of bioengineering at UT Dallas, signed the memorandum of understanding on July 28 at the University with Dr. Erik K. Webb, director of Sandia’s Energy Security Innovation Center, and Catherine Jereza, assistant secretary for the DOE’s Office of Electricity.
“The MOU signing between Sandia National Laboratories and UT Dallas exemplifies America’s leadership role in translating innovation into domestic manufacturing opportunities that transform our electricity system,” Jereza said.
Increasing demand for electricity has driven a need for new technologies to store energy, deliver power more efficiently and improve grid reliability, Webb said.
“Now more than ever, our nation needs a resilient, efficient and secure electric grid,” Webb said. “This collaboration with UT Dallas is a particularly exciting opportunity to advance technologies, grow our workforce and help secure the national grid.”
Researchers at UT Dallas’ Batteries and Energy to Advance Commercialization and National Security (BEACONS) facility will work with Sandia’s experts in electric grid security. The partnership also will support technology validation through a planned test bed that will allow researchers to evaluate energy technologies at larger scales while training the next generation of energy researchers.
“By bringing together UT Dallas’ strengths in advanced energy systems research and Sandia National Laboratories’ world-class expertise in energy storage, power electronics and grid technologies, our partnership creates a powerful framework for innovation and discovery,” Pancrazio said. “With BEACONS, we are expanding opportunities for researchers, students, industry and government partners to collaborate on solutions that will strengthen the reliability, security and resilience of our nation’s energy future.”
Launched in 2023, BEACONS works to develop and commercialize new battery technologies and manufacturing processes while training workers for jobs in the energy storage industry. The U.S. Department of Defense provided a $30 million award to establish an Energy Storage Systems Campus at UT Dallas to support research, technology development and collaboration with industry partners.