Sep 23 2022Reviewed by Mila Perera
In response to the growing concerns about climate change, the United States is rapidly changing the way energy is generated and used.
Image Credit: Shutterstock/Stefan_Sutka
Carbon-free energy sources, like solar, wind, and nuclear power, are being pursued to decrease carbon emissions and enhance the sustainability of power generation under extreme weather events brought about by a warming planet.
The US Department of Energy’s Argonne National Laboratory, in September 2022, established a long-term agreement with Constellation to analyze trends in the country’s energy system and create technologies for highly efficient, carbon-free power generation.
The generation fleet of Constellation can supply electricity to about 20 million homes. Its retail business caters to two million residential, public sector, and business customers, which includes three-fourths of the Fortune 100.
The Cooperative Research and Development Agreement between Constellation and Argonne will aid numerous projects through October 2028.
We want to help the nation solve problems associated with climate change, but we can’t do that without industry.
Mark Petri, Grid Security and Resilience Lead, Argonne National Laboratory
One such project will use hydrogen from nuclear power to store and transfer energy for various uses, including transportation and backup power.
Argonne scientists are already collaborating with Constellation to evaluate the market demand for hydrogen and the financial and environmental effects of its production, storage, and delivery.
Clean hydrogen produced from carbon-free nuclear has the power to transform difficult-to-decarbonize industries. By combining Constellation’s nation-leading carbon-free energy resources with electrolysis technologies and Argonne National Laboratory’s technical expertise, we have an opportunity to deliver real world solutions to combat the increasing threats of climate change.
Colleen Wright, Vice President, Corporate Strategy, Constellation
The Agreement enables Argonne and Constellation to initiate initiatives and address new issues and opportunities in the country’s fast-evolving energy system by establishing a legal framework and discussing intellectual property agreements.
The six-year period also gives the parties the chance to develop and expand their work to expand on the achievements of earlier initiatives, enabling Constellation to become a pioneer in developing power technologies.
This Agreement can help align our research and development at the laboratory, because it gives us much better insight into what industry actually needs. The industry benefits because they get the power of Argonne National Laboratory’s capabilities and expertise to address specific technical issues that they may have.
Mark Petri, Grid Security and Resilience Lead, Argonne National Laboratory
This Agreement establishes a pipeline for creating and using cutting-edge technologies that can aid in the decarbonization of the United States’ energy system.
Petri states, “We can immediately move our projects into field studies, pilots and adoption. We want to make a difference and help the nation solve problems associated with climate change, but we can’t do that without industry."
He concludes, "Constellation is an ideal industry partner, given their commitment to clean, reliable power generation and their willingness to be pioneers for new energy technologies."
Source: https://www.anl.gov