Swanson School researchers will develop cutting-edge electric grid technologies with a $2.5M grant

A new $2.5 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy will allow Swanson School of Engineering researchers to develop and test more efficient components for the U.S. power grid, alongside industry representatives, at a time when the grid is under new pressures.

“This project brings together a lot of different stakeholders, it’s solving a really important problem and it hits right in the strengths of the University and the region,” said Paul Ohodnicki, an associate professor in the Swanson School’s Department of Mechanical and Materials Science. “I think it’s the right project at the right time.”

The project, led by Pitt and including North Carolina State University, is one of a group funded by the Department of Energy’s Flexible Innovative Transformer Technologies program to ensure reliable and affordable access to electricity.

In particular, the team will focus on improving distribution transformers, which change electricity from a form that’s efficient for transmitting over long distances to one that’s safer and more manageable for use in homes and businesses. They’re an essential, widespread component in the power grid. But supply chain issues and recent regulations have made them harder to come by — and growing use of renewable energy and electric cars are creating more demand and more complex flows of electricity.

“All of these different factors are contributing to a much more dynamic, much more challenging environment for the distribution system, and the distribution transformers are really the key juncture in that system,” Ohodnicki said.

The project will take advantage of work that’s already underway at the Electricity Innovation Center, a Hill District facility where Pitt researchers can test state-of-the-art technologies under conditions they’d be exposed to on the real electric grid.

“Transformers are a legacy piece of equipment and the workhorse for electric power grids,” said Brandon Grainger, associate professor of electrical and computer engineering in the Swanson School. “Being able to enhance transformer capabilities with power electronics, determine approaches for monitoring their health, integrate the state of the art in core materials and have a one-of-a-kind testbed for national utilities, manufacturers or labs to utilize will be significant for Pittsburgh.”

Bringing together a consortium that includes utilities like Duquesne Light and manufacturers like Eaton will ensure that Swanson School researchers are developing and testing technologies that would be useful for their industry partners — and that could eventually alleviate the supply chain issues plaguing the industry.

“We think this is an area that we’re really well positioned to help solve some really important problems — and so we're trying to bring in as many of the key experts as we can to help us solve the right problems,” said Ohodnicki.