Industrial energy consumption is significant and accounts for approximately one-third of total U.S. energy consumptions. For the energy currently consumed in industry, about 64.4% is wasted, based on the U.S. Department of Energy's statistical data. There is a great potential to improve the energy efficiency of industrial operations to reduce the energy consumption, lower the utility cost and cut greenhouse gas emissions. This project is to plan for the establishment of an Industry-University Cooperative Research Center, by reaching out to potential manufacturing companies, utility companies and energy service companies which are interested in conducting collaborative research with CWRU faculty on industrial energy efficiency. The vision of the planned IUCRC is to establish a national/international research center dedicated to advancing the knowledge and techniques needed to improve industrial energy efficiency to enhance the competitiveness of U.S. manufacturing industry in the global economy and to mitigate the carbon emissions from U.S. industrial sector. Simultaneously, the proposed IUCRC will develop advanced educational program to train a large cohort of engineering students. This planned IUCRC will generate significant impacts on the industrial operations and academic research on industrial energy efficiency, through joint efforts with Purdue University.
The proposed IUCRC at CWRU will focus on improving energy efficiency of manufacturing companies, in collaborations with utility companies and energy service companies. The research objectives of this IUCRC are to: (1). Develop scientific modeling tools and experimental techniques for identifying the in-depth energy saving opportunities in industrial manufacturing systems. (2). Develop applicable control algorithms and tools for effectively reducing the energy consumption in industrial manufacturing systems. (3). Develop data analytics approaches and decision-support tools for supporting policy-making and strategy-planning on Industrial Energy Efficiency. (4). Develop educational programs for workforce training on Industrial Energy Efficiency. The planning project will leverage the expertise of CWRU faculty members in industrial energy efficiency, manufacturing system optimization, adaptive process control, and energy data analytics, to harness existing relationships of CWRU with industry to identify possible partners for the IUCRC and utilize an inclusive feedback process between researchers and potential members to determine the strategic direction of research projects to be conducted. The research results obtained from the center will provide novel insights into current industrial operations for in-depth energy savings, plant-wide implementations, and public policy support.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
