The Energy Center, the Birck Nanotechnology Center and Engagement Office in Discovery Park are hosting a bi-weekly seminar series. This will include presentations from researchers at Purdue and leading research centers across the nation, regarding developments in wafer-based, thin-film, organic and cross-cutting technologies in photovoltaics and related solar power. All talks are on Thursdays and will start at 3:30 p.m. in the Birck Nanotechnology Center, Room 2001.

Please contact Pankaj Sharma at sharma@purdue.edu if you have any question and/or like to meet any speaker.

Energy Storage – Options and Opportunities   Suresh V. Garimella      Birck Rm. 2001 March 7, Thurs., 3:30 p.m

I will briefly review the drivers for renewable and clean energy technologies, and the challenges in the widespread use of renewables.  In particular, I will focus on the need for inexpensive and reliable energy storage approaches if inherently intermittent and transient renewable sources are to gain broad acceptance.  As a specific example, I will tell a story from our group related to thermal energy storage in Concentrating Solar Power (CSP) plants that can decouple solar collection from power production.  I will describe in some detail thermocline tank design with molten salt as the storage medium, long-term stability of such systems, integration of storage models into system-level solar power plant simulations that enable investigation of the performance in response to year-long sunlight data and power block operation, and their influence on CSP plant levelized cost of electricity.  During the discussion period, I would be glad to allude to policy realities and challenges related to clean energy options.

(Related papers from our work are available at: https://engineering.purdue.edu/CTRC/energy/research.html

• March 7: Suresh Garimella, the R. Eugene and Susie E. Goodson Distinguished Professor and associate vice president for engagement at (Purdue)
• March 21: TBD
• April 4:  Dr. Kurt Mikeska , (Dupont) –Tentative
• April11:  B.J. Stanbery, founder and board chairman of (Heliovolt).
• April 18: Ali Shakouri, the Mary Jo and Robert L. Kirk Director of Birck Nanotechnology Center and professor of electrical and computer engineering at (Purdue); and Kaz Yazawa, research associate professor at Birck Nanotechnology Center