Energy 101A discussion of how much, reality checks, and

what we’re doing about it

Mickey R. Wilhelm, Ph.D., P.E.

Dean

DEFINITIONS

• Watt = equivalent to 1 joule (J) of energy per second• 1 joule = 1 newton × 1 meter = 1 watt × 1 second

– In terms of mechanical energy, one watt is the rate at which work is done when an object is moved at a speed of one meter (3.28 ft.) per second against a force of one newton (0.225 lbs).

– By the definitions of electric potential (volt) and current (ampere), work is done at a rate of one watt when one ampere flows through a potential difference of one volt

• Kilowatt = 1,000 watts• Megawatt = 1,000,000 watts• Gigawatt = 1,000,000,000 watts• Terawatt = 1,000,000,000,000 watts• Petawatt = 1,000,000,000,000,000 watts

DEFINITIONS

• Non-renewable energy sources– Energy sources that are depleted as they are

used, e.g., coal, oil and natural gas

• Renewable energy sources– Energy sources that are continually

replenished, e.g., water, wind, solar, geothermal and biomass sources

How is energy used?

Rate of World Energy Usage (Terawatts)

How is energy used?

Global Energy Usage in Detail

91% non-renewable sources

Energy Use by Economic Sector

37

2011

5

27

Industrial

Personal &CommercialTransportation

Residentialheating, lighting,appliances

Commerciallighting, heating,cooling

Loss in generationand transmission

Use of the 16 TW by sector

Where does energy come from?

• Most of the world’s energy resources come from the sun’s rays hitting the earth– Some solar energy has been preserved as

fossil energy (i.e., non-renewable)– Some solar energy is directly or indirectly

useable, e.g., via solar, wind, hydro or wave power (i.e., renewable)

Where does energy come from?

~ 89 PW of solar energy is received by the earth’s surface in a year

How does the energy future look?

• It depends upon whom you ask!• Fossil fuels and non-renewable energy

sources are under attack– Politics (Climate change, carbon footprints,

cap & trade, green energy, subsidies)– Economics (International competitiveness,

product costs, OPEC, automotive market)– Technology (clean coal power plants, carbon

sequestration, fuel efficient vehicles, energy efficiency, conservation, waste disposal)

Renewable Energy Sources

• Hydropower• Wind power• Solar power• Geothermal power• Biomass power

Hydropower• Water is the most common

renewable source of energy in the US today

• Hydroelectricity accounts for about 7% of the electricity used in the nation

• Small or micro-hydroelectric power systems can produce enough electricity for a home, farm or ranch

• Recreation opportunities• Cheap electricity attracts

“heavy” industry

• Can generate energy at night and in winter

Hydropower

• Water can never generate all of the electricity needed in the US

• Locations limited to available rivers and competition for other uses of those rivers

• Environmental concerns (down/upstream flooding, fish migration)

Wind power• Wind power currently supplies about 1% of US electricity needs, but

capacity is expanding – in fact, it’s the fastest growing energy technology

• Produces electricity without producing pollution• Must be located in the areas of the US with the strongest winds,

Alaska, western US and the Appalachians• Can generate energy at night and in winter• Can be sea-based

Wind power

• Wind cannot be expected to supply all of the US electrical needs

• Turbines can lead to wildlife deaths, especially birds and bats

• Ice forms on blades in winter and can come dislodged resulting in injury or death of humans or animals

Solar power

• Solar technologies use the sun’s energy to provide heat, light, hot water, electricity, and even cooling for homes, businesses and industry

• Solar power provides less than 1% of US energy needs

Solar power

• Solar cells can only operate in daylight

• Expensive equipment needed to convert DC to AC

• Electricity from solar cells is more than twice as expensive as electricity from fossil fuels

• Clouds and winter weather are big problems for solar cells

Geothermal power

• Uses the natural sources of heat inside the earth to produce heat or electricity

• Uses steam or hot water from underground

• Produces few emissions and power is continuously available

Geothermal plant at the Geysers, CA

Geothermal power

• Use is efficient, reliable, and environmentally friendly

• Currently meets less than 1% of US power needs

• Geothermal reservoirs are most prevalent in the western US

Biomass power

• Energy from plants and plant-derived materials such as food crops, grassy and woody plants, residues from agriculture and forestry, and the organic component of municipal and industrial wastes

• It is the second most important source of renewable energy in the U.S.

Biomass power

• Used for direct heating, biopower, and production of biofuels

• Biofuels are liquid fuels produced from plants: two most common types are ethanol and biodiesel

• Ethanol is an alcohol produced in the US mainly from corn

• Research is underway to convert cellulose (agricultural waste, forest residue, municipal waste, and energy crops) to ethanol

Biomass power

• Ethanol is a fuel additive for vehicles to increase octane and reduce CO2

• Biodiesel is made by processing vegetable oil, animal fat, or recycled cooking grease with alcohol or other chemicals

• Biodiesel can be used as an additive (typically 20%) to reduce vehicle emissions, or in its pure form, as a renewable alternative fuel for diesel engines

Biomass power

• Factory farming of biomass crops can reduce biodiversity and negatively impact wildlife habitat

• Municipal solid waste may contain toxins which can cause pollution if used as a biomass feedstock

• Use of corn and other food grain for biofuel production can increase food prices

• Ethanol is hygroscopic – can’t be piped• Biodiesel can congeal at freezing temperatures

So what?

• More energy from the sun strikes the earth in two hours (~ 20 TW) than all of the energy currently consumed on our planet in an entire year (~16 TW)

• We need something like solar house paint or solar carpet that is cheap, efficient and installable by individual home owners in order to capture this energy on an appreciable scale

• Advances in nanotechnology offer some promise in this and similar research arenas

Kentucky Comprehensive Energy Plan

• Released by Governor on Nov. 20, 2008• Seven strategies

– Improve energy efficiency of homes, buildings, industries and transportation

– Increase Kentucky’s use of renewable energy– Sustainably grow Kentucky’s production of biofuels– Develop a coal to liquids industry– Implement a major coal to gas effort– Initiate aggressive carbon capture/sequestration– Examine the use of nuclear power for electricity

Conn Center for Renewable Energy Research and Environmental Stewardship (CCRERES)

• On January 26, 2009, the Governor announced that the Commonwealth of KY will enter into a MOA with the University of Louisville for establishing a new center focused on renewable energy research

• The new center will compliment the coal-focused energy center in Lexington (Center for Applied Energy Research)

The Conn Center gift

• Henry and Rebecca Conn pledged $20+ M gift

• It is a deferred gift and will be realized in few years

• The gift will enable hiring of several eminent scientists, engineers and students at UofL

Impact on Kentucky’s goals for energy independence

• The Conn Center’s mission will help with the following goals of KY’s energy plan.• Improve the energy efficiency of

Kentucky’s homes, buildings, industries and transportation fleet.

• Increase Kentucky’s use of renewable energy.

• Sustainably grow Kentucky’s production of biofuels.

Initial phase (first two years)

• Offices/labs will be located in Ernst Hall – Funds for renovation [currently underway] come from UofL (~$1M)

• Support for initial operations will need to come from research grants and contracts

• Hire additional personnel to pursue the research agenda

Initial Organization• In April 2009, the Governor appointed a 10

member board for the Conn Center• We are searching for operating funds• We have recommended to the Kentucky

Energy Secretary that Dr. Mahendra Sunkara be appointed interim director

Initial Research Foci

• Energy storage (batteries/capacitors)• Biofuels• Smart grid• Solar energy

U of L Renewable Energy Goals• Research• Development• Demonstration• Deployment

of renewable energy and energy efficiency technologies, practices and outreach activities

Conn Center

KPPC

IAM

LoDI

RPCMNTC

LEGENDCCRERES – Conn Center for Renewable Energy Research and Env. StewardshipIAM – Institute for Advanced MaterialsKPPC – Kentucky Pollution Prevention CenterLoDI – Logistics and Distribution InstituteRPC – Rapid Prototyping CenterMNTC – Micro/Nano Technology Center

Conn Center

U of L Resources• About 20 current faculty members and

new faculty lines identified• New graduate certificates and courses are

currently being offered, more in development

• Existing centers and institutes

Institute for Advanced Materials • Advanced materials for energy

technologies– Nanowires, nanotubes, thin films– Solar and thermionic energy

conversion, energy storage• Materials characterization

– Electron microscopy (TEM and SEM), – Optical spectrometry (UV-vis, IR,

Raman)– Surface science (XPS, Auger)

• Fabrication/evaluation of prototype energy components– Solar-voltaic and solar-chemical test

cells– Thermionic energy scavenger system – High-cycle lithium ion battery cells

From Lab to Marketplace• Bulk production of

nanowires– Developed and patented at UofL– Critical to solar energy

conversion and battery research

• Nanowire anode material for Li ion batteries (patent applied for)– High energy density– High cycle stability

AN EXAMPLE OF MATERIALS

MANUFACTURING R&D

2.4 GHz Magnetron,D.C. Power

supply

Plasma discharge

Collection cup

Metal powder inlet

Quartz or steel tube

Gas flow(Ar, Air, H2, O2)

Exhaust

Waveguide

3 Stub-tuner,Directional

coupler,Circulator,

Dummy load

Zinc Oxide

Materials Systems So far:

Tin OxideZinc OxideAluminaTitania

Production Capacity:

~ 1 kg/day

AN EXAMPLE OF Li BATTERY R&D

Micro/Nanotechnology Center

• Device design, fabrication and evaluation – Micro/nanoelectronics– MEMS sensors and actuators– electro-optic devices

10,000 sq. ft. microfabrication cleanroom

• Lithography, deposition, etching

• Metrology and electrical characterization

• Resource for Kentucky and region

AREAS OF ENERGY RESEARCH

1. Energy Harvesting and No Power Sensing* scavenging clean energy from the environment using vibrations, thermal gradients, solar,

etc (Alphenaar/Lin)* battery elimination or longevity (Alphenaar/Lin/Naber/Jackson)* sensors which require no traditional power sources (Gowrishetty/Walsh)

2. Integrated Microsensors for Energy Efficiency and Energy Conservation* temperarture, strain, pressure, vibration, flow, acceleration, gas sensing, wireless remote

sensors, H2 and CO2 sensing (Walsh/McNamara/Crain/Naber/Fu)

3. Renewable Energy and Novel Power Generation* Knudsen Pump – solar power to pneumatic power (McNamara)* High Efficiency Solar Cells using Black Silicon (Aebersold)* PowerMEMS – micro-heat engines, combustion, propulsion (Fu)

4. Novel Energy Storage Strategies* Electromechanical Battery (McNamara)* MEMS mechanical energy storage (Aebersold/Walsh)

5. Low Power Transportation (friction-free)* Magnetic levitation for MEMS and microfluidics (McNamara)

6. Study of Fundamental Energy Sources* Cassimer effect (McNamara)

7. Miniaturization Strategies and MEMS Platforms for Super Low Power Devices and New Energy Devices

* next-generation solar cells, fuel cells, micro-batteries, low-power electronics (Several)

UofL Micro/Nano Technology Center

Kentucky Pollution Prevention Center

• State organization for dissemination of pollution prevention and energy conservation technology

• Helps businesses and other organizations develop environmentally sustainable, energy conserving systems

• Manages and coordinates Kentucky Energy Efficiency Program for Schools (KEEPS) and the Kentucky Rural Energy Consortium (KREC)

• Led development of the Kentucky 25x'25 Roadmap

• Based at the University of Louisville J.B. Speed School of Engineering

Conn Center Engagement• Conn Center is engaged already with:

– Kentucky Energy and Environment Cabinet, Argonne National Laboratory and UK for development of the National Battery Manufacturing Research Lab

– We’ve submitted two ARPA-E white papers– We’ve had a number of interactions with

business and industries in metro Louisville regarding research in biofuels, energy storage and energy efficiency

Solar

• Solar Cells for Electricity

• Solar Cells for Hydrogen

• Electrochromic • Fuel Cell

Energy Storage

Lithium Ion Battery R&D

Materials Manufacturing

• Bulk production of nanowires, nanoparticles• Nanowire arrays

and thin films• Mesoporous

materials

Biomass Derived Products

• Cellulose derived ethanol

• Bio-oils for furnaces

• Bio-diesel• Bio-polymers

The Conn Center’s research facilities(Ernst Hall, 3rd Floor)

Li Ion BatteriesLi-Ion Battery Manufacturing R&D for HEV Applications

V

• No manufacturing exists in U.S.• Battery materials manufacturing R&D essential

- Hybrid-electric vehicle (HEV) manufacturers- Battery manufacturers

ElectrolyzerH2O

H2

O2

ElectrolyzerH2O

Methanol

e-

e-

CO2

Photo Electrolyzer

H2OH2

O2

PhotoElectrolyzerH2O

MethanolCO2

Holy Grail in Renewable Energy: Solar Hydrogen

Fuel CellAir

H2OFuel

e-

H2

Electric Grid

Solar heating panels for water heating

Solar panels for H2 and electricity

generation

Excess energy goes to the grid

A near-term possibility?Electric Grid

Hydrogen-powered vehicle

“They oughta do something about . . . .”

• What? Energy supplies, energy efficiency, energy conservation, energy cost, climate change, carbon footprint, green technologies, etc.

• Who? Scientists, engineers, technicians, mathematicians (STEM)

• Why? For the future of mankind, the economy, standard of living, convenience, world peace, etc.

• When? As soon as possible – NOW!

We’re working as hard as we can with the resources we have -