DOE announces $42mn for semiconductor research and development

The US Department of Energy (DOE) announced $42 million for 15 projects across 11 states meant to improve the reliability, resiliency, and flexibility of the domestic power grid through the research and development of next-generation semiconductor technologies.

Funded through DOE’s Unlocking Lasting Transformative Resiliency Advances by Faster Actuation of power Semiconductor Technologies (ULTRAFAST) program, the technologies being developed are intended to enable more effective control of grid power flow and better protection of critical infrastructure assets.

The DOE says streamlining the coordinated operation of electricity supply and demand can improve operational efficiency, prevent unforeseen outages, allow faster recovery, minimise the impacts of natural disasters and climate-change-fueled extreme weather events, and reduce grid operating costs and carbon intensity.

Managed by DOE’s Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E), the teams announced today will research methods to enable a more secure and reliable grid and allow it to utilise more solar, wind, and other clean energy.

Have you read:
EPICS global research centre for 100% renewable power grids launched in US
Europe’s energy technology research and innovation plan revised

Selected projects include:

• GaNify (State College, PA) will develop an optically isolated, power-integrated building block that would enable enhanced control of power electronics converters for a more efficient and reliable grid. (Award amount: $3,060,000)
• Georgia Institute of Technology (Atlanta, GA) will develop a novel semiconductor switching device from wide-bandgap III-Nitride material to improve grid control, resilience, and reliability. (Award amount: $2,700,000) 
• Great Lakes Crystal Technologies (East Lansing, MI) will develop a diamond semiconductor transistor to support the control infrastructure needed for an energy grid with more distributed generation sources and more variable loads. (Award amount: $2,301,538) 
• Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (Livermore, CA) will develop an optically-controlled semiconductor transistor to enable future grid control systems to accommodate higher voltage and current than state-of-the-art devices. (Award amount: $3,000,000) 
• NextWatt (Hoffman Estates, IL) will develop an ultrawide-bandgap optical-triggered device that addresses the need for fast protection for solid-state transformers. (Award amount: $2,268,750) 
• Opcondys (Manteca, CA) will develop a light-controlled grid protection device to suppress destructive, sudden transient surges on the grid such as those caused by lightning and electromagnetic pulses. (Award amount: $3,178,977) 
• RTX Technology Research Center (East Hartford, CT) will develop semiconductor switching modules that are triggered by wireless radio frequency signals, reducing losses and improving control of power electronics converters for the grid and other applications. (Award amount: $2,500,000) 
• Sandia National Laboratories (Albuquerque, NM) will develop a novel solid-state surge arrester that would protect the grid from very fast electromagnetic pulses that threaten the grid’s reliability and performance. (Award amount: $2,560,000)
• Texas Tech University (Lubbock, TX) will develop a photoconductive semiconductor switching device from advanced ultrawide-bandgap materials that could enable improved control of the grid. (Award amount: $3,070,735) 
• University of Arkansas (Fayetteville, AR) will develop a heterogeneously integrated high-power semiconductor module for applications in the electric power grid and electrified transportation. (Award amount: $2,931,177) 
• University of California, Santa Barbara (Santa Barbara, CA) will develop ultrawide-bandgap switching devices that would achieve higher voltages and speeds, potentially enabling more sophisticated control methods for the grid. (Award amount: $3,122,356) 
• University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (Urbana, IL) will develop optically triggered diamond semiconductor switching devices meant to enable breakthroughs in electricity grid protection. (Award amount: $2,982,311) 
• University of Pennsylvania (Philadelphia, PA) will develop an integrated module featuring wide-bandgap power devices with optical control and sensing to improve electric grid control, resilience, and reliability. (Award amount: $2,240,309) 
• University of Wisconsin-Madison (Madison, WI) will develop an optically triggered semiconductor switching device to reduce power losses and increase performance compared with current technologies. (Award amount: $2,990,321) 
• University of Tennessee, Knoxville (Knoxville, TN) will develop scalable, light-triggered semiconductor switching modules with integrated sensing for the protection of the grid and other power distribution systems. (Award amount: $2,759,821) 

The DOE has recently been focusing on funding for grid improvements, with several large funding announcements released this year.

In its biggest investment in the nation’s grid, the White House announced the Grid Resilience and Innovation Partnerships (GRIP) Program in October, a $3.46 billion investment for 58 projects across 44 states to strengthen electric grid resilience and reliability, invest in microgrids, and enable more renewable energy generation across America.

Funded by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, these projects will leverage more than $8 billion in federal and private investments to deliver clean electricity and ensure the grid is prepared for extreme weather worsened by the climate crisis.

These projects, which will support the President’s Justice40 Initiative to benefit disadvantaged communities, are meant to help bring more than 35GW of new renewable energy online, invest in 400 microgrids, and maintain and create union jobs with three out of four projects partnering with the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW).

Later in October, the DOE announced up to a $1.3 billion commitment in three transmission lines crossing six states, advancing projects aimed at adding 3.5GW of additional grid capacity throughout the United States.

To ensure that transmission buildout is done in an informed manner, DOE also released the final National Transmission Needs Study to provide insight into where the grid—and American communities—would benefit from increased transmission. The Needs Study released estimates that by 2035 the U.S. must more than double the existing regional transmission capacity and expand existing interregional transmission capacity by more than fivefold on its way to economy-wide decarbonisation.

In November, the DOE selected four organisations to receive nearly $8.4 million to develop technologies meant to improve grid reliability, optimise electricity infrastructure, and facilitate grid connection with renewable resources.

The selected projects are designed to accelerate the development of Grid-Enhancing Technologies (GETs) that maximise electricity transmission across existing systems to lower operating costs.

Originally published by Sean Wolfe on Power Grid.