University of Michigan Energy Institute 2017 …...Ted Nordhaus at the Michigan Energy Symposium. 2017 Report 5 ics, Energy, and Environment Conference3) both attracted (TE national

2017 Annua l Repo r t

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University of Michigan Energy Institute

2017 ANNUAL REPORT

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CONTENTS

Director’s Message............................................................................................................3

Research

Battery Lab........................................................................................................................8

Beyond Carbon Neutral................................................................................................10

Energy Survey..................................................................................................................14

Ann Arbor microgrid study..........................................................................................15

REFRESCH......................................................................................................................16

Events

The Transportation, Economics, Energy and the Environment Conference.........18

The Michigan Energy Symposium...............................................................................19

The Energy+ Challenge..................................................................................................20

News

Ellen Hughes-Cromwick joins UMEI..........................................................................21

Energy Institute Staff.....................................................................................................22

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DIRECTOR'S MESSAGE

What a year it has been!

It is difficult to imagine a more precipitous pivot from the en-ergy, environment and climate policies of the Obama adminis-tration to those of the Trump administration. Coal, domestic oil and gas, and pipelines are in; the Clean Power Plan and CAFE standards are in suspended animation; the U.S. has announced its withdrawal from the Paris agreement, and climate change is not to be spoken of in Federal agencies. One could be forgiven a feeling of whiplash. Against this backdrop, the work of the En-ergy Institute and its faculty affiliates has taken on new urgency.

Imagine, for a moment, what a world on the path to limiting global warming to 2° C might look like in 20 years. It will have

gone through not only the energy transformations that we are experiencing now, such as widespread replacement of coal by natural gas for energy generation, but a further transition to car-bon-free energy sources on the scale of our current fossil fuel consumption. It will have seen significant decarbonization of the transportation sector, beginning with electrification of the vehicle fleet — especially for personal transportation — and will have further transitioned toward automated and shared mobility solutions. It will have seen at least initial deployments at scale of carbon dioxide removal solutions. And it will have seen wide participation in these transitions by populations in both the de-veloped and developing worlds as they witness the improvement of their own lives and those of their children.

It’s a tall order, and one that will not follow a linear path from our present energy systems. Nevertheless, it provides a useful context for the activities and motivation of the Energy Institute.

This report highlights some of our large and visible initiatives that are driving toward this vision. Our Battery Lab, the product of significant financial partnership between the University, Ford, and the Michigan Economic Development Corporation, is a critical enabler of the transition from fossil fuels to electrification of transportation. Now in its second year, the lab’s facilities are heavily utilized by companies large and small, and by university researchers. We continue to grow our capabilities for materials and performance analysis, and have brought online new capa-bilities for fabricating solid–state batteries. From being featured →

UMEI Director Mark Barteau

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on NOVA, from our new Battery Short Course, from our pre-sentations at scientific conferences and trade shows, the word is getting out: the University of Michigan is a leading place for the energy storage R&D that will transform both our vehicles and our electric grid. And it’s not just about batteries; a recent report from the Brookings Institute shows that Ann Arbor is first na-tionally in the density of cleantech patents.

Our Beyond Carbon Neutral initiative is aimed at the creation of carbon dioxide removal (CDR) solutions that we and others believe will be an essential complement to emissions reduction in order to contain global temperatures. Now in its second year, this initiative has captured the imagination of faculty across the university, as well as of university leaders and outside organiza-tions. Our two rounds of seed funding for projects, as well as our BCN seminar series featuring leading researchers from other institutions, are beginning to bear fruit in terms of publications, funding and partnerships. A distinctive feature of Beyond Car-bon Neutral is the integration of social science research with the natural sciences and engineering efforts related to the biosphere and technology solutions.

Our commitment to societal engagement is part of everything

we do, not only in research but in our thought leadership, con-vening and educational activities. The University of Michigan Energy Survey, a partnership with the Institute of Social Re-search now in its fourth year, provides timely information about consumers’ attitudes toward energy reliability, affordability, and environmental impacts. Against the backdrop of large shifts at the federal level away from emphasizing clean energy, we find consumers’ concerns about the environmental impacts of ener-gy supply and use consistently exceeding their level of concern about affordability or reliability.

The reputation of the Energy Institute as a thought leader and convener of thought leaders continues to grow. As news organi-zations have sought to explain the post-election transitions in energy and climate policy, Energy Institute experts have found themselves in increasing demand to provide perspective, analysis and commentary. The Conversation continues to be a valuable forum for perspectives articles, while the range of appearances of UMEI faculty providing insights in the media has ranged from regional to national to international outlets, including Time, the AP, NPR, Science, Scientific American, and The Washington Post. Our conferences on “Combating Climate Change: the Role of Nuclear Power”, and our third annual “Transportation, Econom-

Pictured left to right: Stanford Director of the Atmosphere/ Energy Program Mark Jacobson, OECD Nuclear Energy Agency Director Bill Magwood, and Breakthrough Institute co-founder Ted Nordhaus at the Michigan Energy Symposium.

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ics, Energy, and Environment Conference (TE3) both attracted national and international figures, and program planning for the fourth annual TE3 conference in October 2017 is well underway.

We have also devoted substantial efforts to campus and com-munity engagement, and are beginning to see the payoffs there. The past year’s organization of our participation in Energy In-stitute-supported events like “Energy and the 2016 elections,” “Building a Sustainable Life,” and the “Pipeline Town Hall” drew substantial student interest and participation. An Energy Institute-organized automotive futures seminar by noted en-vironmentalist and Rocky Mountain Institute founder Amory Lovins was standing room only. Building on these successes, we are partnering with the Michigan Ross Energy Club to organize a symposium called: "Energy and the States: How can states and municipalities influence their energy futures in the Trump era?" During Summer 2017, we partnered with the City of Ann Arbor to assess opportunities for microgrids to power key installations in the city. This project is being carried out by a broad-based student team, with guidance by UMEI, faculty from the Pro-gram in the Environment, the city, and professionals from local companies who have volunteered their time. We are also partner-ing with U-M's Duderstadt Center on a student competition for student groups to visualize the University of Michigan’s carbon footprint. This competition, dubbed Energy+ Emissions, will

culminate in presentation and judging of student efforts in early December, with $15,000 of prize money at stake.

Finally, 2017 marks the University of Michigan’s 200th anniver-sary, and we have been engaged in bicentennial events large and small. Our home, the Phoenix Memorial Lab, was the site of one of seven pop-up art installations by Bicentennial Professor Martha Jones, titled Stumbling Blocks, intended to stimulate dis-cussions about different aspects of the University’s legacy. The graphics displayed on our building associated the research of the Phoenix Project with a greener earth, and the accompanying text contained the following statement from the Energy Institute:

“The Michigan Memorial Phoenix Project, the antecedent of President Eisenhower’s Atoms for Peace program, is a wonderful example of mov-ing past the destructive consequences of war to create scientific advances to benefit humankind. The University of Michigan Energy Institute is proud of our work toward a cleaner energy future, inspired by the legacy of the Phoenix Project. We hope that our efforts will serve to honor all who have made the ultimate sacrifice to make this a better world.” →

A detail of the nuclear-themed pop-up art installation erected to celebrate U-M's Bicentennial.

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The REFRESCH project, funded in connection with the Bi-centennial as part of the University’s Third Century Initiative, is engaging our faculty and students in the solution of food, energy and water challenges in the developing world. Its growing part-nerships with communities, universities and public institutions in Gabon are impacting lives on both sides, from the incredible field experiences of Michigan students to the installations and

educational programs that are expanding in Gabon. It provides us all with a humbling reminder that the sustainability of our planet depends not just on the development of new technologies, but on the engagement and commitment of the world’s peoples, individually and collectively. And those actions cannot wait for the dawning of the fourth century, either of the University of Michigan or of the American republic.

REFRESCH's Johannes Schwank and Rebecca Har-din, both at right, meet with collaborators in Gabon.

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Travis Thompson, a Research Fellow in the Sakamoto lab, was selected as a Forbes 30 Under 30 Energy honoree. Thompson has been working to develop solid-state ceramic batteries using a garnet-based electrolyte.

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The Battery Lab continues to welcome its new and returning user community, logging nearly as many user hours in the past six months than in the entire previous year. To meet increasing user demand, the lab welcomed a new Senior Technician during Sum-mer 2017.

During winter 2016-2017, the Battery Lab expanded to accommodate solid-state battery research for both external users and in-house researchers. Solid-state batteries promise higher energy density with little or no chance of catching fire compared to cur-rent lithium-ion. With more development, solid-state batteries could one day replace lithium-ion technology.

Funded by the Michigan Economic Development Corporation and by an ARPA-E project led by Mechanical Engineering Professor Jeff Sakamoto, the solid-state expan-sion includes equipment to create high-quality lithium anode films. The expansion is located in the third-floor laboratory directly above the existing battery fabrication fa-cilities.

The lab hosted its first battery manufacturing short course in June 2017, allowing par-ticipants access to the hands-on skills instruction necessary to scale up battery designs. Course-takers included engineers, chemists, and materials scientists that work on battery development for a range of applications: automotive, consumer products, and grid-scale storage. Participants began with an introduction to battery design and safety, learned mixing and testing of slurries, then coating, calendaring, cell assembly and test-ing from both Battery Lab and external instructors. University of Michigan professors working in next-generation battery chemistries also presented their research.

E&E News reporter David Ferris authored a series on the future of American leadership in energy storage, featuring the Battery Lab and UMEI Director Mark Barteau.

Watch the NOVA special, "Search for the Super Battery", which featured the Battery Lab and U-M energy storage researchers.

Research

BATTERY LABenergy.umich.edu/project/battlab

The Battery Lab staff have almost 30 years of energy storage experience.

Battery Lab Users Are:

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86%

Testing 18650 battery cells in the facility’s new cycling room.

28% Michigan small

businesses Non-MI small businesses

Large companies

43% 29% of users booked

return visits

Battery Lab Users Are:

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The Beyond Carbon Neutral Initiative is an ambitious, multidisciplinary effort aimed at mitigating climate change through removal of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. From microbes to economic systems, from reforestation to human behavior, the proj-ect’s 66 faculty affiliates work collaboratively and individually on a broad range of proj-ects related to balancing the global carbon cycle.

Faculty from across the University of Michigan have developed dozens of independent yet related projects that advance Beyond Carbon Neutral, most of which fall into three categories: technology, the biosphere, and human systems. This spring’s faculty work-shop brought together over 40 researchers for a chance to learn about new research results from the project’s nine first-round seed grants, half of which have produced published results or have results in the publication pipeline.

BCN’s first published result: The economic value of grassland species for carbon storage, Science Advances  05 Apr 2017

Research

BEYOND CARBON NEUTRALbeyondcarbonneutral.org

→

The Bartlett laboratory is investigating chemical conversion of CO2 as part of the Beyond Carbon Neutral Initiative.

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Research shared at the workshop encompassed a broad range of work, and attendees heard presentations from recipients of Beyond Carbon Neutral seed grants, students conducting re-lated work, and BCN partner the National Wildlife Federation. The Energy Institute awarded a second, $200,000 round of seed grant funding to faculty during summer 2017.

The funding will focus on supporting projects that amplify and build upon results from the first round of funding, and on new ideas that provide foundational results that can be built upon with additional research. These seed funding outcomes will iden-tify specific research objectives to drive the next funding phase.

Seed grant awardees and project descriptions are listed below:

How Many, and Which Species Are Need to Maximize the Se-questration and Burial of Carbon?By: Bradley Cardinale

Building on his 2016 Beyond Carbon Neutral seed project to quantify how plant biodiversity influences carbon storage in ter-restrial ecosystems, Cardinale will expand this research to look at how species diversity influences carbon storage in aquatic eco-systems. His experiment, to be completed by a Ph.D. student as part of his dissertation, will quantify how the diversity and composition of common species of freshwater algae impact car-bon sequestration and herbivory (two biological processes that influence carbon storage).

Broadband Solar Energy Harvesting for Chemical Transfor-mation of CO2 into FuelsBy: Neil Dasgupta, Johannes Schwank, Charles McCrory

This research team proposes to demonstrate a new method of broadband harvesting of solar energy for chemical transforma-tion of CO2 into fuels. A prototype reactor for high-temperature gas-phase photocatalysis or photocatalytically enhanced thermal catalysis has been recently built by the team; this platform will be used to feed in a stream of CO2 and H2 gas (for example by blending H2 with CO2 captured from the hot exhaust stream of a natural gas power plant), and use sunlight to drive the con-version of CO2 into methane. This reactor will close the carbon cycle, and provide a useful fuel that can be reused in an carbon capture power plant, or for building heating. The objective of this proposal is to assess the feasibility of this approach for CO2

utilization, and generate results that can be leveraged for future funding opportunities.

Factors in Forest Management to Protect Carbon Sinks on Private Forestland in the Great Lakes RegionBy: Paige Fischer, Bill Currie

This project aims to identify key social and ecological factors that determine whether and how private landowners manage forests in ways that can protect and enhance carbon storage in forests in the northern Great Lakes region.

Victoria Campbell-Arvai of the School for Environment and Sustainability at a Beyond Carbon Neutral seed grant project meeting.

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Enhancing Long-Term Carbon Sequestration in Soils by Mycorrhizal FungiBy: Mark Hunter, Timothy James

This project will host an international workshop to explore the potential of managing northern forests to sequester carbon through mycorrhizal fungi in soil. With Year 1 seed funding, this research team established that (a) pine plantations in northern Michigan sequester more carbon in deeper soil layers than do unmanaged forests; (b) carbon sequestration is associated with high fungal biomass and an increase in the representation of ec-tomycorrhizal taxa; and (c) high rates of timber extraction from northern deciduous forests reduce the abundance of ectomycor-rhizal fungi in soils.

Carbon Sequestration and Conversion to Industrially Rele-vant Biomonomers: A Photosynthetic Microbial Consortia ApproachBy: Nina Lin, Neil Marsh

This project’s goal is to develop a highly efficient pathway to bio-logically sequester CO2 and convert the sequestered carbon into valuable molecules that can be utilized in large-volume applica-tions, particularly bio-based plastics. Building on initial progress supported by the first round of Beyond Carbon Neutral, it will continue the design and optimization of a tripartite microbial consortium in which three microbes of differentiated special-izations can convert sunlight, carbon dioxide, and atmospheric nitrogen into chemical precursors for bulk polymer production. This framework offers a novel opportunity for biobased polymer production without energetically or monetarily expensive nutri-ent inputs, subsequently providing an attractive, sustainable al-ternative to fossil fuel analogues.

Carbon Negative Landscapes – Examining the Design and Perceptions of High Performance Landscapes for Carbon Di-oxide RemovalBy: Mark Lindquist

The objectives of this research are to develop novel landscape scenarios that exceed carbon neutral performance by employing a carbon negative framework and then to examine the tradeoffs between each scenario -- explicitly communicating tradeoffs us-ing 3D visualization. Lindquist will then assess public reactions to carbon negative landscapes and the impact of communicating tradeoffs on acceptance.

Testing Risk Compensation Effects of Learning About CDR in a Representative SampleBy: Kaitlin Raimi, Sol Hart, Victoria Campbell-Arvai, Kim Wolske

This research builds on an ongoing Beyond Carbon Neutral study examining whether learning about carbon dioxide removal affects support for climate change mitigation using online con-venience samples. The next phase of the research will seek to leverage a new partnership with the Ford School’s Center for Local, State, and Urban Policy to replicate and extend these find-ings with a representative sample population.

Microbial Mechanisms for Atmospheric Methane RemovalBy: Jeremy Semrau, Christian Lastoskie

Methanotrophs are a group of intriguing microbes that utilize methane as their sole source of carbon and energy. It has been recently shown that methanotrophic communities can remove methane from the atmosphere. The objectives of this project are to integrate microbiology with modeling and life cycle analyses to identify strategies where methane can be efficiently removed from the atmosphere via methanotrophy.

The Measurement of Knowledge, Concern, and Policy Opin-ions in the Beyond Carbon Neutral DomainBy: Nicholas Valentino, Michael Traugott

This project will field a baseline national survey to gauge aware-ness of and support for carbon removal technology develop-ment and deployment around the country. The team will explore whether these new strategies are already politicized compared to other climate change knowledge, and how quickly they may become politicized over time.

The Beyond Carbon Neutral Seminar Series, developed to share research and spark conversation with non-UM experts in the carbon cycle and carbon removal, found broad appeal among students and researchers. The Energy Institute hosted four BCN speakers during this past year:

Klaus Lackner, Arizona State: Direct Air Capture as a Tool for Carbon Management

John Field, Colorado State: What can ecosystem models tell us about carbon-negative bioenergy?

Brent Sohngen, Ohio State: Forest Management and the Ex-panding Global Forest Carbon Sink

David Skole, Michigan State: Sequestering Carbon at the Bottom of the Pyramid

The series will continue during Fall 2017.

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The Li lab is working on carbon-negative concrete with seed grant funding provided by the Beyond Carbon Neutral Project.

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Research

ENERGY SURVEYumenergysurvey.com

This year, the U-M Energy Survey launched umenergysurvey.com, where survey results, methodology, the project’s Energy Affordability Index, and monthly updates are avail-able. A series of short reports launched this year and appear monthly on the survey site; the reports track changes and trends in consumer attitudes toward energy use.

With three years of data, a clear trend has emerged: consumers are more concerned about how energy impacts the environ-ment than they about whether it is suffi-ciently affordable and reliable. The extent to which consumers

worry about reliability has consistently lagged their concerns about energy costs and environmental impacts. Over the first four quarterly samples starting with the launch of the survey in October 2013, the difference between the levels of concern about the environment and about affordability was not statistically significant, but by the second year, environment had pulled ahead of affordability as Americans’ top energy-related concern. Based on data over the first three years of the survey (below), concern about affordability lessened in 2016, while concern about the environment remained strong.

The survey’s affordability index, charted below, noted a difference during winter 2016-2017: the gasoline affordability index dropped 17 points to 94, the lowest score since July 2015. The decline is only partly explained by gasoline prices themselves, which did see an atypical increase in January of this year. In each of the prior three years, gasoline prices fell by an average of 50 cents per gallon from October to January. This time however, the price at the pump actually increased by 9 cents per gallon. The latest index results mark the ninth double-digit swing in ten quarters. Despite this volatility in the index, which tracks how consumers feel about affordability, the dollar-level responses to our survey question about “What would the price of gasoline have to reach before it became unaffordable to you?” have not changed much. In other words, the ups and downs of the index can be attributed mostly to the changes in gasoline prices.

In contrast to the story for gasoline, the home energy affordability in-dex remains a model of consistency. The January 2017 value increased by a modest 3 points to 119, just below its aver-age since October 2013

of 124. This measure of how affordable consumers think their home energy bills are has rarely deviated from this average, now based on 14 quarters of data. 

About the Energy SurveyA collaboration between the Energy Insti-tute and the  Institute for Social Research, the Energy Survey is a rigorously designed, highly objective survey of Americans’ atti-tudes about energy. It is administered as a quarterly rider added to ISR’s  Surveys of Consumers. Using a nationally representa-tive sample of U.S. households, the U-M En-ergy Survey probes consumer attitudes and beliefs about energy at a deep level. By elic-iting public perceptions regarding key facets of energy including affordability, reliability and environmental impact, the survey gen-erates valuable research data that will foster well-informed public discussions of energy issues and policy for years to come.

AFFORDABILITY INDICES: GASOLINE HOME ENERGY

LESS

MO

REAF

FORD

ABLE

200

150

100

50

0Oct Jan JanApr AprJuly Oct OctJan Apr July Oct Jan Apr July

2013 2014 2015 2016 2017

TRENDS IN AMERICAN CONSUMERS’ ENERGY RELATED CONCERNS

RELA

TIVE

DEG

REE

OF

CON

CERN

70

65

55

60

45

50

40

35

30Oct Jan Apr July Oct Jan Apr July Oct Jan Apr July

2013 2014 2015 2016

AFFORDABILITY

ENVIRONMENT

RELIABILITY

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Launched during Spring 2017 and conducted in collaboration with the City of Ann Arbor Energy Office, the Ann Arbor microgrid study will explore the best potential locations for microgrid and district energy installations, discussing the technical issues of deployment and integration with the regional energy grid, and the regulatory and legislative challenges associated with implementation, maintenance, and operation.

Led by Adam Simon of the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences and with administrative and financial support from the Energy Institute, the study will examine city-owned buildings and land, and other vacant or University land, to estimate potential generation capacity, monthly cost, and how microgrids could interact with one another, with two Huron River dams, and with the city’s landfill-to-gas energy system.

Three Undergraduate Research Opportunity Program (UROP) students are conducting project research, along with the Energy Institute Science Communication Fellow and an additional undergraduate intern.

Emerging project

ANN ARBOR MICROGRID STUDY

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The REFRESCH team continues to focus on the co-development of educational and technical solutions to challenges in resource-constrained environments. Guided by a multidisciplinary team of faculty and with deep collaboration from local populations, University of Michigan students spent the year diving into food, water, energy, and en-trepreneurship/manufacturing projects in Gabon, Kazakhstan, and on the U-M campus. 35 U-M students and about the same number of Gabonese students were involved in REFRESCH this year.

The “Gabon” team includes faculty and students in anthropology, biology, physics, art and design, chemical engineeering, and civil and environmental engineering. During the school year, about 30 students from Franceville, Gabon’s L’université des sciences et techniques de Masuku (USTM) learned about sustainable approaches to food, energy, and water challenges, in contact with U-M students through the REFRESCH Ga-bon Facebook page. Students at USTM and U-M conducted research on biodigestion, smelting of aluminum from beverage cans, and ceramic pot water filters. Three U-M students, with REFRESCH intern Mike Burbidge, traveled to USTM in February to share their results. They anchored pilots of a Michigan Sustainability Case about hu-man-wildlife conflict at a Gabonese high school and at USTM (where they also demon-strated a 60W DC solar photovotaic system for lighting and cell phone charging). The team also mapped needed repairs of the aging, largely defunct solar streetlights at Albert Schweitzer Hospital.

Below are some of the other REFRESCH projects underway for use in various global contexts:

Gaseous ammonia recovery from urine – This project involves the synthesis and char-acterization of activated biochar from coffee hulls and wood, using it to capture ammo-nia off-gases from urine for eventual utilization as a fertilizer.

Urine to fertilizer – REFRESCH supported efforts in Civil and Environmental Engi-neering to collect and convert urine into fertilizer through acidification reverse osmosis and distillation. This effort was recently awarded a $3M NSF grant led by Nancy Love and Krista Wigginton.

Passive-solar food dryer – Requiring no electricity, the aim of this dryer is to extend the life of any food that can be dried. Designed by seniors in Mechanical Engineering, this undergraduate project is currently being tested and refined.

A solar pv powered baby incubator – Premature or otherwise compromised infants often require incubation, but inconsistent or absent access to electricity makes the use of traditional maternity ward incubators challenging. New, solar-powered designs de-veloped by Mechanical Engineering students could keep infants warm using only 20W of power.

REFRESCH is part of the University of Michigan’s Third Century Initiative, a $50 million, five-year initiative to develop in-novative, multidisciplinary teaching and scholarship approaches. The project is led by Johannes Schwank, the Judith and Joseph Street Professor of Chemical Engineering. A $3 million project funded for three years, REFRESCH is administered by the Uni-versity of Michigan Energy Institute.

REFRESCH stands for Researching Fresh Solutions to the Energy/Water/Food Chal-lenge in Resource-Constrained Environ-ments.

Research

REFRESCHrefresch.research.umich.edu

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A U-M and a USTM student trade hats during a hiking outing in Gabon.

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University of Michigan Energy Institute Director Mark Barteau welcomed the audience to the third annual Transportation, Economics Energy, and the Environment (TE3) conference. In his remarks, Barteau encouraged attendees to think of ways to bring home to the public the magnitude of the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions challenge and its consequences. He highlighted the event as an opportunity to collectively con-sider the prospects for technological progress and how economic, regulatory and other policy levers might be harnessed to reduce GHG emissions from transportation.

Over 120 people attended the conference, including participants from the automotive, energy and related industries, public agencies and nonprofit organizations as well as from academia. The conference consisted of three sessions of original research presenta-tions, each followed by a discussion. The day concluded with a policy panel.

To view all available conference videos, papers and presentations, as well as a conference summary, see the 2016 TE3

Conference Archive at te3conference.com.

Events

THE 2016 TRANSPORTATION, ECONOMICS, ENERGY AND THE ENVIRONMENT CONFERENCEte3conference.com

Mark your calendar: TE3 2017 is scheduled for October 20. Visit te3conference.com for more.

Left to right: Former Ford Chief Economist Ellen Hughes-Cromwick, Teresa Langer of ACEEE and Lisa Snapp of the EPA participate in a TE3 panel.

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With the Department of Nuclear Engineering and Radiological Sciences, in fall 2016, the Energy Institute co-hosted a symposium dedicated to exploring the questions around the intersection of nuclear power and climate change. Nuclear energy, which provides one-fifth of U.S. electricity generation, is currently the leading utility-scale, carbon-free baseload power source in America.  But it is expensive, controversial, and regulated in a way that poses challenges to technological innovation. So how does nu-clear power fit into U.S. climate change mitigation goals going forward?   

Attendees from government, the utility industry, and several promising next-generation nuclear technology companies explored the rapidly changing energy landscape with the following questions: In what way can nuclear power be a major factor in the portfolio of options being considered to lower greenhouse gas emissions and mitigate climate change? With the rapid growth of natural gas production in the United States, how has the economics of nuclear power changed?  What are the social, policy and technological challenges to nuclear power in the United States? What are the challenges to developing and deploying new technologies and designs? 

Events

THE MICHIGAN ENERGY SYMPOSIUMCOMBATING CLIMATE CHANGE: THE ROLE OF NUCLEAR POWERumenergysymposium.com

COMBATINGCLIMATE CHANGEThe Role of Nuclear Power

September 26–28, 2016 umenergysymposium.com

With videos and full slide presentations, an account of the nuclear symposium can be found at umenergysymposium.com/archives.

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At the University of Michigan, the energy used to keep the lights on and the buses run-ning goes largely unseen.  The Energy+ challenge, using the Duderstadt Center gallery or the North Campus quad, aims to make the university’s emissions visible to those who contribute to them directly or indirectly.

During Fall 2017, U-M students will be challenged to create a tangible visualization of the amount of carbon emissions created by the University of Michigan in the year 2016: 641,000 metric tons, or 1,413,161,420 pounds, of carbon dioxide. This represents approximately 30% of Ann Arbor’s total emissions footprint. Project entries will be displayed and judged during the week of December 4, 2017; and winners will receive $15,000 in prizes.

The contest was created in partnership with the Duderstadt Center.

Events

THE ENERGY+ CHALLENGE

15,000 in prizes

$REGISTER NOW UNTIL 9.27.2017CONTEST OPEN

TO ALL STUDENTS

energy.umich.edu/energyplus

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The Energy Institute is pleased to an-nounce that, during summer 2017, Dr. Ellen Hughes-Cromwick joined the UMEI team as a Senior Economist and Interim Associate Director of Social Science and Policy. Hughes-Cromwick recently completed an appointment as Chief Economist of the U.S. Department of Commerce during the Obama Ad-ministration.

Hughes-Cromwick’s goal at the Ener-gy Institute is to develop and lead new projects at the intersection of energy, eco-nomics, policy, and human behavior that complement Energy Institute initiatives. She will also be involved in the Transpor-

tation, Economics, Energy and the Environment (TE3) conference, which brings eco-nomic scholars together with government and industry practitioners to exchange ideas and address transportation energy and environmental policy challenges.

“Economic analysis forms a critical link between technology advances and investment and policy decisions. For example as we consider the transition to connected and auto-mated vehicles, consumer and market behavior are essential to understanding the energy and emissions impacts of these disruptive technologies. We’re delighted that Ellen will be applying her deep well of corporate and governmental experience to our focus on the next-generation energy landscape,” said Energy Institute Director Mark Barteau.

At the Department of Commerce, Hughes-Cromwick worked on several administra-tion initiatives to improve data quality, measure the digital economy, and expand man-ufacturing, trade and investment. She assisted Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker on global macroeconomic matters in support of her commercial diplomacy, trade, and for-eign direct investment initiatives. Hughes-Cromwick also supported the development of the Obama Administration’s economic forecast.

Prior to joining the U.S. Department of Commerce, Hughes-Cromwick was chief glob-al economist at Ford Motor Company and an Adjunct Professor at U-M’s Ross School of Business. She led Ford’s global corporate economics group with major responsibility for the Company’s global economic, financial, and automotive industry forecasts used to support business strategy, finance, and planning.

Early in her career, Hughes-Cromwick was a senior economist at Mellon Bank and assistant professor of economics at Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut. She also served for two years as a staff economist on the President’s Council of Economic Advis-ers. She received her Bachelor’s degree from the University of Notre Dame, a Master’s degree in International Development and a Ph.D. in Economics at Clark University in Massachusetts.

DR. ELLEN HUGHES-CROMWICK JOINS U-M ENERGY INSTITUTE

News

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Mark BarteauDirector

Bart BartlettAssociate Director for Science and Technology

Kelly Chantelois Administrative Assistant

Shelly Christian-ShermanBusiness Manager

John DeCiccoResearch Professor

Susan FancyManager, Programs and Development

William HicksBattery Fabrication Specialist and Facilities Manager

Ellen Hughes-CromwickSenior Economist

Greg LessSenior Laboratory Manager - Battery Lab

Tom Lyon Associate Director for Social Science and Policy

Amy MastDirector of Marketing and Communications

Bruno VanzieleghemAssistant Director of Operations

Brenda VyletelREFRESCH Project Manager

ENERGY INSTITUTE STAFF

2017 Annua l Repo r t

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Un i ve r s i t y o f M ich igan Ene rg y I ns t i t u te

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