{"id":349,"date":"2023-01-13T12:31:12","date_gmt":"2023-01-13T17:31:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/research-multi-dev.utk.edu\/energy-dev\/?page_id=349"},"modified":"2026-06-12T16:09:10","modified_gmt":"2026-06-12T20:09:10","slug":"clean-energy-systems","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/research.utk.edu\/iee\/research-areas\/clean-energy-systems\/","title":{"rendered":"Clean Energy Systems"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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clean energy systems<\/h1>\n\n\n\n

Enabling clean, reliable and affordable energy for all<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>

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We seek to understand and promote clean energy systems that enable sustainable growth<\/a> with clean, reliable, and affordable energy for all.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

UT faculty and students are developing clean energy solutions across multiple scales, from quantum materials to global power grids. At each step, our researchers are working to improve the efficiency, sustainability, and resilience of energy supply and distribution. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The development and implementation of sustainable clean energy systems encompass a range of technologies and applications, from energy sources to deployment to commercial and residential application. In this space, we are working together with industry, government, and community partners to build a future in which energy is reliable and accessible to all.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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UT’s Approach<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

UT is a world leader in the development of technologies that yield next-generation advanced materials<\/a>, including those for performance in extreme environments<\/a>, solar cells<\/a>, wind turbine blades<\/a>, and nuclear energy reactor components<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In collaboration with Oak Ridge National Laboratory, UT is building capacity to address the most pressing challenges to fusion technology feasibility. Research priorities include advancing high-temperature superconducting magnets, plasma-facing materials<\/a>, tomahawk reactor design<\/a>, and computational frameworks<\/a> for multiscale modeling. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

UT faculty are also advancing the next generations of small modular reactors for safe, cost-efficient fission energy. They develop new safeguards<\/a> and apply advanced instrumentation<\/a> and physics-informed machine learning<\/a> to optimize maintenance and operation strategies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We continue advancing the <\/a>power electronics systems<\/a> [MM1]<\/a> that enable high levels of renewable energy to be integrated onto the nation\u2019s energy grid. We study distributed energy resources and microgrids to improve performance<\/a> and increase resilience and energy efficiency<\/a>. Teams are applying machine learning to develop effective energy management systems<\/a> for microgrids.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The US Department of Energy has recognized UT\u2019s leadership in power electronics. With a $2.8 million grant, UT will lead seven partners in projects aimed at the development of ultrafast, efficient, and reliable next-generation semiconductor switch modules<\/a> for the nation\u2019s power grid.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Faculty also work at the intersection of energy and mobility<\/a>. Their work prepares the grid to support the shift to electric vehicles and explores how to use vehicle batteries for energy storage<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The industry-academic partnership that CURENT [UT’s Center for Ultra-Wide-Area Resilient Electric Energy Transmission Networks] has crafted over the years provides its students with a myriad of opportunities to work with industry members on sponsored projects, internships, and full-time employment after graduation. This partnership trains students to think of practical solutions to unsolved challenges while still considering the energy transition that is facing the future power grid.\u201d<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Melanie Bennett, graduate student<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Highlights<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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UT Receives DOE Nuclear Energy Infrastructure Award<\/a><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

UT is the recipient of a $251,650 nuclear energy infrastructure award from the U.S. Department of Energy\u2019s Office of Nuclear Energy that will be used to establish an in-situ scanning electron microscopy platform for irradiated materials.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Learn about the award and the high resolution microscope<\/a>\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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UT Team Helps Nissan Find \u2018Second Life\u2019 for EV Batteries<\/a><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

An engineering team from the University of Tennessee has been tasked with helping Nissan find a \u201csecond life\u201d for its LEAF model electric vehicle batteries by turning them into power supplies at Nissan America\u2019s Headquarters in Franklin, Tennessee.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Read more about the project<\/a> <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Brown Combines Nuclear Waste Disposal with Mobile Energy Generation<\/a><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Pietro F. Pasqua Fellow Nick Brown and his colleagues have completed a project called Matrix Engineered TRISO Compacts Enabling Advanced Reactor Fuel Cycles (MATRICY), a $3.4-million research project headed by Stony Brook University and funded by the Department of Energy\u2019s Advanced Research Projects Agency \u2013 Energy (ARPA-E).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Learn more about this project<\/a>.<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Turning the Promise of Fusion into Reality<\/a><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

UT is committed to transforming nuclear fusion into an economically viable and environmentally beneficial energy option. With funding from the UT\u2013Oak Ridge Innovation Institute, UT is expanding its capabilities to address fusion technology\u2019s most pressing challenges.

Learn about UT\u2019s fusion energy research.<\/a> <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Facilities & Initiatives<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

UT\u2019s clean energy research takes place in state-of-the-art facilities on and off campus. Faculty and students collaborate with government, industry, and community organizations to solve real-world energy problems, develop new solutions, and apply those solutions in everyday life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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