MILWAUKEE_Energy storage technologies are growing rapidly in the U.S. and worldwide. Last year, nearly 2,000 megawatts of new energy storage system installations were announced worldwide, with 15 percent of these in North America. Lithium-ion batteries are the leading type of energy storage, but other technologies are emerging.

Discover the wide range of recent advances when the Midwest Energy Research Consortium (M-WERC) holds its 2017 Energy Research Conference on Wednesday, Feb. 15, at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.

The conference will be 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Zelazo Center, 2419 E. Kenwood Blvd. Tours of the Johnson Controls-sponsored Energy Advancement Research Labs at UWM are given in the last half hour. Register at http://conta.cc/2iakjfC.

At 8:45 a.m., George Crabtree from Argonne National Laboratory gives the keynote talk, “Overall Technology Trends in Energy Storage.”

Other highlights include:

Adel Nasiri, associate dean in the UWM College of Engineering & Applied Science, moderates a panel of speakers at 10:40 a.m., called “Advances in Research.”

• Deyang Qu, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee: “To Bridge Fundamental Research and Production: the Excellence of Collaborative Research at UWM”
• Tom Jahns, University of Wisconsin-Madison: “Battery Systems Research”
• Kedar Dimble, A.O. Smith: “Water Heaters for Thermal Energy Storage”

Paul Poblocki, director of strategy and marketing, energy solutions, at Johnson Controls, moderates “Energy Storage Application – Growth and Expansion” at 1 p.m.

• Chris Kuhl, director of business development – energy storage solutions, Edison Energy
• Ben Polito, CEO of Pika Energy: “Residential and Small Business Applications of Energy Storage.”
• Jeremy Niederjohn, director of market development, Johnson Controls: “Integrating the Building and the Battery”
• Tom Stepien, CEO, Primus Power

About UWM

Recognized as one of the nation’s 115 top research universities, UW-Milwaukee provides a world-class education to 26,000 students from 89 countries on a budget of $667 million. Its 14 schools and colleges include Wisconsin’s only schools of architecture, freshwater sciences and public health, and it is a leading educator of nurses and teachers. UW-Milwaukee partners with leading companies to conduct joint research, offer student internships and serve as an economic engine for southeastern Wisconsin. The Princeton Review named UW-Milwaukee a 2017 “Best Midwestern” university based on overall academic excellence and student reviews, as well as a top “Green College.”