Ryo Amano, professor of mechanical engineering and Richard and Joanne Grigg Faculty Fellow, was awarded $250,000 from the Wisconsin Economic Development Corp toward a three-year, $375,000 project to identify and generate new technologies to recommend to Wisconsin manufacturing industries and energy utility treatment facilities. He and his UWM team (pictured) will partner with several energy advisory sectors in the state.
Amano says the team will study efficient, renewable energy recovering technologies (wind, solar, biomass, hydropower, and hybrids) and the manufacturing skillsets needed to produce them.
“The study will extend to include better buildings and manufacturing plants, and green and clean energy systems,” he says. “Our goal is to significantly contribute to Wisconsin industries by helping them make drastic improvements in their manufacturing technologies.”
The team will study emerging technologies
The team will study several emerging technologies including the following: phase change material (PCM) for thermal management; heat pumps for manufacturing processes; combined heat and power (CHP); concentrating solar power for manufacturing; and cybersecurity technologies.
“All these are energy efficient and promising for different situations,” Amano says.
Ultra-efficient heat pumps, for example, could use electricity to transfer heat from one space to another and could be suitable for certain industrial processes, Amano says.
The team also will explore battery-powered stationary energy systems that generate, store, and convert energy. “This system can store energy, including solar energy, and deliver smooth and predictable power for send the power to the grid,” Amano explains. This technology could be particularly useful in instances of power outage situations and as an auxiliary power source.