Leaders from global energy firm ENGIE, the National Science Foundation and Ohio State University celebrated the ceremonial start of construction on an $48.4 million center for energy research.
The Energy Advancement and Innovation Center will be a platform for Ohio State faculty and students, ENGIE team members, local entrepreneurs and industry researchers to develop new ideas for the next generation of smart energy systems, artificial intelligence, renewables and green e-mobility solutions.
Ohio State President Kristina M. Johnson was joined by National Science Foundation Director Sethuraman Panchanathan, Serdar Tufekci, who is vice president and head of major partnerships for ENGIE North America, and other leaders for the groundbreaking ceremony.
“The Energy Advancement and Innovation Center will be the epicenter of convergent research,” Johnson said. “It will be an opportunity generator that provides the tools necessary for us to be effective global citizens of the 21st century who make the world a better, healthier and a more sustainable place to live.”
This story is based on a report in the Ohio State News. Click here to see more
The OSU energy research center will be co-located with a five-story, 305,000-square-foot Interdisciplinary Research Facility.
“The Energy Advancement and Innovation Center will provide the critical infrastructure needed for researchers and industry partners across Ohio and the entire United States to work together across disciplines to build a better, brighter, more sustainable future for us all,” said Panchanathan.
The project is part of the university’s public-private partnership with Ohio State Energy Partners (OSEP), which has committed $50 million for the project, including $36.7 million toward design and construction costs. OSEP, a consortium made up of ENGIE North America and Axium Infrastructure, was established in 2017 when the Board of Trustees approved a 50-year agreement and lease for comprehensive energy management to strengthen the university’s sustainability while providing new resources for the university’s academic mission, including space to expand work in research in artificial intelligence, energy and smart systems.
ENGIE and Axium also have a 50-year partnership agreement with the university. ENGIE operates the systems which power, heat (CHP) and cool OSU's Columbus campus. The university's goal is a minimum 25-percent energy efficiency improvement within 10 years and carbon neutrality by 2050.
Design for the 66,000-square-foot energy research building will prioritize strategies to reduce energy usage. The project will include the installation of a direct current (DC) microgrid with future plans to install photovoltaics/solar panels on the roof.
“Four years since the beginning of our partnership with Ohio State, we are well into our transformational journey of a zero-carbon campus in Columbus. Today marks a new milestone, as the innovations which will come from this new endeavor will push us further, and faster, towards a zero-carbon world,” said Tufekci, of ENGIE.
