NSF Engines Development Award: Developing an use-inspired decarbonization and grid resilient energy ecosystem (WV, PA)

该NSF区域创新引擎发展奖旨在建立一个创新生态系统，通过西弗吉尼亚州和宾夕法尼亚州西南部（WV-swPA）地区的区域合作伙伴关系，为能源弹性、脱碳和能源安全提供解决方案。未来十年，对可靠的脱碳能源和电网基础设施抵御自然和非自然威胁的能力的需求只会增加。弹性能源技术和基础设施（RETI）联盟结合了三所R1大学（西弗吉尼亚大学、匹兹堡大学和卡内基梅隆大学）的研究力量，以及许多地区非营利组织、行业利益相关者和政府合作伙伴。RETI将侧重于适合区域的能源弹性和安全技术。与此同时，RETI将确定与新兴能源技术和加速采用这些技术的政策制定相一致的劳动力发展途径。能源公正是RETI使命的核心，因此，多样性、包容性和公平性将是RETI努力的最前沿。RETI的多元化委员会将确保拟议的技术对区域社区的潜在影响和利益进行审查，并将与社区领导人合作制定劳动力计划，确保为区域经济增长提供可获得和有意义的机会。通过这些努力，RETI将为一个具有区域影响力的创新引擎奠定基础，生产符合市场的技术，准备好满足国家未来的能源需求。能源弹性和安全方面的创新是复杂的。它将需要进步的技术领域与监管和资本密集型金融障碍结合起来。然而，推进新能源技术对未来的国家安全和全球健康至关重要。WV-swPA地区一直是一个历史悠久的能源生产国，使其成为设想、开发和部署下一代能源技术的理想场所。RETI联盟将确定最紧迫和相关的技术领域，在这些领域，RETI合作伙伴可以产生影响，并发展由既得利益的工业合作伙伴、区域劳动力合作伙伴以及州和地方政府组成的网络，以支持区域创新引擎，促进能源弹性和安全。多样性倡议将通过直接参与倡导能源正义的核心使命，确保RETI的努力与地区弱势社区保持一致。总的来说，RETI将为振兴WV-swPA建立必要的基础，使其成为一个全面的能源弹性创新引擎，推动使用型技术的发展和全球相关能源解决方案的部署。该开发奖将使RETI能够参与区域协作规划过程，以准备实现这些目标的未来引擎。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

This NSF Regional Innovation Engines Development Award seeks to build an innovation ecosystem that offers solutions to energy resilience, decarbonization and energy security via regional partnerships in the West Virginia and southwestern Pennsylvania (WV-swPA) region. The need for reliable decarbonized energy sources and for the resilience of grid infrastructure from natural and non-natural threats will only increase over the next decade. The Resilient Energy Technology and Infrastructure (RETI) consortium combines the research power of three R1 universities (West Virginia University, University of Pittsburgh, and Carnegie Mellon University), along with a host of regional non-profits, industry stakeholders, and government partners. RETI will focus on regionally appropriate technologies for energy resilience and security. In parallel, RETI will identify pathways for workforce development that align with emerging energy technologies and policy development that accelerates the adoption of those technologies. Energy justice is central to RETI’s mission and as such, diversity, inclusion, and equity will be forefront in RETI efforts. RETI’s diversity committee will ensure that proposed technologies are reviewed for their potential impact and benefit to regional communities, and workforce plans will be developed in partnership with community leaders, ensuring accessible and meaningful opportunities for regional economic growth. Through these efforts, RETI will lay the groundwork for a regionally impactful innovation engine that produces market aligned technologies ready to meet the nation’s future energy demands. Innovation in energy resilience and security is complex. It combines technical areas in need of advancement with regulatory, and capital-intensive financial hurdles. Yet advancing new energy technologies is critical to future national security and global health. The WV-swPA region has been a historic energy producer, making it an ideal location to imagine, develop and deploy the next generation of energy technology. The RETI consortium will identify the most pressing and relevant technical areas in which RETI partners can make an impact and grow a network of vested industrial partners, regional workforce partners and state and local government to support a regional innovation engine for energy resilience and security. Diversity initiatives will ensure RETI efforts align to regionally disadvantaged communities through direct engagement advocating a central mission of energy justice. Collectively, RETI will build the foundations necessary to revitalize WV-swPA in a comprehensive energy resilience innovation engine, driving development of use-inspired technologies and deployment of globally relevant energy solutions. This Development Award will enable RETI to engage in a regional, collaborative planning process to prepare a future Engine that addresses these goals.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.