Grid of Tomorrow Consortium

Cutting-Edge Research and Strategic Partnerships Converge to Lead the Energy Transition

Part of the LEAPS Initiative

Upcoming Event

2nd Grid of Tomorrow Consortium Event - Aug 13 in San Ramon, California

Learn more & register HERE!

Grid of Tomorrow Consortium Event - Jan 30 & 31

Watch the recording and learn more about this event.

Our Mission

Our mission is to close the gap between academic research and industry practice to better serve the needs of electric power utilities. The Grid of Tomorrow consortium aspires to catalyze research and bolster workforce development for broader evolving grid ecosystems to address the challenges from a rapidly changing landscape. It will serve as a forum for the electric utility ecosystem-including utilities, large industrial customers and data centers, consumers, and technology providers- to:

  • Share technical challenges with other members and Purdue University researchers.
  • Collaborate on joint or externally funded projects that drive innovation while delivering measurable improvements in reliability and affordability.
  • Recruit top talent and shape engineering education.

Challenges and Opportunities

  • Decarbonization, load growth from data centers, electrification, distributed energy resources, and extreme weather events are major drivers of change.
  • Existing options for industry-academia collaboration are limited or cumbersome to establish.
  • Academic research can be disconnected from real-world problems.
  • Rapidly evolving technologies require flexible lifelong training and up-to-date curricula.
  • The Grid of Tomorrow consortium is a new paradigm for industry-academia collaboration with targeted high-impact problem solving.
Renewables, Storage, & Grid Edge Technologies
New technologies to support to transition to a decentralized grid
Electrification & Load Growth
Managing the needs and impact of EVs and mega-loads from AI data centers
Integrated T&D Decision-Making
Computational tools for integrated system planning and analysis

Consortium Benefits

INDUSTRY-DRIVEN COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH:

Joint research projects among consortium members and Purdue faculty with 3-month inception-to-start timeline.

HUMAN RESOURCES:

Access to top talent (BS, MS, PhD) trained in a comprehensive engineering curriculum. Grid of Tomorrow Fellows will intern with consortium members.

COMMERCIALIZATION AND INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY:

Commercialization of research outputs with IP licensing rights to consortium members.

NETWORKING AND GROWTH:

Networking and outreach events, member-focused consortium roadmap and strategic planning for future growth.

Our Core Research Strengths

  • Asset optimization & integrated resource planning
  • Data analytics & Al/ML solutions
  • Emerging technologies for the grid edge
  • Energy markets design
  • Grid situation awareness
  • Integration of distributed energy resources
  • Modeling of mega-loads and large industrial customers
  • Nuclear power engineering
  • Power system dynamics with inverter-based resources
  • Resilience to extreme events
  • Transmission and distribution integrated analysis

Why Purdue? Why Now?

Purdue University aspires to be at the forefront of decarbonization and is primed to address the challenges of the Grid of Tomorrow. Our host schools - the Elmore Family School of Electrical and Computer Engineering and the Edwardson School of Industrial Engineering - feature decades of research in electric power and operations. Purdue is proud to be:

  • The largest producer of engineers in the nation.
  • Home to highly ranked and historic engineering programs with comprehensive curricula offered both in-person and online.
  • Home to world-class faculty with access to cutting-edge research facilities and lab space.
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