Xendee’s Small Modular Reactor Modeling Shows Significant Carbon Reduction for University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
April 17 2024 - 10:00AM
Business Wire
The landscape of the electricity grid is rapidly evolving,
driven by expanding electrification initiatives, renewable energy
integration, and the decarbonization imperative. University campus
microgrids are tackling this paradigm shift with energy transition
models. The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) and
Xendee Corporation (Xendee) teamed up to lead this
transformation.
UIUC has a sophisticated integrated energy framework,
underscored by highly instrumented infrastructure and a wealth of
data. The Abbott Power Plant, which delivers 100% of the thermal
needs and approximately 50% of the electricity needs sits at the
heart of the framework, catering to campus energy demands and
engaging in electricity exchange with the broader grid. With a
diverse energy portfolio encompassing natural gas, coal, solar,
wind, biofuel, and geothermal sources, the UIUC's energy ecosystem
is ideal for applying Xendee’s Small Modular Reactor (SMR) modeling
and technical capabilities to deliver both sustainability and
resilience.
First phase successfully completed
In collaboration with Idaho National Laboratory, supported by
the Office of Electricity at the US Department of Energy, Xendee
enhanced SMR capabilities of its microgrid modeling tool for use in
the UIUC campus analysis. New features introduced by Xendee include
fuel costs, decommissioning expenses, baseload operation, and
reactor power maneuvering. These enhancements enable a nuanced
exploration of scenarios for SMR integration within the campus
microgrid and offer a glimpse into the future of energy systems.
This lays the foundation for establishing a robust modeling
capability within the Xendee platform tailored to the UIUC campus
environment.
By providing data on existing energy supply, demand, and
generation sources, the feasibilities of various decarbonization
scenarios were meticulously assessed. Modeling focused on
multi-energy demand fulfilled primarily by existing onsite and
renewable energy technologies in combination with SMRs as future
options. One key result was that the optimally designed system
using SMR instead of the existing natural gas/coal-fired district
heating Abbott plant reduced carbon emissions by up to 85%.
Moving into the next phase
In the current phase, the key objective is to extend the
maturity of the models to deliver deeper economic insights, which
are essential to the informed decision-making needed to reach 100%
carbon reduction for campuses and other established microgrids.
Efforts are aimed at advancing modeling details by adding
granularity on building loads plus the accuracy of SMR operation on
fulfilling both heat and electricity demand to completely
decarbonize the system. Hundreds of buildings and the energy
delivery between those campus buildings are a major part of the
ongoing modeling efforts and will improve the modeling results.
Xendee plays ongoing pivotal role
Developed through decades of research, Xendee’s microgrid design
and operation platform facilitates comprehensive techno-economic
analysis, encompassing factors like generation, fuel costs, ROI,
power flow, and CO2 emissions.
Dr. Timothy Grunloh, with the UIUC research team, says, "We are
excited to leverage Xendee’s capabilities to help us research and
develop avenues for integrating advanced nuclear technologies into
carbon-free microgrids. This collaboration represents a crucial
step towards achieving our vision for a resilient, sustainable
energy future and paving the way for efficient and effective
deployment of SMR technologies."
Far-reaching impact
The impact of this project extends far beyond the confines of
UIUC, with potential applications ranging from fossil-to-nuclear
transitions in microgrids to supporting communities with higher
renewable penetration and stable base generation provided by SMRs.
By harnessing the power of data-driven modeling and advanced
optimization techniques, UIUC is spearheading efforts to usher in a
new era of carbon-free energy systems on campuses and beyond.
About Xendee Corporation
Xendee is an award-winning software platform built to integrate
the feasibility analysis, detailed engineering, and operation of
Distributed Energy Resources and EV fast-charging infrastructure.
This includes the ability to rapidly model EV infrastructure for
fleet owners, complex energy systems with up to 25 unique DER
technologies, multi-node installations like a military base, and
operate either connected to the grid or wholly islanded. The Xendee
techno-economic optimization algorithm can generate an ideal
investment solution and operation schedule to meet organizational
goals.
About University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC)
The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) is a
world-class research institution located in central Illinois. The
Nuclear, Plasma, and Radiological Engineering (NPRE) department
previously successfully operated a research nuclear reactor on
campus for decades. Members of the Illinois Microreactor Research,
Development, and Demonstration (IMRDD) perform research on the
enabling technologies that will ensure safe and economical
operation of advanced reactor technologies. Members of this
research center are also in the process of licensing a new research
reactor on campus to further execute this mission.
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