Earlier this month, the University of Connecticut received over $2 million for a project in efforts to remove a harmful greenhouse gas from the United States Power grid, according to the Department of Energy’s Advanced Research Project Agency.
The Department of Energy’s Advanced Research Project Agency-Energy selected UConn to receive the monetary award to remove the gas known as sulfur hexafluoride, or SF6.
Sulfur Hexafluoride is a potent greenhouse gas. While it does have a few beneficial properties, the gas is more harmful to the environment than carbon dioxide.
With UConn’s attention on being an eco-friendly and research-one school, the opportunity to remove SF6 is an important to its environmentally conscious efforts.
Dr. Isik Kizilyalli, ARPA-E Associate Director for Technology, talked about the ways UConn and its team worked together for to bring the cooperative agreement funding to Storrs.
“The university applied to an ARPA-E funding opportunity announcement targeting the removal of SF6 from grid equipment and it was selected through a competitive process,” Kizilyalli said.
Sulfur hexafluoride has the potential to cause global warming and create a negative footprint on the earth, an ARPA-E article said. However, removing the gas is a large task for UConn to handle.
“SF6 removal will require participation across the energy landscape, including utilities; state, federal, and national governments; and grid equipment manufacturers,” Kizilyalli said.
ARPA-E is well known for their work in the environmental sciences and is held to a high standard of excellence.
“It is very prestigious to receive an ARPA-E award. This is the first time UConn has been selected to lead an ARPA-E project, but it has been part of previous ARPA-E project teams,” Kizilyalli said.